Tag: race season

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Training

From Trainer to Trail: Adapting Indoor Workouts for Outdoor Training

From Trainer to Trail: Adapting Indoor Workouts for Outdoor Training

As the weather transitions and the promise of spring beckons, it’s time to dust off your Sunday bests and get ready to ride outdoors. While trainer sessions have allowed you to develop key components of fitness, adapting to the dynamic conditions of outdoor cycling requires some adjustments. 

Understanding the Differences

Environmental Factors

For some climates, spring brings wind, rain, and fluctuating temperatures that can impact your ride. Unlike the controlled environment of indoor training, outdoor riding requires adaptability to changing conditions. Wind resistance can significantly alter your power output, making pacing more challenging. Rain can create slippery surfaces, requiring more caution in handling, braking, and cornering. Temperature swings might mean you need a dress change mid-ride.

Prepare for these factors by checking weather conditions before heading out. Plan your route with bailout options in case of worsening weather, and dress in layers to ensure you remain comfortable and safe.

Practicing riding in various conditions can improve your overall adaptability and confidence when faced with unexpected elements. Not to mention that you can’t control the weather on your target events. 

Bike Handling & Terrain

Indoor training limits your exposure to real-world cycling skills such as cornering, descending, and adjusting for varying road conditions.

Spring is the perfect time to refresh these skills. Outdoor cycling requires the ability to react to obstacles such as potholes, gravel patches, traffic, and even wildlife. In contrast to the predictability of an indoor trainer, your reflexes must be sharp and your bike control precise.

If a skills clinic isn’t available via your local bike club, a great way to regain handling confidence is to practice slow-speed maneuvers in an open area before heading onto the roads – closed parking lots are ideal.

Working on balance, braking control, and navigating tight turns will ease the transition back to outdoor conditions. Riding on mixed terrain, whether rolling hills or technical descents, will also help remind you of correct shifting, gearing, and weight distribution for optimal efficiency.

The Right Data

Indoors, your power and effort can be consistent, but outdoors, wind resistance, terrain changes, and traffic influence effort distribution. Learning to pace yourself accordingly is key. For instance, maintaining a set power output indoors is straightforward, but outside, you may have to surge on climbs, ease up in a tailwind, or push harder against a headwind.

One way to train for this variability is to use lap averages on your recording device rather than the total average. For example, if you are maintaining power/heart rate/perceived exertion on the flats but have to go above this on a hill, simply hit the lap button once you can maintain the right measure again. This helps you focus on the correct time in zone rather than chasing an overall average. 

How to Adapt Your Indoor Workouts

A Gradual Transition

Start by replacing one or two indoor sessions per week with outdoor rides. This allows your body to adjust to changing conditions while maintaining consistency in training. Sudden shifts to all-outdoor riding can lead to fatigue or even injuries, as your body is no longer supported by the controlled resistance of an indoor trainer.

  • Example: If you typically do VO2 max intervals indoors, find a steady climb or stretch of road to replicate these efforts. Uphill efforts are excellent for maintaining steady power output and simulating trainer-based efforts in real-world conditions.
  • Example: Swap an indoor endurance ride for a steady, long outdoor ride to build real-world endurance. Keeping your power, heart rate, or perceived exertion in line with what was prescribed as best as possible and practicing sustained efforts over varied terrain will make your long rides more effective.

Mimic Structure Outdoors

To retain the benefits of structured training, plan outdoor rides that match the goal adaptation of indoor intervals. Use a power meter or heart rate monitor to stay within target zones and replicate your trainer’s precision outdoors.

  • Threshold Intervals: Find a long, uninterrupted stretch of road or a moderate climb where you can sustain effort without frequent stops.
  • Sprint Workouts: Use road signs or natural markers to time your sprints. This keeps the workout engaging and sharpens acceleration skills. A benefit of sprinting outdoors is that you can work on your sprint technique. Have someone record you sprinting so you can compare against professional sprinters’ videos.
  • VO2Max Intervals: Shorter and steeper hills are perfect for VO2Max intervals. Find a hill where you can ride at the required output for the duration.

