The beginning of the year is the perfect time to set new goals and challenge yourself. Today we will tell you about one of the most difficult goals - about IRONMAN. Yes, the impossible is possible and quite achievable. How to train correctly for a novice triathlete
By Alexander Zhukov, multiple IRONMAN, Comrades Marathon finisher and allXtri series starts - SWISSMAN, CELTMAN, NORSEMAN
- Basically, those who come to triathlon have already achieved a lot. They have a family, stable income, status, business and home. But they need something else. In my opinion, triathlon is now like space tourism - something that others cannot. Only a ticket to space can be bought, and money cannot become an ironman.
Even in Jim Collins's book From Good to Great, written for businessmen and about businessmen, there are quite a few examples from triathlon - and the audience understands them. Now among businessmen, entrepreneurs are increasingly talking not about how they drank a whole box of champagne on the weekend, but about how they traveled 200 kilometers on a bicycle. The people around him hear this and also pull themselves up, because they do not want to be worse. Measuring yachts is yesterday, now it is fashionable to measure triathlon successes.
Here are some tips for aspiring triathletes.
It's worth starting with setting a goal. Usually the goal is a competition from which you are separated by 6-18 months and intermediate starting starts. If you are serious, then choose a specific outcome as your goal, such as time at each stage. It is nice and useful to have an additional goal for the race, for example, to lose five kilograms or to get a tan evenly.
Exercise isn't just about running, cycling and swimming. The compulsory program includes the development of flexibility - this is both injury prevention and a significant bonus to speed on the water and on a bicycle.
Eliminate unnecessary things like boxing, soccer, or other contact sports. You don't need injuries.
Triathletes train almost daily, one, maximum two days are given for rest. True, even on a day of rest, you need to swim a little, but you don't need to run or pedal a bike.
The volume of the load is measured in hours. Average entry level: 5-10 hours per week. Intermediate advanced: 8-14 hours. Advanced: 15-20 hours a week. Anything over and above is possible only in professional sports. An amateur who has a family and a job should not train 25-35 hours a week.
Quite simply, the average workout ratio per week should be as follows: two pool workouts, two cycling workouts, two running workouts, one bike + running blended workout, and two strength workouts.
Find a good coach. It will help you to correctly plan your workload and training schedule, as well as save energy, money and time. For beginners who train without a coach, a lot of resources are spent on buying unnecessary or inappropriate equipment, as well as on recovering from injuries and starts that were beyond their strength.
Take care of your own equipment: bike, wetsuit and watch.
The triathlete's diet should be balanced. Fiber, vegetables, fruits, high-quality protein in the form of fish and meat - all products must energetically provide your load (that is, cover all calorie consumption). Needless to say, responsible triathletes don't drink alcohol or eat fast food.
Good advice: when racing, it's best to try to swim as quickly as possible so that no one rides off on your bike. Where to train
Open water in Moscow is not really needed: there is enough of it both on trips, and at training sessions, and at training camps. But if you really want to, then the best place is the beach in Rublevo.
There is only one safe track for a road bike, and it is in Krylatskoye. An alternative is a mountain bike in the Bitsevsky forest, a machine (a bike mounted on a special support with adjustable load) or a Wattbike at home or in a specialized club. And of course the trips: Spain and the south of France are the best destinations.
For running, the best routes are on Vorobyovy Gory, in Bitsa, in Izmailovo, in Serebryany Bor, Losiny Island and in the same Krylatsky.
What are the triathlons
Super sprint: swimming - 300 meters, cycling - 8 kilometers and cross - 2 kilometers.
Sprint: swimming - 750 meters, cycling - 20 kilometers and cross - 5 kilometers.
Standard (Olympic) distance: swimming - 1,500 meters, cycling - 40 kilometers and running - 10 kilometers.
IRONMAN 70.3, or "semi-iron" distance: swimming - 1.93 kilometers, cycling - 90 kilometers and running - 21.1 kilometers (half marathon).
IRONMAN: swimming - 3.86 kilometers, cycling - 180 kilometers and marathon - 42.195 kilometers.
Ultratriathlon (full IRONMAN distance, increased several times) is a double, triple ultratriathlon and decatriathlon (ten IRONMAN starts in ten days).
