How to Run Your Fastest 5K Ever

How to Run Your Fastest 5K Ever

by | Feb 6, 2022 | Altitude Training Information, Endurance, General Fitness

If you’re a beginner runner, 5 km is the perfect ‘first race” distance to prepare for. If you’re more experienced and enjoy speed, you can use the 5K distance as a platform to push faster times and try for new PBs. Regardless of your level or intention, completing a successful (and fast 5K) requires training and practice. Here are some tips on how to run your fastest 5K ever.

 

1. Have a Plan

 

 

Running a 5K fast is a challenge. And just like most other challenges in life, it helps to be prepared. So, unless your 5K is tomorrow, now is the time to make a plan. Start with answering, “what is your goal?”. Your goal should be realistic and dictated by how much time you can put into your training, how experienced you are and your current fitness level. 

Having a plan ensures you aren’t just training blindly or trying to run 5km every training session. You should have a comprehensive schedule that includes a balance of speed work, recovery, base runs and strength training. Keep on track with your plan by monitoring your heart rate and pace. 

In general, we recommend starting your training at least a month in advance. 3 months will give you plenty of time to get race ready, but it all comes back to your initial goal. Other variables like your fitness level and running experience will also play a part. Again, your plan should include a breakdown of your interval run days, base runs, strength/cross training and recovery to get the most out of your training.  

Strategies like building a tapering period into the days leading up to your race will ensure you aren’t weighed down by training and have given your body the chance to recover and re-energize. If you keep on training hard right up until the day of your race, it might actually hinder your performance!

If this is all new to you and you don’t know how to plan? Reach out to one of our coaches at Altitude! You can book a coach consult to come into the facility and talk about your goals and training needs here: SCHEDULE COACH CONSULT

 

2. Incorporate Intervals 

 

5Ks are fast-paced and usually over before you even know it. Be prepared to keep up with the pace and accelerate in key moments. In a marathon, you may get away with purely aerobic training. But in a 5K, you’ll want to work on what’s called your anaerobic energy system. Interval training (alternating between hard and easy efforts) will help increase your aerobic and anaerobic energy system. Need to pass someone quickly? Or finish pick your speed for the last leg of the race? You may need to tap in to your anaerobic energy system for the extra burst to make sure you reach your goal.   

 

3. Start (or Continue) Strength Training 

 

As runners, strength training can be a bit boring and feel unnecessary. But it’s actually a fundamental part of boosting speed and efficiency and protecting us from injury. Although the bulk of your training will be running, it would be a mistake to neglect strength.  

Strength training can improve the elastic capabilities of your muscles and tendons. While you run, your muscles are contracting and using energy. It’s hard work! What if there was something that could save you from burning through precious energy in a race? Well, by strength training and working on plyometrics, you can tap into that elastic energy and reduce the load on your muscles. We can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t want to take advantage of an energy save like that!

Strength training can also keep tissue strong and resilient to reduce chance of acute and chronic injury. Remember, running is an impact sport, and strength training can save you from the aches and pains you can suffer down the road. This will allow you to do what you love more often.  

 

 

 4. Know Your Target Pace

 

 

Like we mentioned earlier, having a goal is key to running a fast 5km. So you will need to set a base line at the beginning of your training so you know a pace you can sustain over the 5km.

If you are just starting to get into running, you may have no idea. Just going out on a run and experimenting with speeds can be an easy way to pinpoint your starting pace. Additionally, there are many free pace calculators on the internet to help you get a feel for pacing. Wearable tech – like a smart watch – can also be used to help track your pace in real time.

Remember, shaving off significant time on your pace doesn’t happen overnight, stick to the training plan and make adjustments. That being said this leads us into our next tip.  

 

 

5. Be Consistent 

 

We have emphasized the importance of having a plan a few times in this post, only because it is so important. But we all know that sometimes things get in the way and plans go out the window. And that’s okay! If you find yourself in a situation where you are falling off track, remember that doing something is better than nothing, even if it’s not exactly what you planned.  