Refine Bike Handling Skills

Riding outside provides an opportunity to regain confidence in bike handling. Dedicate time to:

  • Practicing cornering and descending to rebuild fluidity and efficiency. A traffic-free (or traffic light) environment can be key to this, so timing rides when most people aren’t driving is sometimes important. 
  • Riding in different positions (on the drops, out of the saddle, etc.) to improve comfort and aerodynamics. Try to make a mental note of all the times you break from the position, then aim to best this next ride.
  • Navigating group rides to reintroduce drafting and pacing dynamics. This also gives you a much-needed social boost and a nice reminder of why you, almost certainly, started riding in the first place. 

Riding with others is a great way to practice real-world skills. Group rides can help you get accustomed to pack dynamics and riding closely with others, which is essential for any draft legal event or goal.

Adjust for Weather

Unlike winter, where you might train indoors to avoid extreme cold, spring weather is unpredictable. Be prepared by:

  • Dressing in layers to regulate body temperature and avoid overheating or chilling. Most jerseys are flexible enough to carry those layers if you need to take them off, but saddlebacks are also a good idea.
  • Checking forecasts and wind conditions before heading out to avoid getting caught in sudden weather shifts. Plan routes where you head into the wind at the start, this means a tailwind on the way home when you might be more fatigued. 
  • Planning routes that allow for bail-out options in case of rain, strong headwinds, or dangerous conditions. Let a family member or buddy know you’re heading out and opt for phone trackers so they can rescue you if you get a mechanical issue.

Being adaptable and prepared will allow you to enjoy outdoor riding without compromising your training quality.

Revise Your Fueling & Hydration Strategies

With indoor, controlled workouts, your fueling and hydration strategy is easy to implement, but outdoor rides demand more attention to this. The increased exposure to wind and sun, combined with longer durations, means that neglecting fueling can lead to energy crashes (bonking) or dehydration.

  • Practice consuming fluids and fuel at regular intervals to prepare for longer rides and races. Set up an alarm on your phone or recording device to go off at 15-minute intervals as a reminder.
  • Experiment with different fueling and hydration strategies, such as different carb or sodium intake per hour, to find what works best for your body.

Incorporate Terrain-Specific Training

Spring is a great time to explore new routes and adapt to different terrains, especially if you have a goal event that has a high degree of needed skill, such as mountain biking or gravel. 

  • Climbing Practice: Find hilly routes to rebuild climbing strength and work on pacing strategies. Correct technique and position are important. Again, ask someone to record you climbing so you can compare it against tutorial videos online.
  • Wind Management: Ride in various wind conditions to practice pacing, positioning, and drafting skills. Riding in heavy wind can be character-building, but opt for headwind in the first half of your ride.
  • Gravel or Trail Rides: If your goals include off-road riding, spring is the ideal time to start working on bike handling over loose surfaces. Just be mindful that after heavy rain, the trails might be in worse condition than the roads.

Mental & Tactical Adaptation

While riding for hours indoors is as much a mental workout as it is physical, spring riding requires situational awareness. Focus on:

  • Reading the road and anticipating gear changes to improve efficiency.
  • Developing tactical awareness for group rides or events, such as when to push efforts or conserve energy.
  • Mentally adjusting to longer, more variable rides after winter’s structured sessions.

Final Thoughts

Spring offers the perfect opportunity to take your winter fitness outdoors and reintroduce the joys of real-world cycling. By gradually transitioning, mimicking structured workouts, refining handling skills, and adjusting for weather conditions, you’ll ensure a seamless and effective shift from the trainer to the trail. Whether you’re preparing for an event, a sportive, or just eager to enjoy the fresh air, embracing the transition properly will set you up for a strong season ahead.

Categories
Training

4 Questions To Ask Yourself When You Update Your Training Plan for a New Season

Do you want to improve your training?

The real key to improving your training lies in asking the right questions in the first place. To get the most out of your training this upcoming season, you need to be specific about the data points you are working with and have absolute clarity around where you are going to end up. By knowing the start and end points, you can fine-tune your training as the season progresses.

But first, how do you update your training plan for a new season? It all starts with asking the right questions.

Question 1 – What is my fitness?

Any athlete, regardless of their season goal, will benefit from knowing their current fitness. A robust training app like HumanGO will set your baseline, determined by how much training you have done in the previous 40 (or so) days.

