BRAT coach Russ Hall provides an ideal session to simulate the bike-run section of a sprint-distance race...
To get a good feel for race pace – and confidence boost – it’s best to undertake this session when fresh.
You don’t need to be fully tapered (rested) as you would for race day, but being able to hit race intensities, or close to, will give the best simulation and also a better benchmark for what you can achieve.
For this session you’ll need: bike (or turbo or rollers), helmet, bike shoes, run shoes, tri kit.
T2 masterclass
Warm-up
5mins easy riding; 10mins moderate, including 5 x 30secs seated hard efforts every 2mins.
Main session
30mins riding at perceived race effort. Dismount, run with bike 30m to transition. Stow bike, unclip helmet, slip on shoes. Run 10mins at target race pace, designate a finishing line and run to it as you would in an actual race.
Cool-down
5mins easy run or ride.
Performance benefits
The session isn’t too demanding so can be repeated regularly without taking too much time or leaving you too fatigued for future training.
It will improve fitness and speed and, by looking at distance covered, can provide a good benchmark for what’s achievable for race day.
Mental benefits
If completed regularly, T2 will become a breeze and you’ll be assured that you can not only cover the sprint distance but push towards a competitive effort on race day.
Physiological benefits
This session teaches the body it can cope with the rigours of higher intensity. For example, running off the bike has particular demands so ride out of the saddle on the way to T2 to wake the glutes and hamstrings up a little.
Adapt for Ironman
Make the session longer and adjust pacing accordingly. The transition aspect remains the same, but because they’re a much smaller part of iron-distance racing, getting them right is more important than being fast.
(Images: Romilly Lockyer)
For lots more sub-1hr workouts head to our Training section