Last Friday night Vandy Tri did one of my favorite competitive short course workouts. We set up bikes on trainers--on the outdoor track. After a nice warm-up we settled in to some long suffering sets on the bike--10 minutes hard-- then immediately jumped off the bike and ran a mile at race pace. They did the 10 min hard / 1 mile 3 times, and plan to build up to 5-6 repeats before the first Olympic distance tri.
Photo: Empty bikes while some are warming up running.
Many at that workout were turning in mile times that they couldn't believe. One of my goals for a workout like this is to increase your MENTAL toughness. Sure you are making your body stronger, but a big part of going faster is simply getting used to the suffering. It is suffering, and staying there, and not giving your body the comfort of slowing down. Anyway, a handful of these guys and gals were even turning in sub-six and seven minute miles on the runs.
Photo: Lactate threshold cycling repeats in the twilight.
This is certainly a workout you can do on your own, and I encourage you to. But the powerful piece of this night was that with a dozen people, everyone had someone to run with on the mile repeats. Getting into the mindset of "racing" really helps you step up your game and find more speed that you wouldn't otherwise.
Stephen Taylor
Vanderbilt Triathlon Coach
Nashville TN
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