As long as you are feeling good and pain-free, keep consistent with movement so that when your race day rolls around you aren’t coming into it from days (or even weeks) on the couch or at the desk. It can be helpful to create a Plan B workout for if you can’t make a run on a certain day – I.e., a quick 10-minute HIIT workout, a 30-minute walk during a conference call or some stretching at night to keep your body loose and mobile.  

It also helps to find a running partner to train with (ideally on the same plan!) that can help keep you accountable and just makes training more fun to engage with others.  

 

 

6. Work on Your Breath

 

 

You probably never thought you could be bad at something you do more than 20,000 times a day, but there are better ways to breathe and worse ways to breathe. And breathing can help you run a fast 5K. 

Developing good breathing patterns will help you get sufficient O2 to your limbs to help your engine keep gunning. The diaphragm is a massive muscle and we need it to work well to breathe well, therefore training it is important. Secondly, nose breathing can help with relaxing our blood vessels to increase blood flow an O2 delivery systemically.

What is a good breathing pattern and how can you practice good breathing? Here’s an example: Lay on your back, put your feet flat on the ground (hook lying position). Next, put one hand on your chest the other on your stomach. Take a deep breath in through your nose, you should feel your stomach rise and then your chest. Practice breathing in through your nose for 5 seconds and slowly exhaling out for 5 seconds. The bonus of doing this is decreasing your stress levels too, so give it a try.

 

7. Recover Well

 

 

It isn’t all about the training! Your ability to run your fastest 5K is influenced by your ability to recover well throughout training. Recovery is so important, because this is when your body fulfills the adaptations you work so hard to get from training, like stimulating more robust energy systems and stronger tissue.  

So how can you recovery well? It isn’t sexy like all the recovery modalities make it out to look like. Really you just need to focus on the basics – good nutrition, hydration and the most important, sleep. Once you’ve gotten that covered and do those few things then you can get into extra modalities like expensive massage guns, ice baths and red-light therapy.  

So there you have it, that’s how you can run your fastest 5K ever. Even just taking a few of these tips will set you on the right back towards running your fastest 5K ever. And remember, at the end of the day the most important thing is that you have fun and enjoy each step along the 5000 m course.

We’re here to help you optimize your prep for any race distance. Learn more about training options at Altitude here.

 

About the Author

About the Author

TJ McInnes

TJ McInnes is one of our Strength and Conditioning Coaches here at Altitude Athletics. He has a strong background in strength and conditioning and high performance coaching and is passionate about developing and delivering exercise programming that is tailored to his clients wants and needs. He has a particular interest in the athletic population and is constantly seeking a better understanding of the art and science of effective coaching.

A strong interest in sport and physical activity has led him to complete his Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology and Physical Education at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo. He went on to complete his Masters of Professional Kinesiology at the University of Toronto, with a specialization in high performance. He has since completed additional certification in a wide range of areas of nutrition, sleep and recovery, functional strength, neurology, biomechanics and exercise selection.

Altitude Training for Cardiac Rehab and Treatment

Altitude Training for Cardiac Rehab and Treatment

by | Dec 26, 2021 | Altitude Training Information, General Fitness

WHY USE ALTITUDE TRAINING FOR CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE?

 

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in men and women worldwide (1). Additionally, coronary artery disease and hypertension are two of the most prevalent forms of CVD. Physical inactivity is one of the main risk factors of CVD. Therefore, it is important that we improve the methods used to combat this disease. 

Hypoxic exposures, and exercise (IHT) in a simulated altitude environment (hypoxic training) can provide greater improvements in CVD symptoms and the quality of life of CVD patients. (2)

Indeed, the benefits of hypoxic exposure and exercise have been shown to result in greater improvements than sea-level exercise and/or medication alone (3,4). Exercise in hypoxia can also be done with lower overall workloads and reduced physical effort for the same or greater aerobic training effect (1,5,6). Even for patients with advanced conditions or comorbidities that limit their ability to perform exercise, passive hypoxic exposure can improve many factors of CVD and increase exercise tolerance and capacity. For example, in older people with and without CVD, passive exposure improved resting heart rate, blood pressure, stress on the cardiac muscle (reduced rate pressure product), arterial oxygen content and peak workload compared to control groups (3). 

