Training Zones

              Triathletes in general are great at finding some sort of training plan or hiring a coach and following the prescribed sessions to a “T,” almost to a fault. However, how often do athletes sit back and consider why they are doing what they are doing? Any decent plan or knowledgeable coach will have a rhyme and reason for placing certain sessions at certain times and for the most part they will fall under the categories as either an aerobic, threshold, or anaerobic session.

                Training aerobically teaches your body to more effectively take up and use oxygen, improves your body’s ability to deliver blood to the working muscles, and improves your body’s overall economy leading to the ability to sustain higher paces at a lower effort level. Aerobic training can be targeted by performing shorter (3-5 min) intervals paired with a short recovery (1-2 min) or by performing low effort steady runs.

                At threshold effort, also known as tempo or lactate threshold,  your body cannot clear lactate as quickly as it is being produced and therefore it starts to accumulate in the blood. Generally this is an effort level that you can sustain for about an hour, typically closely correlated with 10k run or 40k bike time trial effort level. While you cannot train your body to clear lactate at a faster rate, you can train your body to delay the point where the accumulation begins. This is done through longer intervals (6-12 min) with 2-3 min rest or longer sustained “tempo” runs of 20-45 min.

                Anaerobic training consists of short (less than 2 minute) bursts followed by a long (3-4 min) recovery and is used to build leg strength and power and to improve your ability to buffer lactic acid. At this intensity, the body has to breakdown sugar without the use of oxygen which results in lactic acid quickly accumulating. This effort level should not be used in a race other than in a sprint to the finish because once that build up of lactate fatigue begins to set in, you have to dramatically slow your pace in order to recover if you can recover.

               As you can see, each type of training has its benefits and will all fit into a well-rounded training program at one time or another. The trick is figuring out how to place them into your training in order to optimize your training and improve your racing performance.