Free Speed

Have you ever heard of FREE SPEED? Well just in case you haven’t, let me explain.

It’s the middle of the season and you have been training & racing hard. You have a few more races coming up and I’m sure you’ve been wondering if it’s possible to get any faster.

Normally it takes 5-6 weeks for any training adaptations to show up in your performance, so actually the answer is probably NO! Not in the 2007 season.

Or is it?

What about if I could give you 5 ways to improve your performance overnight, without you having to train any harder? This is FREE SPEED and here is what you do.

1. Run straight Lines – Ever wondered why there is a blue line painted on the road in the London Marathon? It shows the runners the shortest route to the finish. Running along that line you will cover exactly 26 miles 365 yards. Any deviation and you will run further. So in your next event make sure you cover the shortest legal route on the course. As an example a 40 minute 10k runner has a velocity of 4.166m per second. For every 5m off course you will be over a second slower. The same is true in the water as well. A 25 minute 1500m swim equals 1m per second. So every metre off course adds 1 second to your time. Ever wondered why your open water times don’t match your pool splits?

2. Transitions – No genetics involved here! Just good planning and practice. How do you do it? Learn to take your wetsuit off as you run. Put your bike helmet on as you step out of the wetsuit legs. Have your bike shoes attached to the pedals. Learn to mount and dismount your bike at speed. Swim, bike & run in the same kit. Use lace locks. And finally, something we see at every race. Know your way in and out of transition

3. Unload your bike – do you really need top take all that kit along for the ride. We reckon no more than 1 500ml water bottle for and Olympic distance race and only 2 for an Ironman (you can pick one up at every aid station). How much food do you really need to carry? Is it necessary to have a full tool kit in your saddle bag? After all if you checked the bike before the race why do you need a set of Allen keys?

4. Aerodynamics – are you as aero dynamic as possible? Many athletes feel unable to spend the whole race on their aero bars but apart from steep climbs and sharp bends there really shouldn’t be any need to be sitting up. Even loose fitting clothing can cost you time. Further savings can be made by using aero wheels, purchasing an aero helmet or making subtle changes to your riding position.

5. Taper – You may chuckle but I know many athletes who, after the perfect training build up ruin their race by doing too much in their taper. I’m not talking about training here, just life activities. Less training means more chores. Right? Wrong! At least not if you want to have a good race. Chill out in your taper week and you will see a difference on race day

So there you have it, FREE SPEED for everyone. It just requires a little more thought and an investment of time and you should be faster in your remaining events this season.

See you at the races!