 

Altitude Training For Cardiovascular Disease – Evidence-Based Benefits 

 

Accumulated research over the past 50 years has demonstrated hypoxic exposure and exercise is safe, and effective for patients with varying levels of CVD (1,3,4) . Also, the research has shown the mechanisms underpinning why hypoxic exposure is more effective for CVD patients.

IHT increases mitochondrial metabolism and density (1,5), stimulates endothelial Nitric Oxide production enhancing vasodilation and increases capillary density. Indeed, these mechanisms result in numerous beneficial performance and CVD outcomes.

Clinically relevant improvements for hypertensive, CVD, and chronic heart failure patients that are greater than what would be seen with sea-level exercise or traditional interventions alone. These include:

  • Lower Resting Blood Pressure (1,3,4)
  • Lower Resting & Active HR (1,3,4)
  • Reduced Rate Pressure Product (Cardiac Stress) (3)
  • Fewer Hypertensive Episodes (4)
  • Increased Aerobic Capacity (2,3,5)
  • Increased Exercise Capacity & Tolerance (2,3)
  • Improved Quality of Life (2,4)

Protocols can be either passive or active and built for varying levels of exercise tolerance. For example, passive protocols involving intermittent hypoxic breathing (IHB)* are ideal for patients suffering from CVD or other co-morbidities who cannot tolerate exercise. Active protocols are designed to allow patients to ease into exercise without compromising performance benefit. 

*IHB involves breathing very low oxygen air from a stationary position (seated) in a series of intervals interspersed with sea-level breathing.

 

Opportunities for Physicians and Clinics

 

  1. Incorporate altitude training sessions during cardiac rehab
    • Minimize deconditioning
    • Reduce inflammation
    • Regain fitness quicker
    • Slowly increase training intensity without compromising fitness
  2. Offer solutions for individuals with advanced conditions or comorbidities that limit their ability to perform exercise
    • Prevent further decline in aerobic fitness 
    • Increase aerobic capacity, building toward increasing physical activity 
    • Increase exercise tolerance building toward future exercise programs 

 

Speak with one of our coaches about training options for cardiovascular disease to improve health outcomes and quality of life.

Altitude Athletic is Toronto’s first and one of the largest altitude training facilities in the world. We’re here to help you prepare for your next big climb, event or meet your health goals. Click here to learn more about what we do at Altitude.

Contact Us

References

 

(1) Safety and Efficacy of Intermittent Hypoxia Conditioning as a New Rehabilitation/Secondary Prevention Strategy for Patients with Cardiovascular Diseases: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

(2) Improved Exercise Performance and Skeletal Muscle Strength After Simulated Altitude Exposure: A Novel Approach for Patients With Chronic Heart Failure

(3) Intermittent hypoxia increases exercise tolerance in elderly men with and without coronary artery disease

(4) Intermittent hypoxia training as non-pharmacologic therapy for cardiovascular diseases: Practical analysis on methods and equipment

(5) Training High- Living Low: Changes of Aerobic Performance and Muscle Structure with Training at Simulated Altitude

(6) Endurance Training in Normobaric Hypoxia Imposes Less Physical Stress for Geriatric Rehabilitation

(7) The effect of acute exercise in hypoxia on flow-mediated vasodilation

Altitude Training for Fat Loss, Muscle Mass and Body Composition

Altitude Training for Fat Loss, Muscle Mass and Body Composition

by | Nov 13, 2021 | Altitude Training Information, General Fitness

We know elite cyclists use altitude training to get a fitness boost before racing in the Tour de France. And we’ve heard that olympic runners will head to high altitude camps in places like Flagstaff or St. Moritz to get that extra lung for events at sea-level.

But what if you’re not headed to Le Portet d’Aspin (a famous Tour de France climb) or the upcoming summer Olympics? What if you’re not a professional cyclist or runner or athlete? What if you consider yourself a ‘normal person’ whose goal is to simply get stronger, maintain a healthy body fat % and feel good in your body. And do so without having to invest a huge amount of time and energy, which is already being divided amongst so many other things in your life.

