i’m a traithlon newbie, and completely addicted to my new triathlete lifestyle (and to slowtwitch!) i live in chicago and have been doing all of my training at the gym due to our crazy cold weather. a friend told me to always run at a 2% inclince on the treadmill to simulate the effort of running outdoors. is this effective? also, any tips for indoor training to, hopefully, make the transition to running and riding outdoors less of a change?
also, im sure it’s been discussed before, but can someone direct me to a thread for different competition clothing options?
Hi Allegra Welcome! I’ve never had a problem going from indoor workouts to outdoor workouts. When the weather gets nice you may want to start with one to two runs outside/week and wean yourself off the indoor runs week by week. http://www.hillrunner.com/training/tmillchart.php This will help with treadmill conversions.
I always run by perceived exertion, so I don’t worry about the incline on my t/m. I just run at the right pace for the zone I want to be in. If it’s too easy, then I make it faster. I only use the incline when I want to work on hills.
The only problem I have with adjusting to outside running after a winter indoors is that my legs get really sore for the first week or so. The outside run has more pounding on my legs, so it just takes two or three runs to get over that. I usually find I’m faster outdoors than on the t/m because it’s just so damn boring!!
For race outfits, I think you’re going to have to experiment to find what you like. Some people like one piece, some two piece, some tri suits, some regular sports bras and tri shorts, etc. I use a regular sports bra with tri shorts and a sleeveless jersey on top (assuming I’m wearing a wetsuit for the swim). Try different things out in training and you’ll find something that works for you.
I don’t do a lot of my running indoors because I hate the treadmill so much more than bad weather, but Portland had MUCH milder winters than Chicago. But as far as bike training goes, I’m usually just so happy to be outside and moving that transition is usually really easy. (It wouldn’t surprise me for the same to be true of running as well, just in terms of mental stimulation.)
In terms of race apparel I second what Dawn said about experimenting and finding what you like. I find it depends on the race distance. For shorter stuff I tend to wear one piece trisuits, just for convenience, I like DeSoto and Sugoi for these. For longer stuff, I want a little more padding in the shorts and personally like Oomph’s shorts but have heard DeSoto also makes good long distance tri shorts. Whatever you decide to go with, make sure you do some training sessions (in all three sports!) with it. I felt like a total tri-nerd doing bricks in the park with my trisuit, but it was worth it!