At-Home Triathlon Training Tips for a Faster Race Season

Other than improving fitness with swimming, biking and running, there are many other areas of triathlon that may be overlooked and/or neglected during training. Here are some skills triathletes can continue to improve on, while staying at home, to prepare for a faster race season. Small changes can add up to big gains in time, especially for sprint to Olympic distance triathlons. 

THE SWIM

• Strength: The pools may be closed, but you can still perform swim specific strength exercises at home for injury prevention and speed once they open again. Try this stretch cord strength session with 6x Ironman World Champion, Dave Scott. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZzzBT2jsnA

TRANSITION 1 (T1): Transition truly is the fourth discipline in triathlon and contributes to your overall time. If you don’t practice, you will not get faster. Don’t let your last race be the last time you did a transition.

• Driveway transitions: Right outside your door, practice T1 and T2 transitions in the driveway. Set everything up as you would for a race. Practice T1, ride around the block and then practice T2. 

• Wetsuit: Practice running while unzipping your wetsuit as you pretend to run into T1. Practice getting your wetsuit off as fast as possible and time yourself.

THE BIKE 

• Trainer: It may not be as exciting as being outside, but don’t overlook the benefits of a trainer workout. Inside, is a controlled environment, where you can have efficient workouts within an hour. You have more control over target watts and/or heart rate for those harder interval days. There’s no coasting, so one-hour workouts can be highly effective. Try these virtual workouts with  former professional cyclist and Ironman finisher, Kevin Livingston, from his Pedal Hard studio in Austin, TX. https://www.pedalhard.com/virtual-training

• Bike Handling Skills: You can practice skills such as cornering, accelerating out of a corner, tire bumps and bottle hand-ups. You can practice these in your backyard, driveway, or an open parking lot. Have fun with family and have them help you with these drills, or even have them do these with you. 

• Practice Changing a Flat: Expect the best, prepare for the worst. Getting a flat does not need to be the end of your race, especially in a longer distance race. It’s also a way to avoid a DNF in any race. This is a great skill to practice at home, or teach your kids how to change a tire, while you practice your skills. 

TRANSITION 2 (T2)

• Practice the Flying Dismount: Practice this on your home trainer first, then in some grass, then move to the pavement. This skill takes practice before feeling comfortable enough to try it in a race. Start with tennis shoes first. Then practice taking your feet out of your cycling shoes, and pedaling with your feet on top of them, before dismounting. 

• Running with Your Bike: In triathlon, you need to run your bike out of transition and then run it back into transition. If you become more comfortable running with your bike, you can pick up the pace without losing control of it. 

• No Socks: Try cycling and running without socks on one of your brick workout days, so you know what to expect when you go without socks for your next sprint.

• Bungee Laces: Now is the time to order bungee laces and try them out. Having bungee laces can definitely help save time in T2. (Lock Laces, Nathan Lock, etc.)

• Keep Running: Once you get to T2, take your helmet off, put your running shoes on and practice doing everything else while you run out of T2. Practice putting on your race belt, visor, sunglasses, etc. while on the move.  

THE RUN

• Add intensity: How can you improve run speed and stay close to home? Add some strength and intensity a couple times each week to a shorter run by including hill repeats or adding a tempo effort. Here is an  article on hill training from Coach Andrew:

• Participate in a Virtual Race Series: Test your speed on a road 5k or 10k by participating in a virtual race series. 

• Strength Training: Triathletes should be strength training year-round. During tri season, the strength commonly becomes neglected. Strength workouts do not need to be long and a fancy home gym is not needed. You can get an effective strength session by only using your body weight in addition to one or more simple items, such as a resistance band, a set of dumbbells, or a medicine ball. Don’t let the closing of your gym be the reason you stop strength training. It’s also important to continue to incorporate stability, mobility and flexibility training as well. 

What Else Can You Be Doing?

• Sleep More: Sleep is one of the best recovery tools you have. With more time at home, now is the time to make sure you are getting eight hours of sleep each night. This won’t just help you feel better during training, it will also boost your immune system! 

• Review Race Rules: Know the rules of racing, especially, if you are new to triathlon. You don’t want to spend time training and then get 2-4 minutes of penalties, or even disqualified, because you did not know the rules. You can find some of the most violated rules here: https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Triathlon/About/Multisport/Competitive-Rules/Most-Common-Rules-Violations

• Continue to Support Local Bike and Run Stores: Your local bike and running stores still need your support. This is a great time to get new bike tubes, CO2, tools, tune-up, laces, socks, running shoes, etc. Maybe your bike needs a full tune-up and/or wash? Many local stores are providing services and are taking orders to be picked up curbside, shipped, or even delivered to your door. Give your local stores a call to check the services they are providing during this time. They will appreciate your support! 

• Review your Race Checklist: Is there anything that needs replacing from last season? Now is the time to take inventory of what you have and what you need for training and racing. Here is a sample Race Checklist from USA Triathlon: 

• Update Your USAT Membership: This is a time to check your membership status. Did your USA Triathlon membership expire? Did you lose your USAT card? To check your membership status, go to: https://membership.usatriathlon.org/Account/Login?ReturnUrl=%2F