By now you should have one or two A Races in which you are looking to peak for this season. From your first A Race count back 22 -24 weeks, this is when base training should begin.
Your Base training should last between 12-14 weeks.
The transition from Base to build training should occur after this.
BUILD
The build phase, focuses on an increase in training intensity. Here's where you'll introduce speedwork across all disciplines, decrease volume, and also work on sport-specific skills and drills. The build phase is more intense than the base phase and is likely to leave you feeling tired and challenged. Your body is working hard and constantly adapting to the training stress placed on it during the build phase. As tired as you might be feeling, take comfort from the knowledge that you are massively increasing your body's capacity for sustained effort at a higher work rate. Within the build period of your training programme you will perform workouts that are designed to elevate your anaerobic threshold (anaerobic threshold training). In doing this, your body will be able to work at higher heart rates for longer periods of time without the build up of lactic acid, therefore your maximum sustainable pace (race pace) will be higher. Your muscles will also become more efficient at tolerating lactic acid and removing it quickly. This will enable you to get back to your race pace quickly after running or cycling up a hill when your muscles will probably have began to accumulate lactic acid. You will also perform speed training sessions that will improve your capacity to accelerate, initiate a change of pace, and again, improve your race pace. The ability to change pace in this way is essential during several stages throughout a race. This is the phase which most athletes find most difficult: physically, mentally, or both! Good coaching support is very helpful during the build phase. Depending on your A Race and ability you may want to include two build phases. Atheltes should go on a 3 week training period with one week recovery this would then progress to Build 2. (8-9weeks in duration). In the build period is where you would like to include a B race which would allow you to have a hard training day in all three sports. In build two especially this should occur and will allow you to practice transitions, racing nutrition etc.
Peak
This will be the most changelling period of your training season. This will be when serious atheltes can hold back and those with no control explode. Here you will cut back on training. Dont worry that doesnt mean you are not going to be training or will lose any speed or time in your A race it actually means the complete opposite. You need to hang in there now for the next three weeks and have plenty of faith that all those weeks of hard work will eventually soon pay off. In the base period you will not win the race but you can lose it !! The basics of this training is to reduce the volume of training while maintaining intensity over the next two weeks. I would suggest doing a minirace simualtion workout every third day. By doing this over the peak period you will come into race week in excellent form.
Here is a quick list to remember:
- Make your hard workouts minirace simulations
- Reduce long term fatigue gradually
- Rehearse and refine your transitions
- Rest and recover completely for each minirace simulation
- PREPARE YOUR RACE PLAN
This is it, its finally here. The final week the week you have been preparing for over the past several months. This week is going to feel easy dont worry. You will feel the need to go hard. Thats not a good idea. You will need to maintain the intensity from the pervious peak weeks. Start to taper your workout durations. Include two days of no training at all Commit to that race plan stragety you went over and over in the peak weeks.
Now go out and give it your all !!!
All that hard work will pay off and those goals WILL be achieved.
All that hard work will pay off and those goals WILL be achieved.