IRONMAN guide: how to prepare for one of the toughest races in the world. Image number 3 Photo: flickr.com
Triathletes' stories
Alexey Komissarov, Director of the Industrial Development Fund, Head of the Entrepreneurial Leadership Department of the Skolkovo Business School, trains with Alexander Zhukov
- It all started when my friend gave me a certificate for participation in the extreme Baikal marathon for my birthday. I had only four months before the start and the best coach in the world, who said: "The main thing is to prepare without injuries and finish with a smile on your face." And so it was: at the finish line, I thought not about how tired I was, but about the fact that I wanted new challenges. For example, such as IRONMAN. When he told the coach about this, he made a separate meeting for me, at which he asked me to think carefully about why I needed this, and even tried to dissuade me. The meaning of his arguments and the importance of this meeting became clear to me later: you become "iron" not during the competition, but in the process of preparation.
Maria Kolosova, businesswoman, triathlete, mother of four children, trains with Alexander Zhukov
- I fell off the bike and injured my legs while running. It hurt, but it hurt even more. After all, an injury is a break in training, the need to go back a few steps. Then I realized that it is mainly those who break the rules set by the coach, and those who do not listen to their body and rape it, are injured. Warm-ups, exercises that strengthen the foot and ankle, stretching, rest, the right shoes and clothes, as well as the rule “do nothing through pain” and “follow the coach's instructions exactly” - all this significantly reduces the risk of injury.
Evgeny Birin, businessman, triathlete, trains with Alexander Zhukov
- I got involved in triathlon out of stupidity. I argued with a friend that I would prepare for IRONMAN from scratch in a year. Needless to say, I couldn’t swim, I hadn’t had a bicycle for a long time, but I was overweight. But there was no way to give up.
It should be added that on his first IRONMAN Evgeniy showed a brilliant result - 10 hours 13 minutes (which is half an hour faster than the "planned" time), but he finished crawling, literally losing consciousness. Each athlete receives a plan from the trainer, which indicates the speed and power to work at each kilometer of the race. This plan is developed by the trainer based on tests and control trainings. The plan also includes nutrition - what and how much an athlete should eat and drink throughout the competition. Birin fulfilled the plan brilliantly, but five kilometers before the finish, feeling the reserve of strength, he decided to increase the pace. Thus, Eugene, quickly exhausting the possibilities of an already tired body, fell ten meters before the finish line and crawled across the finish line.
Alexey Panferov, businessman, managing partner of a large investment company, marathon runner and triathlete
- I'll tell you a secret: anyone can prepare for a triathlon in three months. We are, of course, talking about short triathlon distances. Another thing is IRONMAN and ultratriathlon. This is a long-term bet with oneself, a test of their own will and discipline: very few people can plan their life for two years in advance, let alone subordinate these two years to a tough regimen and training. In this case, you need to give up partying, wine and other pleasures. So everyone who says that IRONMAN is easy, that you never want to give up everything, are lying.
Triathlon is about overcoming. In my opinion, all these stories about endorphins and hormones of happiness are pure fiction. You suffer all the time - you suffer in training, in between training, when you think about your next training, in the distance and in competition. It's like learning a foreign language: you suffer, and then suddenly you realize that you can speak another language. So it is here: you, cursing everything, think about how hard and difficult it is for you, and then you take and overcome yourself. I have never seriously thought about giving up - in my opinion, only weak people want this. And I'm strong. Even if nothing succeeds, even if start after start fails, it turns me on even more.
Throwing yourself out of your comfort zone, driving yourself into a stressful state and realizing that you can handle it - that's why people go to triathlon. There is not much pleasure from the triathlon itself, but there is pleasure from overcoming yourself when you realize that you have done it. And it is quite possible to prepare for IRONMAN in 9-12 months, the main thing is to train at least seven hours a week, continuously and systematically, without missing or postponing classes. Consistency and system are triathlete's best friends.
Five years ago, I was diagnosed with kidney cancer - before the competition I was forced to undergo a full clinical examination, which helped to identify the problem. As the doctors later explained, in the body of people involved in sports and cyclic exercise, the enzyme creatine phosphokinase (CPK) is produced. The more sport you have in your life, the higher your enzyme level. And this enzyme has the ability to "envelop" all foreign formations in the body and slightly inhibit their development. So CPK enveloped my tumor (if not for it, the tumor would probably have ruptured earlier). I underwent an urgent operation and removed the kidney and its periphery.
After the operation, I returned to sports in a week. Yes, it was a risk, yes, it was an overcoming, but I was sure that I could afford it. I thought that I have many goals, and I just cannot sit and wait for the months prescribed by the doctors to pass. In the end, one thing will pass - another may get sick, but I have no time to wait. I value every day of my life very much, I have my own goal for every day of the year.
