Thanks to club member John O’Keefe for the video. If you would like to join us in the future, join us.

Are you “returning” (a current 2022 member) or “new” (weren’t a 2022 member OR are new to ATC)

I am already a 2022 MEMBER and am returning for 2023:

1) DO renew club membership any time after October 1st, ’22  ($55 Adults / $35 Students)

2) DO NOT renew TriBC insurance until January 1st, ’23  (Don’t worry…you’ll get a reminder hahaha!)

I am NOT a 2022 MEMBER (or have never been in ATC) but am joining for 2023:

1) Activate your 2023 club membership any time after October 1st, ’22 ($55 Adults / $35 Students) and get 3 months left in 2022 BONUS!   Please e-transfer club fee to <abbytriclub@gmail.com>

2) Register at the same time with TriBC <www.tribc.org> for the compulsory (no exceptions) insurance.

NOTE: save $5 off TriBC fee with ATC code: (underscores, not hyphens)  Abbotsford_TriBC23

With swimming, cycling, running combined into one competition, there’s a lot for beginner triathletes to learn. Each discipline within a triathlon is not the same as swimming, cycling, or running on their own. Not only are there some rule differences, but your cycling leg is affected by the swim before it, and the run is always impacted by the fatigue from the swin and run. Then there are transitions, often referred to as a sporting discipline all their own. You can gain or lose a ton of time based on your skills and efficiency in transitions. To help you shorten the learning curve, several CTS Coaches put together some great beginner triathlon tips to help you conquer your next triathlon and continue to improve your performance in later races.

1. Keep Your Training Schedule Practical

Don’t try to fit your life into a training schedule, build a training schedule that fits your life. Be realistic about how much time you can dedicate to training instead of setting yourself up for failure by trying to maintain an unsustainable workload. You will see much larger gains in fitness if you maintain a moderate but consistent training plan.

2. Include Social Training Sessions

Find meet-up groups to swim, bike, and run with that are around or just above your fitness level. It is more fun to suffer with others and it can also help keep you accountable and on track with your goals. You will also meet fellow triathletes who can help you out and give you advice based on their own experiences.

3. Focus on Improving Your Performance, Not Equipment

With so much high-end performance gear to buy for three disciplines, it is easy to want the best of everything. As a beginner you should place more value on solid gear that is reliable and durable. As you improve fitness, the benefits of lighter and slicker gear will have more significant impact on your performance. When you’re starting out, the improvement you make in fitness – with standard gear – will impact your performance way more than slicker/lighter gear.

4. Prioritize Your Key Workouts First

When you have multiple workouts scheduled for one day, it’s best to complete the more difficult or important workout first when you’re fresh. If you save your key workout for after you’ve already done an endurance workout that same day, you are much less likely to be able to maintain the proper intensity to successfully complete your important workout. This is why it’s important to understand the purpose behind every workout so you can prioritize accordingly.

5. Cut Workouts Short When Necessary

Hitting the proper intensity for your workout and staying consistent with your training is much more important than perfectly finishing every workout as scheduled. It’s critical to recognize when you are too fatigued to complete a workout, or that by struggling to finish your intervals you risk compromising the quality of future key workouts.

6. Include Brick Workouts

It’s important to experience how your body will react to transitioning from swimming to cycling to running on race day. To simulate how you’ll feel, incorporate brick workouts: complete a swim+bike workout or bike+run workout back-to-back.

7. Practice Organizing Your Transition Area

Spend some time figuring out how you are going to set up your transition area so on race day you are quick and efficient. Only include absolute essentials – a cluttered transition area will cause unnecessary stress and slow you down.

8. Practice Your Transitions

Go through the entire process of taking off your wetsuit, getting into cycling gear, getting into your running gear. You can include transition practice during your brick workouts, when you are a little fatigued, to better simulate race day conditions.

9. Include Open Water Swims in Your Training

Open water pack swims are not always readily available, but they are essential to increasing your comfort level and triathlon performance. Take advantage of any opportunities you have to experience open water pack swimming and practice how to properly sight – stroke, breath, then bring your head to face forward and lift it just so your eyes are out of the water.

10. Learn How to Make a U-Turn on Your Triathlon Bike

Make sure you can safely and efficiently make a u-turn at the middle of a course. Try this at the end of your training rides by putting a cone out in your driveway or a safe, traffic-free area and practice entering the turn wide, hitting the apex of the turn by the cone, and exiting the turn wide while maintaining your momentum.