We tend to diminish a goal like this, as if it’s embarrassing that we’re not headed to the Olympics and we’re ‘just exercising to look and feel good’ instead. But this is actually an extremely important goal. Maintaining the healthiest version of your body is one of the most important things you can do for yourself physically and mentally.

Just like altitude training can help elite cyclists and runners get an edge in their competitions, it can also help you increase muscle mass, lose body fat and improve overall health. Here’s how:

 

How can altitude training help me increase my muscle mass?

Research shows that intermittent hypoxic training can result in greater gains in muscle mass compared to similar training performed at sea-level. For example, resistance training done at altitude was shown to:

  • Increase the metabolic stimulus for muscle growth
  • Have a similar effect to BFR (Blood Flow Restriction) training, but without the discomfort and common problems associated with BFR
  • Enhance metabolic efficiency in the muscle tissue, which enhances muscular endurance

The effects are increased with a specific transition time between exercises and rest between circuits combined with appropriate volume and muscular tension. Therefore, it’s important to work with a coach who understands strength training methods at altitude. 

 

How can altitude training help me lose body fat?

Studies have shown differences in fat loss when doing the same exercise program at sea-level vs. altitude. It’s been found that altitude training can decrease fat mass more effectively and create a larger caloric deficit with the same amount of exercise. In one of these studies, participants saw an almost 7% reduction in fat mass by training at altitude compared to the group training at sea-level, which didn’t see any reduction. Altitude training may also play a role in healthy weight loss through influences on leptin secretion (a hormone that tells the body it has had enough to eat).

 

How can altitude training impact health factors: metabolism, blood pressure and cholesterol? 

There are also benefits that contribute to overall health and disease prevention. For example, IHT can increase your body’s capacity to use fat as fuel. If you’re struggling with a slow metabolism, this can help improve those symptoms. Also, there’s research showing that altitude can help reduce the risk of Type 2 Diabetes. And help with insulin resistance in overweight individuals. 

For those looking to improve vascular health and slow down the progress of peripheral arterial disease (PAD), it’s been shown that training at altitude can help reduce arterial stiffness and improved blood pressure, as well as improving blood lipid profile such as having a positive effect on cholesterol.

So, if you’re looking to feel better and see greater improvements in body composition, altitude training can definitely help. For the fastest route to your goals, make sure you work with a coach and get access to a well-structured program that addresses your specific needs in exercise and nutrition. Learn more about personalized programming at Altitude through our Memberships.

 

References:

[1]A. Törpel, B. Peter, D. Hamacher and L. Schega, “Dose–response relationship of intermittent normobaric hypoxia to stimulate erythropoietin in the context of health promotion in young and old people”, European Journal of Applied Physiology, vol. 119, no. 5, pp. 1065-1074, 2019. Available: 10.1007/s00421-019-04096-8.

[2]I. Guardado, B. Ureña, A. Cardenosa, M. Cardenosa, G. Camacho and R. Andrada, “Effects of strength training under hypoxic conditions on muscle performance, body composition and haematological variables”, Biology of Sport, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 121-129, 2020. Available: 10.5114/biolsport.2020.93037.

[3]B. Yan, X. Lai, L. Yi, Y. Wang and Y. Hu, “Effects of Five-Week Resistance Training in Hypoxia on Hormones and Muscle Strength”, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 184-193, 2016. Available: 10.1519/jsc.0000000000001056.

[4]B. Feriche, A. García-Ramos, A. Morales-Artacho and P. Padial, “Resistance Training Using Different Hypoxic Training Strategies: a Basis for Hypertrophy and Muscle Power Development”, Sports Medicine – Open, vol. 3, no. 1, 2017. Available: 10.1186/s40798-017-0078-z.

[5]R. Timon, I. Martínez-Guardado, A. Camacho-Cardeñosa, J. Villa-Andrada, G. Olcina and M. Camacho-Cardeñosa, “Effect of intermittent hypoxic conditioning on inflammatory biomarkers in older adults”, Experimental Gerontology, vol. 152, p. 111478, 2021. Available: 10.1016/j.exger.2021.111478.

