Liz Blatchford going long (ironman).
I’ve been holding out a while to write this blog but it’s with great excitement (and a definite amount of fear!) that i am announcing i will be doing my first Ironman in Melbourne in March. After making the switch in 2012 to racing 70.3s i knew Ironman was in my future, it was just a matter of when.
So right now i am 5 weeks back from a month long holiday in somewhat of a hurry to get ready for Auckland 70.3 Asia Pacific Champs on Jan 20th and then Melbourne in March. Even though it is still triathlon i feel there is so much to learn, so many miles to swim, bike, run and plenty learnt from years of ITU racing that i need to let go of. To guide me on this path i have decided to start working with Mat Steinmetz. Mat lives in Boulder and i will be basing myself there for the warmer 6 months of the year.
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Leanda Cave going back to ITU, targeting Commonwealth games
Complete article of the sun here. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/article4731160.ece
“I want to race in Glasgow and it would be great to be back on home soil and race with Helen and Non, we could have a really good team.”
It would be Cave’s third Commonwealth Games having won silver in Manchester in 2002 — the year she also became world short course champion — and finishing 13th in Melbourne four years later.
It could also give her the spur for one final shot at Olympic qualification in Brazil 2016.
Having never competed in the Games, she continued: “The Commonwealths would be a good indication whether I could go on to Rio.
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Should You Wear Racing Flats? (complete article here)
Racing Flats improve efficiency: It doesn’t take a PhD to understand that the less weight your foot has to lift with each stride, the easier it is to increase turnover and move forward. However, few runners know exactly how this drop in weight will translate into faster race times. Luckily, a group of researchers determined that the effect of extra weight on oxygen uptake is 1% per 100g per foot. Simply speaking, you can improve your VO2max by as much as 1-2% for every 3-4oz you’re able to cut from your shoes. That’s a pretty quick and easy way to improve without any extra work!
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Steal Craig Alexander’s Workouts from Triathlete europe.
Complete training formula here
Training Week: Running
STRENGTH WORKOUT (2×) / Hill repeats / Running the dunes
SPEED WORKOUT (2×) / Straight off the bike / 6×3 min., 2 min. recovery // Or 6×5 min., 2 min. recovery
LONG RUN (1–2×) / 1 hr. 20 min.–21⁄2 hr. either as a steady run, a negative split run, or longer intervals (greater than 5 min.) at goal race pace.
Training Week: Cycling
ENDURANCE RIDES (2×) / Long aerobic endurance ride: 4–51⁄2 hr., can incorporate hills
TIME-TRIAL SESSION / 4–5×10 km efforts at race pace (sustainable threshold) within a 2–21⁄2 hr. ride
SPEED WORKOUTS (1–2×) / 5×5 min. at race pace, 3 min. recoveries // Or 20×1 min. max efforts, 1 or 2 min. recoveries
RECOVERY RIDES (1–2×) / 11⁄2–3 hr. at low intensity
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