Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
As the global sporting spotlight will fall on Bahrain again later this year, GulfWeekly has teamed up with one of the world’s top trainers to coach the island’s sports-lovers to prepare to take part.
If you have ever fancied trying a triathlon there will never be a better opportunity. Your community newspaper hopes to inspire you to put your best foot forward and have a go.
Don’t be scared … Andy Price will help you every step of the way!
Here’s your WEEK 17 – 34 Days until IRONMAN 70.3 Middle East Championship Bahrain
By now you will have read the story that Challenge Bahrain has been cancelled due to the organisers not being able to get a permit to hold the cycle part of the event on the roads at night … as a result the next triathlon on the island will be the half ironman on Saturday, December 5, which means we now have 34 days to train for the event.
* Training programme for the week starting Sunday to Saturday, November 7
Having completed a hard block of four weeks training you have now earned a recovery week. With the change of dates and another 34 days to go to the Half Ironman I have rescheduled the training blocks and after this week we will have a two-week block of hard training before starting the taper.
For ease I will include a key to explain abbreviations each week:
• F/S – Freestyle or front crawl
• Alt – Alternative stroke. For most this should be backstroke, but for some breastroke
• PULL – F/S with a pull float between your legs
• KICK – F/S kick using a kick board
• R – Rest (normally in seconds)
• Z – Zones (1 – 4)
• RPM – Revs per Minute
• HRM – Heart Rate Monitor
* SESSION 1 – Pool
• Warm up
400m freestyle easy. Focus on stroke
• Main set (all at Z2 / Steady)
6 x 200m R60 after each 200m
• 1st 200m Swim
• 2nd 200m Kick
• 3rd 200m Swim
• 4th 200m Pull
• 5th 200m Swim
• 6th 200m Drills
• Warm down
6 x 100m Easy R45
Total – 2200m
* Session 2 – Pool
• Warm up
300m F/S with every 4th length Alt Stroke R60
200m F/S with every 4th length Alt Stroke R60
• Main set
10 x 100m Steady / Z2 R45
10 x 50m Steady / Z2 R30
• Warm down
200m F/S Easy
Total – 2200m
* Session 3 – Open Water
• 6 x 500m steady R90 after each
* SESSION 1 – Indoors / Turbo Trainer –
• Warm up – 10 minutes steady
• Main set
3 x 10 minutes steady with five minutes easy in between. Use your gears to change between steady and easy (Don’t push it on these sessions and focus on keeping your RPM even).
• Warm down – 15 minutes steady in easy gear.
* SESSION 2 – Outdoors (remember this is a Bike to Run)
• 90km in Zone 2 / Steady followed by a 5km or 30 minutes steady run (Zone 2)
* SESSION 3 – Outdoors
• 120 minutes steady ride. You should be able to talk to your training partner through the whole ride. DON’T be tempted to push it. This is a recovery ride and the benefit will come from muscle recovery over time.
Unlike the last four weeks this week it’s all about steady and long. Don’t push it. Remember it’s all about longer term recovery and not being injured in four weeks’ time for the race. Double your warm up and warm down. Remember you want to feel like you could have done more at the end of each session this week.
* Session 1 – Steady Run
• Warm up before you start the run. Try to avoid going straight off.
Mobility stretches
200m Jogs
• Main set – 60 minutes at Zone 2 (below race pace)
• Warm down
4 x 200m Strides (just above race pace)
Dynamic stretches. Don’t push the stretches just hold for 20 seconds each. Work from your feet up stretching each major running group muscle.
* Session 2 – Intervals on a track if possible
• Warm up (get into a routine of doing the same warm up before each training session or race)
Mobility stretches
400m Easy
Mobility stretches
400m Easy
• Main set (At race pace)
8 x 400m R90
• Warm down
Dynamic stretches. Don’t push the stretches just hold for 20 seconds each. Work from your feet up stretching each major running group muscle.
Total distance – 4000m
* Session 3 – Bike to Run
• Following your weekend bike give yourself 3-5 minutes rest as you stow away the bike then go for a 5km or max 30-minute run at a steady pace (Zone 2) whichever is the shortest.