[6] Park, Hun-Young & Lim, Kiwon. (2017). The Effects of Aerobic Exercise at Hypoxic Condition during 6 Weeks on Body Composition, Blood Pressure, Arterial Stiffness, and Blood Lipid Level in Obese Women. International Journal of Sports Science. 1. 1-5.

Swimming For Change with Robert McGlashan

Swimming For Change with Robert McGlashan

by | Oct 10, 2021 | Altitude Training Information, Endurance, General Fitness, Hiking, Climbing and Mountaineering, Power

This month, Altitude member Robert McGlashan will complete the third of three impressive open water swims as part of an open water marathon, Swim for Change, to raise $300,000 for 3 Canadian charities! Rob swam Lake Erie and Lake Ontario this summer, and in just a couple of weeks he will be headed to California to be the first Canadian to swim around Angel Island.

Who is Robert McGlashan?

Robert a Toronto-based lawyer and partner at Blakeney Henneberry Murphy and Galligan. He is on the board of an environmental organization dedicated to cleaning up and protecting the Great Lakes: Great Lakes Open Water. Robert is also an elite open water swimmer, who has swam the across the highest navigable lake in the world called Lake Titicaca (Bolivia) at 3,812 m (12,507 ft), the Straits of Magellan (Chile), Bonifacio Channel (Italy), the Alcatraz Island (USA), the Bay of Naples from Capri to Naples (Italy) and swam over 25 hours across Lake Geneva from Switzerland to France. He was nominated for the 2019 World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year award.

Robert McGlashan

 

Swimming Angel Island 

Angel Island is located in San Francisco Bay. Visitors to the island enjoy spectacular views of the San Fransisco skyline, the Marin County Headlands and Mount Tamalpais. It is also famous for being start of big open water events, including: the Night Train Mile and the annual RCP Tiburon Mile, one of the World’s Top 100 Island Swims.

The round-trip swim around Angel Island is a 10-mile (16.1-kilometer) loop in San Fransisco Bay. Swimmers start from Aquatic Park Cove and swim out and around the island. They then head back to Aquatic Park. The swim is cross-current and known as being challenging with rough waters. Swimmers cross two big
shipping routes twice. The first and fastest person to swim Angel Island was Dave Kenyon in 1984.

Angel Island Swim

Credit: Marathon Swimmers Federation

 

Robert’s Altitude Training Preparation

Robert is aiming to not only be the first Canadian to swim Angel Island, but also the fastest person ever. Altitude Coach Josh Downer developed a specific program that has Rob combining paced training swims with strength/interval training at Altitude Athletic. Rob trains at Altitude Athletic 3 times a week and performs power circuits with exercises including back squats, band-assisted squat jumps and Versa Climber intervals. At Altitude, Josh monitors Rob’s heart rate throughout the sessions to ensure he is meeting specific heart rate targets that optimize the altitude training effect. Josh has also set certain paces for Rob’s training swims – which he does 5 times a week – to ensure he is prepared to up his speed on the big day.

Rob has seen a difference in training at Altitude, he states, “The benefits of altitude training for me have been improved strength and endurance as well as increased rate of recovery.”

Swimming Angel Island for the Mountain Gorilla Conservation Society of Canada

The Mountain Gorilla Conservation Society of Canada is a volunteer-based charitable organization whose members are passionate and dedicated to helping save the worlds wild gorillas The organization helps to secure the future of wild gorillas by increasing the number of wildlife veterinarians in the field. They work to monitor and provide the highest level of veterinary care to mountain and lowland gorillas suffering from life-threatening illness and injury, and address environmental issues that affect the poor, low income and underserved communities through resource management, environment and conservation studies, resilience planning and preparedness.

On October 26, 2021, Robert McGlashan will swim the cold swim around Angel Island to raise $100,000 for the Gorillas. This is one of three charities he will be swimming for in an attempt to raise $300,000 for 3 Canadian charities.

Help Robert get to his goal of raising $300,000 by donating to the Mountain Gorilla Conservation Society of Canada: DONATE NOW 

The team at Altitude is incredibly proud and inspired by Rob embarking on this amazing open water marathon and raising money for incredible organizations.

