(upbeat electronic music)
- Now as triathletes, we are often searching
for that magical or elusive spare time
to squeeze our training into our busy lives.
But no matter how hard we try, this can often feel
like trying to fit a round peg into a square hole.
But this is where commuting can come into its own
because with the right plan of attack,
you can squeeze in some sneaky interval training
or indeed just get really, nice, easy base mileage as well.
So today, I am gonna talk about some tips and tricks
for including a bike and run commute to work.
(futuristic buzzing)
Now planning your commute is key.
You need to have a really good idea of where you're gonna go
to get yourself to work, ideally picking bike paths
much like this and avoiding those busy roads
which have all that congestion
that we definitely don't want to be near.
As for the bike that we're gonna do in this commute,
definitely don't have you fancy TT or road bike.
Just a nice simple, even something like a fixed gear
or single speed bike would do the trick perfectly.
And as for that bike, make sure it's
in really good working order.
Have a thorough service on it, change things like brakes
and chains regularly because you're gonna need to make sure
they're not getting worn out.
Have a very comfortable saddle because you are gonna
be spending quite a bit of time in that
and finally, make sure you know how to fix a flat
because inevitably, this always happens
at the most inopportune time.
So just have simple spares, tires, levers,
and spare tubes.
Even maybe something like a CO two canister too.
Now if you're a little bit more hardcore,
you can definitely find ways to factor in a workout
into your weekly commute.
For example, you can reduce the air pressure in your tires
to create more rolling resistance, that makes it harder.
You could have a heavier bike, that makes it harder.
In fact I have a friend who used to add sand
to his water bottles to do just that.
But if you want to find say a quiet road
or a bike path such as these, you could actually
get a short workout in too,
things like 10 to 20 second shorts bursts
are excellent ways to get some training in.
(upbeat music)
Now if you're a dedicated commuter
and you're doing this ride up to five days a week,
then it is a nice idea to think about mixing up the routine
that you have to get into work.
Now for example, on Mondays and Wednesdays
you could decide to just take it nice and cruise-y
and spin into work as easy as you feel.
Tuesdays and Thursdays, well that could be an option
for those efforts that I was just talking about.
Pick landmarks, for example, say lampposts
or from one junction to a next
and vary the length of those efforts and sprints
that you could incorporate
and then on Friday, well you could just decide
to do a little bit extra mileage,
tack on an extra route on the way home
and that's just an extra bit of base endurance too.
(upbeat electronic music)
Now perhaps biking to work isn't going to be feasible
for you or maybe actually just prefer the notion
of running your way into work,
but there are a few things to bear in mind
when we're doing this commute by foot.
Now firstly, what it allows us to do is save some money.
Secondly, it allows us to avoid
that sardine-esque type crush of public transport.
Thirdly, it means we're not sitting in one of those
frustratingly awful traffic jambs.
But finally, what it does allow us to do
is free up some of our time because we're not using it
al for training and lo and behold,
we could use it for other hobbies which aren't exercise
which when I think about, I'm not sure what those are.
Now, there are three options for your run commute.
You can do it in the morning,
you can do it in the evening, or of course,
you can do it both ways.
Now clearly there are no bad choices here,
but it is a nice way to set yourself up for the day
with the morning commute.
So if you have opted for this morning commute,
you can get yourself into work,
having blown all the cobwebs away already
and happy, dare I say smug even,
in the knowledge that you're gonna have,
that all of your training for the day ahead already.
However, if you do decide to commute home
in the evening too, well you can clear
all those workday stresses away, out of your system,
and enjoy your evening ahead,
without that dark cloud of training looming over you.
Now, if we're gonna give this run commute a proper go,
then there's a few things that we need to think
about before we get started
and top of that list is our gear.
Now, to carry all our gear,
we need to have a nice lightweight rucksack
because there's nothing worse than a big cumbersome backpack
bouncing around on your back when you're trying to run.
So something like this, that's nice and lightweight.
Usually it's got some chest and waist straps
to snug everything up to stop it bouncing around is ideal.
And what I like to do is try and make sure
that that's nice and small because
if you're anything like me, as soon as you've got space,
you're more than likely gonna fill it
and that just gets really heavy.
So when you're planning ahead for your workweek,
it's a good idea to try and have a wardrobe plan in effect
because you don't want to be carrying around heavy things
in this small lightweight rucksack
that you're packing on your back.
So heavy things like shoes, trousers, even your shirts,
they can all stay at work and keep the weight down
in this rucksack.
Meaning in further commutes through the week,
you can just take things like a spare change of underwear
and maybe a change of shirt further down the line.
Now on that note, a little birdie of mine
told me a couple tips for those shirts.
In so much as you can use a magazine to fold it around
and you can also do the buttons up beforehand
because apparently that helps keep the shirt's shape.
Although, I'll be honest, I've no idea
'cause I never wear shirts.
Now hopefully you'll agree that with the right amount
of planning and a positive attitude,
there's definitely a way to factor your bike
and or run commute into your training schedule,
but most importantly, for it
to be a really useful benefit too.
Please if you've got any viewer suggestions
about how to commute to work, drop them
in the comments below.
We'd love to hear about those.
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