Train TRI
Redefining the Off-Season Why you should rethink your YTP
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By Chris Toriggino
here was a time when only one Ironman-distance race existed, the Hawaiian Ironman in 1978. Fast-forward 35 years. Now, there are 32 Ironmandistance triathlons held every year and all around the world, with 15 events in North America; there are also 59 half Ironman-distance races per year, 30 of them in North America. And these are just the World Triathlon Corporation-sponsored events. With thousands of other corporate and independent races occurring worldwide annually, you can race a triathlon any time of year and in any corner of the world. As a result, a triathlete needs to train consistently throughout the year in order to improve performance and remain race ready. Whether competing many times throughout the year or peaking for only one race, consistent training year after year is a hallmark characteristic of all successful endurance athletes. The caveat here, however, is that training phases are variable. The days of an unfocused off-season are over. Goals, objectives, intensities, and training session duration
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all change during the yearly training plan (YTP), depending on the athlete’s training phase. Let’s review some exercise physiology principles. The idea behind training is to induce an overload. Overload is a stress that produces a strain, which results in a response. For this equation to work and the athlete to continually improve, stress must increase over time. In other words, if I run the same route at the same pace every day for six months, I will not see an improvement in performance; I need to run multiple distances over varying terrains at prescribed intensities to see improvement. This increase in training stress over time is called progression. In addition, adaptations that occur to an athlete are specific to the stress that is induced; if I am training for a marathon, swimming ten hours per week will have little effect on my running performance. The response to the appropriate exercise stress is improved aerobic capacity and more efficient fat metabolism, both of which are integral to endurance performance. In 1940, the Soviets implemented the idea of periodization, which
photography by foto Hogg