[music] Heather Fell: Welcome
back to GTN's Coach's Corner, where we're going to be answering some of your triathlon
related questions that you guys have shared with us using the hashtag #GTNCOACHESCORNER. We have a
selection of topics to cover today. You guys have not disappointed with your questions. We're going
to get kicked off and see how far we get today. To get us started, we have this question from Wilfred
Darr. Everyone references the 10% rule, increasing gradually, but no one actually says what it is.
10% per week, month, year or what? It's certainly something that we sight regularly
here at GTN, and it's a very valid point. When we're talking about the 10% rule, we're
talking about the weekly volume. Whether that's mileage. If you measure your training by time.
Not so accurate, but you can use that. It's only increasing up to 10% per week. It's a guideline,
but it's also very much a maximum, so try not to do more than that. It doesn't mean you have to
increase by that much each week. It's also worth bearing in mind that if you are increasing the
intensity of your training that you're doing, then you want to actually just maintain the volume.
It's one or the other when it comes to making sure you've got a gradual increase that your body has
time to adapt to it. Let's take an example. Say you're currently running 20K per week.
That would mean that you don't want to increase your next week's total mileage by more than 2K,
so up to a total maximum of 22K. If, however, you are going to be swapping say your easy run
and making that into a tempo run, then we would recommend that you keep your volume the same
until your body's adapted to that. Maybe for a couple of weeks and then you go back
to looking at increasing that distance. Now we've got a question from Win Kay. I
want to train for my first triathlon, but I only have a commuter bike. Should I even
bother to train with it or should I get a road bike or alternative ways to make a commuter bike
more race-ready? Win Kay, it totally depends on quite a lot of factors here. First up,
how serious do you want to take your triathlon? The biggest question that I'm going to have to
make presumptions on is, what your commuter bike? Because some people commute on bikes that are
perfectly capable of doing a triathlon race. If it's a short distance and your commuter
bike is one with a basket on top and a bell and just a few gears, that's actually okay. You see
all sorts going into certain triathlons, but for a short distance, that's fine. You will have your
work cut out on the hills though. You just need to make sure that it's a working bike. You're asking
as though you might be looking for an excuse to get a new bike. Why not look at potentially
getting a road bike that you can still use for your commuting. You'll find it much easier to
do your training on and you'll be able to race on it. You can put aero bars on if you want, and
you can take them off whilst you're commuting. There's quite a few options out there, but I would
say if you're considering it, maybe even trade in your old bike, get something that's actually
preferable for doing a triathlon, but then you can also use it for your day-to-day
commute. [music]
We've got a couple of flip-turn-related questions following our recent video on this topic. To start
us off, we have this from Flynnifyable. I struggle when to take the last breath before the turn and
how soon to take one after. I keep hearing that I shouldn't breathe after the flags and also that I
should take at least two strokes after the turn before breathing again. At my pace, that's a lot
of not breathing. Are these really best practices or is it just someone trying to drown me?
Flynnifyable, don't worry. It's not someone trying to drown you. It's probably more advice that's
aimed at top-level swimmers. I feel your pain here. It does seem a little bit like torture.
It depends on what your swimming goals are. If you are going to enter a swimming race,
let's say a 100, 200, maybe even 400-meters, then these marginal gains will make a difference and
you will need to practice it. The more you practice it in training, the more natural it
will be in racing. Obviously, when you're going at race pace, you're going to need more oxygen, so it
will feel that bit harder. It's all about making it as smooth as possible and keeping up momentum.
A really good just rule of thumb, if you're struggling with that but you are conscious on
trying to make a bit of an effort here on your flip turns, is to think that you don't breathe
on the final stroke. The last time you take a breath is before one more stroke into the wall.
Breathe, then a stroke as your minimum coming in. Then if you do the same, coming out as your
minimum. Try and take one stroke before you breathe. It'll just mean you're in the right
position. You can really focus on the turn and you get your air in just before and out again.
Let us know how you get on with that. Next up Yin Xiong has this question. I've tried flip
turning but always ended up diving deeper in the pool after planting my feet and leaving the wall.
I really don't know what I'm doing wrong, so I'm unable to correct it. Then I find myself
struggling to surface and get a breath in after. What could be causing this to happen
and what do I do to correct this? Thanks. Yin, you're going to be pleased to know that
this is actually a common problem and as a result it's quite a straightforward one
to work out what's going wrong. If you think about, if you're diving too deep on the wall,
it's probably because your feet are landing too high up on the wall. Let's imagine that here are
your feet and here's your head, and this is the water surface. Now, if your head is going down,
you're going to be at this angle, which means your feet are going to be too high.
If you're popping up like a cork which is not your problem, but it might be someone else's, that's
probably because of your feet hitting the wall too low and your body's going to be at that angle.
Ideally, you want your feet to be hitting the wall with you relatively flat or
slightly like this so you've got that gradual incline back up to the surface.
Now, if your feet are hitting the wall too high up, it probably means you're too close to the
wall because you're not having the chance to get your feet all the way over in that turn. You need
to reverse that and actually look at when you start your flip turn. Try to have a practice of
starting your flip-turn a little bit further out from the wall. Whatever your cue is for yourself,
try and do it a little bit sooner, and that will allow your feet to go further around and make sure
they're touching the wall just under the surface. Before you go and try and put it all together,
just practice changing that distance, planting your feet on the wall, and stopping
and actually seeing where your feet are in relation to the surface of the water.