Connect devices to set your current fitness

By connecting your wearable, HumanGO evaluates your training history and sets your current fitness. If you don’t have reliable data to reference, you can manually input key metrics, and Hugo (HumanGO’s virtual coach) will set it for you. Once you have this, you have your starting point.

Question 2 – What are my key metrics?

Now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Some may say Q2 should be, “What is my goal?” But this puts the cart before the horse—or the finish line before the work. Determining your thresholds, corresponding training zones, and capacity (fatigue tolerance) sets your training direction from day one and for the rest of the season as you optimize your training.

Test, test, test—for accurate data

Add a performance test to your training, ask Hugo to add one for you, do a lab test, take a known value from a recent training or racing bout, or even take a good guess using the “estimate threshold” feature in HumanGO. Get as accurate as you can—after all, it is the first big step in updating your training plan for the new season and making sure you start fresh with accurate data to drive every training session.

Question 3 – What is my goal?

Now, let’s talk about your finish line—your goal, your objective, your event. When updating your training plan for the new season, be realistic about how much time you can commit to your goal. If it’s a single-sport goal, consider cross-training or strength as part of the entire plan. If it’s a multi-sport goal, think seriously about how you can commit to each sport each week. Think holistically about how training fits into your life.

Your goal(s) can change and that’s okay

If things change, that’s okay! Hugo can recalculate training load and duration if things get a little wobbly—that’s the beauty of HumanGO. But it’s better to be realistic and set yourself up for success from the beginning.

It can also go the other way—you could excel and need to add more training! Wouldn’t that be great? The point is that data-driven decision-making is at the center of an optimized training plan. Give yourself enough time to train for your goal and consider adding a few shorter tests or supporting races along the way. Add these to your season and see Hugo put it all together.

Your training depends on your goal(s)

The specific requirements of your goal will determine your training. VO2 max workouts will show up more often in a short-course race plan than an ultra plan, for example—and these differences matter. Different races require different strategies.

Question 4 – How do I maintain my updated training plan?

Once you’ve cleaned up your training by establishing your fitness, performance metrics, and goals, Hugo will lead the way as you step into the new season.

But maintaining an updated plan means staying consistent and adjusting based on real-time data. Hugo will keep you in check, watching for anomalies in metrics, health, and subjective scores, ensuring your training remains on track and optimized.

Conclusion

Updating your training plan for a new season isn’t just about setting goals; it’s about ensuring that every session moves you closer to your best performance. By taking the time to reassess your fitness, define your key metrics, set realistic goals, and maintain consistency, you’ll start the season strong and keep progressing.

All the best with updating your training plan for the new season and fine-tuning your training strategy!

Categories
Training Tips

Maximizing Race Day Performance: Lessons from the Pros

triathletes performance on race day

Race day is where all the hard work, sweat, and dedication come together. Whether you’re tackling a triathlon, an open-water swim, or a grueling endurance race, the difference between a good performance and a great one comes down to preparation—not just physically, but mentally as well. In a recent webinar, endurance experts broke down the essential elements of race day success, covering everything from open-water swimming nerves to terrain-specific running strategies.

Here’s a deep dive into their insights to help you optimize your race day performance.

Mental Preparation for Race Day

One of the biggest challenges endurance athletes face isn’t just physical—it’s mental. Anxiety, fear of the unknown, and race-day jitters can significantly impact performance.

Managing Open-Water Swimming Anxiety

If you’re competing in a triathlon or open-water swim, nerves about the environment—especially in places like the San Francisco Bay—are completely normal. The key is reframing your mindset:

  • Understand the Environment: Unlike a pool, open water is unpredictable, but that doesn’t mean it’s unsafe. Knowing what to expect can help you manage fear.
  • Focus on Your Breath: The moment panic sets in, breathing becomes erratic. Practice deep, controlled breathing to keep your heart rate steady.
  • Simulate Race Conditions: Train in similar conditions before race day. If your race is in choppy water, find a lake or ocean spot to get accustomed to the movement.
  • Use Visualization Techniques: Picture yourself swimming smoothly and confidently in open water. The more you visualize success, the more natural it becomes.

