Triathlon
Open-water sighting, brick workouts, transitions, first sprint-tri.
13 articles · sorted by most recent
Swim Taper Length: Why Swimmers Taper 2 to 3 Weeks and Cyclists 7 to 10 Days
Swimmers taper 2 to 3 weeks and cyclists 7 to 10 days by habit, not proven physiology. The best pooled data points to about 2 weeks with a 41-60% volume cut.
First 70.3 Training Plan: How Many Hours a Week You Actually Need
Most first-timers can finish a 70.3 on 8 to 12 hours a week. In a study of 209 finishers, average weekly hours did not separate fast from slow (13.9 h average).
70.3 Brick Workouts: How Often and How Long Should You Do Them?
No trial has tested how many bricks a 70.3 needs. A sensible start: one short brick every 7-14 days, a 90-minute ride plus 20-minute run by build, and a race-pace brick every 4th weekend.
70.3 Training With a Full-Time Job: An 8-Hour Week That Works
Eight hours a week can get a working athlete through a 70.3. Put 2.5 to 3 hours on one long ride, keep the hard work short, and a missed session or rough week barely dents your fitness.
Masters Swim Squad vs Solo Lap Swimming: Why Structured Group Practice Breaks a CSS Plateau Solo Swimming Can't
Solo swimmers who hold one pace all season tend to plateau. A 6-week study found polarized training beat threshold-heavy work by 10x on 100m gains, the exact gap masters squads help close.
Open Water Marathon Swimming Pacing: How Non-Triathlete Swimmers Should Pace a 5K or 10K Open Water Race
Race a standalone 5K or 10K open water swim at about 92% of your calculated CSS, even split to 75%, then surge. Front-loading the effort, the triathlon way, costs you the back half.
Bilateral Breathing in Open Water: Why Triathletes Switch to One-Side Breathing at Race Pace
Bilateral breathing every 3 strokes delivers about 30 breaths a minute; one-side breathing every 2 strokes delivers about 40. That math flips once your swim leg hits race pace.
Sleeveless vs Full Sleeve Wetsuit for Triathletes: The Speed vs Shoulder-Mobility Trade-off
The one study built to compare sleeveless and full-sleeve wetsuits found no significant difference in shoulder muscle activity or stroke rate (n=8). Here's the real trade-off.
The Aero Position Power Trade-off: What CdA-vs-Watts Research Means for Your Ironman Bike Position
Most of the power you 'lose' in an aggressive tri position is fatigue, not the position — efficiency drops the same 2 points at every angle tested. Here's the real CdA-vs-watts break-even math.
Should You Run a Marathon Before Your First Ironman? The CTL and Recovery Math
Leave less than 16 weeks between a marathon and your first Ironman, and you can toe the line 20 to 40 fitness-score points short of your goal-pace target.
Triathlon Swim Start Seeding: The 30-Second Call That Costs You Two Minutes
Under-seed your swim wave and you swim alone, giving up close to two minutes versus your CSS. Here's the physics of drafting and a seeding framework for mass, wave, and rolling starts.
Brick Workout Frequency for 70.3 Athletes: The Minimum Effective Dose and Why More Is Not Better
One quality brick a week covers most of a 70.3 build. Running off the bike cuts 12-minute distance by 5.8% and takes 679 meters to feel normal.
Brick Workouts for Triathlon: What the Research Says vs. What Most Athletes Do
Stewart 2022 found mechanical efficiency drops from 48.2% to 42.1% after 40km cycling — the transient 'rubber-leg' phase averages 679m. Here's how to train it out.