Running a half marathon (in lockdown!)

Running a half marathon (in lockdown!)

by | Apr 26, 2021 | Altitude Training Information, Endurance, General Fitness

Over the past year, lockdown has made it very tough to keep up a fitness routine that not only keeps you strong and healthy but is also challenging, fulfilling and fun. As someone whose fitness routine revolved mostly around tough conditioning sessions in the gym, kickboxing, bouldering and the occasional indoor spinning class, I was certainly thrown through a loop in March 2020 when these activities were essentially no longer available to me!

 

Post-run high!

An early saver for me personally was a half-marathon that I had signed up for a few months previously (before lockdown). My boyfriend and I had signed up to run the Wimbledon Half Marathon that May. It would be my first ever proper running race while he had run a full marathon the previous year in Edinburgh. I was very excited, but also quite nervous about training for a long distance event. The training I was used to was based more on short, intense bursts of power like those used in Muay Thai or plyometrics, as opposed to longer, sustained cardiovascular training that required more endurance. In fact, I think the longest I had run up till then was about 10 km! However, I was certainly up for the challenge and we began planning a full 6-week training plan leading up to the half-marathon. I spent a lot of time considering how I would balance half marathon training with my already jam-packed, gym-based fitness routine. 

 

Unfortunately, 2020 had very different plans and not only was it looking like the half marathon would likely be cancelled, but we ended up in separate countries as I spent early lockdown back home in Ontario and he remained with his family in the UK. We decided for the sake of it to just follow the training plan anyway, in case by some chance we might still be able to meet again in May and run the race. Those training runs which started short (2-5 km) and then ramped up (10+ km) became such key parts of my early lockdown. It was a chance to get outdoors and most importantly, it was an opportunity for some consistency in a time that was otherwise incredibly unpredictable and uncertain! I tried to go into it with no expectations and I enjoyed feeling stronger with each run and more able to handle the longer distances. I loved listening to music during the runs, exploring my neighbourhood and feeling a tiny bit like I was achieving something together with my boyfriend even though he was so far away and I wasn’t sure when I’d see him again.

 

Eventually, May rolled around and we were both still very much in separate countries and the race was now very much cancelled. However, we were both well trained at this point and decided to just run the half marathon anyway. And so we picked a day to do it and set off simultaneously – me in the morning in (a very sunny!) Oakville and him in the afternoon in (a very windy!) Essex, 5 hours difference between us. We actually called each other a few times during the race to check in and my sister even joined (with no training at all – she’s quite the runner!). I ended up running the race in just under 2 hours with a time of 1:53:20 and an average pace of 5:22 min/km – not bad for someone who’s more into sprints and burpees!

 

I tried some of Endurance Tap’s maple-based energy gels during the run for a boost!

Map My Run

The race through Oakville, tracked on Map My Run!

The half-marathon was a highlight for me in a year that was tough both on the fitness side of things and just in general. One thing I’d say I learnt from it was the benefit of setting yourself challenging but achievable goals and trying to achieve something new. Even though we didn’t get a chance to experience that revved up ‘atmosphere’ so typical of race events, it was almost more special to me in that it was such a personal experience that I got to share with someone I was separated from and that we managed to stick to it in such a bizarre and difficult time. 

 

If you’re away from someone you love right now and want to try and achieve something fitness related (or anything really – doesn’t have to be fitness based!) a race that you both train for together is a good option!

About the Author

 

 

Jessica is based out of London, UK and consults early stage businesses on how to raise investment for their companies. She is an avid fitness enthusiast and loves kickboxing, plyometrics, weight training and calisthenics.

Training For Your First Triathlon: 5 Tips For Success

Training For Your First Triathlon: 5 Tips For Success

by | Feb 10, 2021 | Altitude Training Information, Endurance, General Fitness

Training for your first triathlon can be an intimidating experience. From seemingly endless amounts of gear to scarily fast transitions, there can be a lot to wrap your head around leading up to the day. Here are some tips and tricks that will help you feel ready when it’s time to race.