Physical Preparation: Strength & Endurance Training

Training for an endurance race isn’t just about logging miles—it’s about training smart. Strength, endurance, and flexibility all play a role in maximizing your race day performance.

Strength Training for Endurance Athletes

Many endurance athletes underestimate the importance of strength training, but it’s a key component of success. Here’s why:

  • Improves Efficiency: Stronger muscles mean better movement economy, allowing you to perform longer with less fatigue.
  • Reduces Injury Risk: Strength training helps stabilize joints and reinforces proper movement patterns.
  • Boosts Power: Whether you’re climbing hills or sprinting to the finish line, strength gives you the power to push harder.

Incorporate compound movements like squats, deadlifts, and core work to build resilience and prevent breakdown over long distances.

Course-Specific Training Strategies

Every racecourse presents unique challenges. Whether it’s a hilly terrain, technical descents, or urban environments, your training should mimic race conditions as closely as possible.

  • Hill Work: If your race has significant elevation changes, train on hills. Include both uphill and downhill running to build strength and control.
  • Trail vs. Pavement: If you’re running a trail race, spend time on technical terrain. If it’s a road race, focus on smooth, consistent pacing.
  • Weather Adaptation: If race day conditions are expected to be hot, train in warmer weather to acclimate your body.

Optimizing Race-Day Nutrition

Fueling properly before, during, and after the race is critical to maintaining performance and recovery.

Pre-Race Nutrition

  • Carbohydrate Loading: 48 hours before your race, gradually increase your carbohydrate intake to top off glycogen stores.
  • Hydration: Ensure you’re well-hydrated in the days leading up to the event—don’t just chug water on race morning.
  • Avoid Experimentation: Stick with foods and drinks you’ve used in training. Race day isn’t the time to try new gels or supplements.

During the Race

  • Consistent Energy Intake: Take in calories at regular intervals to avoid bonking. A mix of carbohydrates, electrolytes, and fluids is ideal.
  • Listen to Your Body: If you feel a dip in energy, adjust your fueling strategy accordingly. Every athlete processes fuel differently.

Post-Race Recovery

  • Rehydrate: Replace lost fluids with water and electrolytes.
  • Protein & Carbs: Within 30-60 minutes post-race, consume a balanced mix of protein and carbohydrates to jumpstart recovery.
  • Active Recovery: Light movement like walking or an easy spin can help flush out metabolic waste and reduce soreness.

Race Execution: Tactics for Success

Even with perfect training, race-day execution can make or break your performance.

Pacing Strategies

  • Start Smart: Going out too hard can lead to burnout later in the race. Control your effort in the first third.
  • Negative Splits: Aim to finish stronger than you start. Gradually increase your pace as the race progresses.
  • Heart Rate Monitoring: Using heart rate data can help you stay within your ideal effort zone and avoid overexertion.

Transitions in Triathlons

For triathletes, fast transitions can shave valuable time off your total race.

  • Practice Transitions: Rehearse swim-to-bike and bike-to-run transitions so they become second nature.
  • Lay Out Gear Efficiently: Organize your transition area for quick access.
  • Use a Checklist: A transition checklist ensures you don’t forget essentials like nutrition, race bibs, or sunglasses.

Mental Toughness on Race Day

When fatigue sets in and doubt creeps up, mental toughness becomes your biggest asset.

  • Break the Race Into Sections: Instead of thinking about the entire race, focus on small, manageable goals.
  • Mantras & Positive Self-Talk: Remind yourself of your training and repeat affirmations like “I am strong” or “One step at a time.”
  • Embrace the Challenge: Expect discomfort and embrace it as part of the race experience.

Final Thoughts

Your race day performance is a culmination of physical preparation, mental resilience, and strategic execution. By training with purpose, optimizing nutrition, and refining race-day tactics, you can set yourself up for a strong finish. Whether you’re a seasoned competitor or tackling your first endurance event, implementing these expert insights will help you perform at your best when it matters most.

Now, it’s time to put these strategies into practice. Race day success starts long before the starting gun—so prepare, trust your training, and go crush it!

Watch the webinar here:

Categories
Training Training Tips

Maximize Your Race Season Learnings to Excel in the Opportunity Season

Opportunity season, for a triathlete, is the conclusion of a race season. It’s not just a time to reflect, but to chart the course for future improvements. Each race is an invaluable source of data, providing insights into both strengths and weaknesses that can shape training priorities.