Once you've got to that stage, you can then add in the push-off, and hopefully, once you've got your
feet in the right place, the push-off should feel natural and you'll come in a nice gradual slope
back up to the surface. Now, our final pool question for today comes from Jeremy Mill.
I'm limited to 30 minutes in the pool because of COVID restrictions, how do I make the most
of that time given I'm training for a 70.3? Jeremy, again, you're not going to be alone on
this one. It's great to hear that you're back in the pool and that you're wanting to make the
most of this. I understand the feeling of panic that you desperately need to do a little bit
more swimming. There are some things you can do to help. First up, try and get a bit of a
cardiovascular warm-up in before you get to the pool. Whether once you get there, you go for a
jog around the car park or if you're cycling there or walking there. Just anything so your heart rate
is already a little bit higher. Then also do some dry land warm-up if you can. Getting your
arms moving, opening up your shoulders, even a bit of resistance work with the bands.
All of this will act as your swim warm-up. When you do get in, you only need to do a few lengths
of warm-up and you can then get straight in with the main set. For the main set, this is where you
need to put the work in. It's a good idea to try and target race pace or above. You're working hard
and you're really making the most out of those 30 minutes. Then later on, when, hopefully,
you'll get more pool time, that's when you can add in a little bit more volume. It's almost
seeing it like reverse periodization. If you want some ideas for sessions in a short period of time,
we've just done a video on GTN to give you some ideas.
All right. Let's finish up today's Coach's Corner with a couple of run questions. This one from
Barret Waltz. He asks, as far as poor alignment and exercises to fix it, I find when I'm tired
towards the end of runs; I hit the opposite ankle as I swing my leg forward more often.
I take it that means that my legs are swinging in more as I get tired. Which muscles do I need to
work on and which exercises work for that? Barret, you're on the right track there already. Yes, it
probably does have something to do with fatigue, but you need to look further up the chain.
Now, I want you to picture when you're running, you're obviously only having weight,
one leg is weight-bearing and the other one is swinging through. It's actually the weight-bearing
leg that's going to be faltering here. The weight-bearing hip and the muscles that support
that hip are going to be getting tired and as a result, the hip you're not standing on is going
to be dropping slightly. If you picture that's dropping, it's going to be putting that whole
leg on an angle. You've got one leg here. Here are your hips. Hip drops, and as that hip drops,
the bottom bit is going to be coming in, hence your ankle is going to be hitting the other leg.
The answer is actually quite simple. You need to focus on your glutes and strengthening those,
especially through periods when they get fatigued. Even more better news, we've got a load of videos
on GTN on how to strengthen your glutes. Go and take a look at those and take your pick and get
working on those glutes. I love this next question from Pau Roldan in the Philippines. She says
my problem is I think I run slow. I'm going to paraphrase some of this because it's quite a lot.
Saying that her average pace is 6:35 for a K. I'm not sure if that's right
or wrong but my mind starts to wonder and convinces me to stop running.
She says she appreciates our tips at GTN, but hopefully, you can do a video about
what's a proper mindset or what do you think about when running or racing and how do you
condition your mind. It's so easy to overlook the power of the mind when you're starting
any sport, especially running. Running, we talk about the physical training a lot but not the
mental. They're both pretty equal. They don't actually get easier but you just get better
at learning how to deal with them. There are several tools you can use to get through this
desire to stop running. Goal setting is a key and they must be achievable and realistic.
Let's say you usually take a break after 2K. How about targeting 2.5K on your next run?
Then you give yourself a reward for accomplishing that. Try using music and you preempt the stopping
by actually just allowing yourself to have a short walk at the end of each track so
you're in control of when you walk and you're telling yourself, "This is when I'm walking,"
so you're constantly on a positive. That way you're going to feel that you're achieving
rather than failing to run the whole way. Or could you maybe even run with a friend and you
promise each other you're going to run X distance, whatever it is, before you stop so you're holding
each other accountable, or even approaching it in a completely different way and saying,
"I'm going to go and do intervals today." Maybe you try and run a little bit harder
but for a shorter distance than what you're doing. Say you're doing 1K intervals as hard
as you can maintain for, say, four of them. However many you want to do. Then as your rest,
you either run or jog really easy or even walk. That way, you're totally in control, and it's
going to give you that positive mindset that you can achieve what you're setting out to do.
Those are just a few options. Give them all a try and see what works best for your mind and
your body, and let us know if any of those do the trick. That is bringing today's Coach's Corner to
a close. I think we've covered a fair amount there. If you guys have a burning question or
something that you think other people would be interested in as well, please share it with us
using the hashtag GTNCOACHESCORNER, either at the bottom of this video now in the comment section,
or on our social media, and then we will be back answering those in just a couple of weeks' time.
See you guys again then. If you've enjoyed it, give us a like, follow us on our social media,
and hit the globe and subscribe on YouTube. [00:11:39] [END OF AUDIO]