Tip 1: KNOW THE COURSE:

Register for a race close to home, so that you can visit the course before your race to check it out. Take note of the current and terrain; have a sense of how hilly the bike and run will be. Have a sense of what the weather will be like around race day so that you can properly prepare for the appropriate conditions. Prepare at least 12 weeks before your race to give yourself ample time to get ready both mentally and physically.

Try practicing specific course sections you may find tricky; this could be a sharp U-turn on the bike, an uphill climb you are nervous about, or running through a transition zone so you don’t get lost or forget something. After all, transition time counts too and while we’ve all ran with that bike helmet on, it may be easier without!

Tip 2: KNOW YOUR GEAR:

You may feel pressured to have a lot of equipment from your online research or local triathlon group. The most important thing is to be comfortable and able to work with the equipment you have. Run through your gear the night before race day to avoid forgetting anything essential! Here are a few things you do need:

Shoes: Do NOT break in new shoes the day of the race. We often recommend getting running shoes that fit to your gait & tread pattern but go with what you’ve trained in and are most comfortable with. If you have cycling shoes and clipless pedals, be sure to be comfortable with clipping in and out.

Race Kit: You don’t NEED a tri suit for your first race, especially if it is a short course. Swimming in a swimsuit and quickly throwing on shorts and a t-shirt for the other two disciplines will work; I’ve done it and have even thrown on a hoodie for a rather windy bike ride. If you’re lucky enough to have a tri suit for your first race, do a training session or two with it before race day to avoid any surprises. All of these options including your wetsuit (if the race calls for one) can be sleeved or sleeveless. Don’t forget an extra layer if the forecast looks a bit cold.

Wetsuit: To prevent chaffing and to help with removing your wetsuit in the transition zone use petroleum jelly or Vaseline around key connection points like the neck, ankles, and wrists!

Bike: While there is technical assistance on each race, you should feel comfortable with basic maintenance (eg. fixing a flat). Bring a spare tube and CO2 or a small pump in the trusty bike bag. Be comfortable on the bike you are riding, and double check that the gears shift well the night before your race. Give it a test run if you are renting a road bike for your first race. Pump up your tires the morning of to avoid the awful, sluggish ride I endured on my first triathlon. Don’t forget your helmet, sunglasses, and a water bottle!

Looking for some great athletic wear? Check out Alba Athletic. Their gear is designed in Canada and sustainably made to order. (www.albaathletic.com and https://www.instagram.com/albaathletic/)

Men's Toronto Run Tank
Socks
Men's Lightweight Run Shirt
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Tip 3: KNOW YOURSELF:

Your first triathlon is not a race to win: Triathlons are a test of mental endurance. Don’t forget this as you start training for your first triathlon. There are two common issues: struggling with a section too often or exhaustion from trying to keep up with someone else. A 5x Iron man once said: “Understand if the swim if your hardest leg; it is also the shortest a mere 20-40min of the +3hrs often spent on a course.

The bike is your time sitting, eating, drinking and drying off before you set out on a nice scenic run. Some people will beat you in the water but understand they won’t be as comfortable in their splits on land.” For training: BRICK workouts! Try riding your bike the length of the course, and then immediately going for a run. Time yourself and your split times of each kilometer to understand how you feel & where you can improve on your own time. You will encounter a jelly leg feeling and it’s better to encounter this in training than on race day.   triathlon training

TIP 4: START SHORT

While IRONMANs seem exciting to watch and read about, they are extremely taxing on the mind, body, and wallet. Starting with a sprint triathlon allows you to get the jist of a (potentially chaotic) open water swim start, learn how to navigate transition zones, while being able to make some forgiving mistakes. Avoid a race long enough that requires you to worry about fuel (besides a bottle of water on the bike) during your triathlon, as that is a whole other discipline in itself.

TIP 5: LEARN FROM OTHER ATHLETES

Finding a group to train with can boost confidence (and speed). A seasoned athlete can easily tell you what to look out for, and can give simple but important tips on your posture/form to help you be a little more aerodynamic. Plus, it’s always nice to have someone there for you on those bad weather training days to keep you motivated!

 

Author: Carina Chung