How to get a PR on your next triathlon 

Peak performances are always satisfying, but they don’t happen by accident. They occurs after months of hard work, structured and consistent training and, most importantly, planning every aspect of your racing. 

Unfortunately to race fast is not about taking that special nutritional supplement, getting a new bike/equipment or buying a pair of running shoes that "claim" to make you run efficiently, it's actually much "simpler" and cheaper than that!

However, simply trying to race faster over an entire triathlon is to vague a goal. If you’re looking to set a PR (personal record), you need to consider the elements that can affect you. 

For example, let's talk about the swim in triathlon - Few athletes know (or realize) that a poor swim fitness will lead you to a poor race performance, especially on the run. If you're not getting out of the water "fresh", the accumulated fatigue, will be noticed on the second half of the run, if not earlier. So no matter how good of a runner you are, if you're already fatigued from the swim and/or bike, you will not perform as well as you think. Don't blame your running fitness, blame instead, your swim fitness !

For a great performance, you’ll be looking to maximize the benefits of all the things you can control and minimize the dangers from the things you can’t. This not only means consistent, progressive training, but also taking the time to analyze yourself (weaknesses) and your target race (course suits your strengths?). By doing so you can prepare a plan to ensure you get the best out of yourself and all other triathlon elements when it matters most.

In other words, you’re “stacking” together all the factors of a stellar performance so they drop into place perfectly on race day and carry you to a new PR.

How to do it

 Most improvements , and generally the biggest improvements, can be made in areas of weakness. For instance, getting to the pool regularly to work on your technique, developing strength on the bike or shedding some excess weight to improve your running ability.

* Eating right and fueling up well will also make a big difference, specially if you’re currently just surviving on junk or convenience food. Many athletes don't pay necessary attention to nutrition DURING workouts. Fueling properly during workouts will also benefit your recovery.

* What you’re looking for is relevant improvements in the areas of your weakness. So instead of adding an extra 30 to 45 min. aerobic run on your weekly training, focus on improving mobility, strength and elasticity ! Then instead of a marginal gain of 1-2% the extra endurance workout will give you, you can get as much as 10%!

* Work on the foundation and not much on endurance! What we lack the most is what we lose as we get older - Mobility, Speed, Strength/power and Elasticity. As you age you're not getting slower due to lack of endurance. Endurance training starts when you're born with the first beats of your heart, so the older you are the more endurance you have!

Talking percentages

How much difference can an improvement of 1% actually make? Over the course of 2 hours plus race, it can get you across the finish line a lot sooner than you might expect. For example:

*1% off a 2:30hr Olympic distance triathlon equates to 1:18 mins quicker.

*1% off a 5:15hr half ironman race equates to 5:15 mins quicker

*1% of a 13:30hr Ironman race equates to 8:06 mins quicker

Now think of how much time you’ll save if you can make a 1% gain in more than one area…But have one thing in mind: the amount of improvement depends upon where you started.

If you’re a beginner, you could see your speed improve by 10% or more over each training session in a month. Conversely, a seasoned racer may find it takes a winter’s worth of training to make 3% gain.

Technology-wise, a good bike fitting where you cane be (in that order) comfortable, more powerful and more aerodynamic, could save you over a minute over 25 miles bike leg. That’s just one element of your PR. If you combine that with drafting on the swim, perfect nutrition and hydration, losing 4lbs of fat, you could save up to 7 mins.

The gains are there to be had by all. They just require a little planning and a realistic appraisal of your abilities and goals. Look towards the areas where you know you can improve. Work hard on these and make small advances in each and when added together you’ll shave minutes off your time. Remember Triathlon is swimbikerun and not Swim + Bike + Run. All 3 disciplines need to complement each other, when training what you do on the swim, will affect your bike and run and vice versa. 

Train smart, race faster !

Sergio Borges