> Triathlon

› Testing Helps Measure Improvement

by Gina Miller

It's still a couple of months before most of us will start to race and longer still before most athlete's "A" races. Now is the time to test where you are and set realistic goals about where you want to be down the road. If you've done testing to set your HR zones you're off to a great start and have the data necessary to do field tests of your fitness. If you haven't done that testing then get out there and do these tests. You can do testing in a lab, but you can also do field testing to set HR/Pace zones. Here are the tests we like our athletes to do:

Swim 500TT yards or meters - have a friend record your splits for each 50 and take your pulse for 15 seconds immediately after finishing the TT (heartbeats in 15 secs x 4 = beats per minute)

Run 30 min. TT on track - Warm up deeply for 20 minutes then run for 30 minutes at the fastest pace you can hold for the whole 30 minutes. Take the first 10 minutes out a bit conservatively so that you don't loose pace the last 20 minutes. Have a friend record your HR and pace for each lap.

Bike 30 min. TT on trainer or running track - Same protocol as above. If on a trainer take HR each minute. If you have a computer or power meter take distance and power readings each minute too (you can also download the test to your computer). If on a track take HR and pace for each lap.

You can do all of these tests in one week but leave at least 48 hours between tests.

To determine training zones for run and bike, calculate the average HR and pace (time per mile) for the last 20 minutes. These values will give you close approximations to your Lactate Threshold heartrate, pace and power (if available). To set your zones use the tables for running and cycling in Joe Friel's "Triathlete's Training Bible" or Friel's and Gordo Byrn's "Going Long.

Now that you have accurate training zones, you can test your aerobic fitness improvements every 3-4 weeks (best done during recovery weeks) by doing the following:

Swim: Repeat the 500TT

Run: Warm up 15-20 minutes. Use the middle HR in your zone 2 and run 2 miles at exactly that heart rate. Record your mile and two mile time.

Bike: Warm up for 15-20 minutes and then ride a relatively flat 10-15 mile route. Ride at the middle heart rate of cycling zone 2 and time how long it takes to complete the route.

If your training is going well you should see that for each of these aerobic tests your time to complete them will decrease. Every 8-12 weeks you should redo the LT tests run and bike.


If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact Gina
by email.