The “off-season,” or what we’ll call the Opportunity Season, is a critical time for transforming these learnings into actionable improvements that will elevate your performance for the following year.

Here’s how to evaluate your race season and maximize the Opportunity Season to refine your approach.

What to Learn From Your Race Season

Every race you complete offers important insights about your physical capabilities, race strategy, nutrition, and mental game. Here are some key areas to analyze when reviewing your race data:

  1. Performance Consistency: Look for patterns in how you performed across different races. Were there noticeable declines in energy in the latter stages of your race? Did you struggle to maintain a pace in certain conditions, or on specific terrains? By evaluating the consistency of your performance, you can identify the energy systems and muscle groups that may require more focus during the Opportunity Season.
  2. Pacing and Fatigue: Did you go out too hard and fade in the later stages of the race, or did you conserve too much energy early on? Analyzing your pacing strategy—using metrics such as pace or power output—can highlight areas where better pacing could have improved your performance.
  3. Race Transitions: Triathletes often overlook the importance of transitions, but faster transitions can save significant time. Reflect on whether you struggled in T1 or T2 and if you lost valuable seconds due to lack of organization or focus. Improving your transitions can give you a competitive edge without demanding major physiological changes.
  4. Swim, Bike, Run Splits: Identify whether one discipline consistently held you back. Did your swim lag behind your competitors, or did your bike split prevent you from having a strong run finish? Recognizing weaknesses in specific legs can inform how you shift your training focus during the Opportunity Season.
  5. Nutrition and Hydration: Poor nutrition or hydration strategies can derail an otherwise strong race. Analyze your fueling and hydration habits across your races—did you experience bonking, cramps, or GI distress? These issues often signal that adjustments are needed, which can be worked on during lower-intensity Opportunity Season training.

Shaping Your Opportunity Season

Once you have a clear understanding of the key takeaways from your race season, the Opportunity Season becomes the time to work on those weak points. Here’s how to use this phase effectively:

  1. Set Clear Priorities: Whether you need to improve your bike strength, refine your run form, or focus on swim technique, the Opportunity Season is your time to emphasize skill development and shift sport distribution. Adjust your training to focus on weaknesses while maintaining your strengths. This helps you become a more well-rounded triathlete for the next season.
  2. Leverage AI for Personalization: Humango uses AI-driven algorithms to tailor your training. You can customize the sport distribution of training sessions, focusing on one sport more heavily if it needs improvement. AI can also guide you in achieving specific goals—whether that’s increasing your VO2 max through high-intensity interval training or refining endurance capacity with lower-intensity aerobic work.
  3. Work on Energy Systems: Every race requires different energy systems, from anaerobic power in sprints to aerobic endurance in long-distance events. By analyzing your data, you can identify which energy systems require more emphasis. Humango’s training platform allows you to shift training towards the desired energy system to meet your specific needs, whether it’s building more power on the bike or developing greater endurance in the run.
  4. Focus on Mental and Technical Skills: The Opportunity Season isn’t only about physical fitness. Mental toughness, race strategy, and technical skills are just as important. Spend time practicing race scenarios, refining your pacing, or enhancing your transition efficiency.
  5. Recovery and Strength: Use this time to focus on strength training and recovery techniques. Injury prevention, mobility work, and developing core strength can significantly improve your performance while minimizing the risk of burnout or overtraining. Humango can shift program emphasis to focus more on building strength.

Conclusion

The Opportunity Season is a pivotal part of a triathlete’s annual training cycle. By critically analyzing race data and using Humango’s AI-driven platform to guide and personalize your training, you can address weaknesses and emerge stronger. Remember, next year’s success starts now—embrace this Opportunity Season to push your limits and refine your craft.

Lance Watson is a world-renowned triathlon coach with over 30 years of experience, having guided athletes to Olympic Gold, Long Distance Triathlon victories, and World Championship titles. Watson is a holistic coach with a passion for training technology who guides both novice and professional athletes. Lance is the founder of LifeSport Coaching and is a coaching advisor with Humango, leveraging AI to enhance athlete training and performance.