4 Things to Consider When Tackling a Triathlon/Ironman
Endurance sports has become increasingly popular over the past few years. This may have been helped by the flexible working in many sectors, meaning that millions of workers in the UK now have an extra few hours during the week to exercise. Participating in Triathlons or Ironman events require dedication to three separate disciplines: cycling, running, and swimming. The training can be grueling, requiring hours of training every week, including strength sessions, running and cycling sessions which can be quite long, and frequent trips to the pool.
Here are a few tips if you think that you may fancy getting into some endurance events over the next year:
1. Injuries Happen
Even with careful programming, injuries can happen when training for endurance events. The amount of strain going through the body can be huge, especially when you edge closer to the events. This training volume combined with work stress and a busy family life can cause the body to breakdown. As well as this attritional type of injury, traumatic injuries can happen, particularly in cycling.
2. Your Body Is Stronger Than You Think
The mental fortitude required is often spoken about in endurance events. The long, cold, wet evenings on the bike, the early morning swims, the strength sessions when your body just doesn’t feel like it. You may feel like you hit plateaus in your training, and that you’re just not cut out for it. Pushing past these barriers can achieve amazing results. In reality, sometimes all it takes is a few days of extra calories, or a reduction in volume for a week, and these barriers can be overcome.
3. Sleep Is A Miracle Drug
Getting quality sleep is essential for both mental and physical performance. Lulls in energy along with an inability to recover from training should be an alarm bell taht you need to get more sleep, particularly during your standard working days, which are Monday to Friday for most. A sleep deficit will compound over the weeks and months, and can lead to serious injuries, due to breaking down of muscles, tendons, and bone. Decreased sleep can also negatively affect your motivation to train. Prioritising sleep over things like television and social media in the evenings will give you the best opportunity to succeed and remain injury free.
4. Time Management Can Skyrocket Your Training
Juggling three different sports as well as strength training can be very challenging. Effective time management and planning is required so that each discipline gets the required contact time. 'Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail’. With work and social commitments, it is important to ensure that you’re not feeling overwhelmed. Planning your training sessions 1-2 weeks in advance can ensure that stress is kept to a minimum and that you’re not constantly missing sessions, or trying to squeeze too many into a narrow window of only a few days.
If you have any questions on whether physio is the best option for you, or you have any questions about MVMNT in general, feel free to contact via email.
- Jay Towolawi, Specialist Sports Physiotherapist and MVMNT Founder.