11. Train Your Digestive System for Race Day

Train your digestive system to be able to take in energy on the bike and run. You should aim to replenish 25%-35% of calorie expenditure and 20-40 oz of fluids per hour. You will likely need to dial your fluid and fuel intake during the run, so make sure to experiment to determine how much you are able to handle on the run.  

Finis Agility Paddles to learn effective catch (press on the water effectively in the correct way) Most athletes: size medium

Finis Instinct Sculling Paddles Smaller versions of the agility paddles.
Speedo Power Paddle: Basic flat paddles. Remove wrist strap.
Finis Pulling Ankle Strap A fancy ankle band (or use inner tube)
Finis Bolster Paddles – Yellow: won’t allow your wrist to “break”.
The Top 20 Rules for Faster Triathlon Swimming
1. Conditioning trumps drills. Technique matters, but the way most athletes try to improve technique doesn’t work. Get fitter, and your ability to hold good technique improves. It takes a lot of work to develop aerobic conditioning in your upper body. If you think you are already swimming a lot but aren’t improving, swim more and keep at it. There are no shortcuts.
2. Traditional drills don’t work. The type of drills & way most triathletes do them don’t actually have any material effect on swimming technique.
3. Swim more often. Frequency is best way to improve swimming (now see rule 4).
4. Do longer main sets. Don’t expect to swim fast & be fresh on bike if you rarely do main sets at same or + volume and pace than expected race pace. Short course: at least 2k, IM: 4k+. (eg 20-50×100, not many short broken sets adding up to 2-5km.
5. Don’t over think it. Don’t under think it. Be engaged with what you are doing in water, use tools to help get a better feel for water. But don’t overthink every stroke, and suffer from paralysis by analysis. Swimming fast = rhythm and flow, when good technique becomes automatic.
6. Increased swim fitness translates to the bike and run. Being able to swim harder, starting the bike both fresher and with faster riders is how that works.
7. Deep swim fitness allows you to swim on the rivet. See rule #6. Most triathletes don’t know how to really swim hard for the duration.
8. Include some quality in every swim. If swimming < 5x per week, easy swims are a waste of time. Always include quality (band/paddles/sprints in every swim).

9. Don’t count strokes. See rule #2. You want to get faster, not take fewer strokes.

10. Learn how to use your kick: don’t spend lots of time w kick sets.Kicking= stroke control/body position, not propulsion for triathlon. Kick fitness doesn’t matter.
    11.Use a band frequently. The best swimming drill there is. Do short reps with lots of rest at first. Both propulsion and body position will improve.
    12. Use paddles with awareness of engaging lats. Paddles are primarily a technical tool to take more strokes with better mechanics, the result of which is learning how to use your prime swimming movers: your lats.
    13. Keep head low on breathing and in open water. Head down, feet up. It’s a common body position error.
    14. Do many short repetitions for stroke quality. It takes fitness to swim with good technique for long durations. Start shorter/swim faster. 50×50 works wonders. Don’t have time to do a 2500m main set? Drop the warm up and warm down.
    15. Learn to swim with higher stroke rate. This takes conditioning. It will pay off on race day, and particularly anytime swimming in a group and in rough conditions.
    16. If you need to write your swim session down on the white board or paper, it’s too complicated. Keep it simple.
    17. Find a good masters program. Look for long main sets. Swim with others to challenge yourself. Good programmes are exception, not norm, unfortunately.
    18. Don’t use swim tools as a crutch. Paddles/pull buoys are tools with specific uses. Don’t reach for them out of simple laziness, because the set is hard.
    19. Do use swim tools when you are very fatigued, and will otherwise swim with poor quality.See Rule #18.
    20. Dry land and gym can help swimming for some via improved neuromuscular recruitment. Use body weight and tubing not machines.
    Bonus:  Love swimming if you want to get faster. Embrace the process of getting faster in the water. Chlorine sweat is a good thing.

    Follow the rules above to swim faster, and ultimately to be a faster triathlete. Enjoy.
    EDIT:
    #21 Repetition is your friend. Variety is for the weak minded, and interferes with the learning process. Repetition, Repetition, Repetition.

Careful what you practise, okay?

All coaches, members and thinking-about-it-wanna-be-members are welcome!  You might be surprised how great their coffee is.  I was!  Come and ask training questions, share updates about your life in and out of triathlon, calm your training nerves, whatever you like

We often have SCHEDULED ones. This one is just cuz