If you are a triathlete who lives in Brooklyn and (for some unknown reason) are not a member of the Brooklyn Triathlon Club (BTC), this page will give you an idea of some of the workouts we do in the park each week. If you’d like to have all this done for you so you can just show up and work out, join BTC and come out to our brick sessions on Thursdays from 6-730AM. I’ll share the workout, answer your questions, watch your stuff, and have breakfast and coffee ready for you when you’re done.
If you’re not in Brooklyn but want to steal a good workout when you need one, the park has a 3.4mi outer loop that we use most of the time.
6/13/13
Once more we escaped the rain! A little light spitting, but nothing like what’s coming down now at 8AM. Thanks to everyone for giving it a shot and coming out. Around twenty-five BTCrs got it done.
Goal: Today’s session was about building strength and power. 3-4min very hard efforts followed by similar easy recoveries provide top quality fitness/racing benefits – VO2max repeats. Squats and stairs challenge your range of motion and build strength.
The Session:
3 short loops, using Center Drive
– Stand and climb the hill at high effort, then sit and spin at similar effort to 15th St
– Recover from 15th St, down Center Dr, and back to the base of the hill
Out and Back Run
– 10 slow, deep squats in transition
– Run down the southern hill to the light at the bottom
– Turn left across the horse path, doing a U-turn
– Climb the long set of stairs then jog back down them
– Climb the southern hill and head back to transition
Repeat the bike and the run for a solid 1:15-1:30 of work
Notes:
– When squatting, keep your feet at least shoulder width apart, drop hips until thighs are parallel to the ground, keep heels on the ground
– Climbing stairs two at a time will challenge the hips and hams to a high degree
– Standing climbing builds strength and hill-climbing ability on the bike, even if you don’t plan to stand in your race
– Ease of standing climbs varies by individual – typically the heavier you are the harder it becomes – but you can absolutely train yourself to do it, even using it to “rest” after a lot of seated spinning
– Speed laces are a necessity for fast transitions – pick some up at your local running store!
6/6/13
Great brick workout in Prospect Park this AM. 20+ BTCrs out for their weekly wake-up call. Perfect weather.
Goal: This multi-brick workout gives you an opportunity to push yourself at maximal effort twice (once on the bike and run). It’s a good way to check improvement over a training block if you keep track of your times regularly. Worst case? A great VO2max(+) session, improving virtually every fitness marker.
The session:
1mi ez run/1loop ez bike, both as a warm-up
1mi best effort run (try for PR), 1loop ez bike
1mi ez run/1loop best effort bike (try for PR)
1mi steady run + cool down jog
Many reported best ever miles and loops. Some had never timed themselves and now have a benchmark.To paraphrase some of the comments I heard:
“I never ran under an 8min mile until this morning.”
“I came within 23sec of my 5:43 5th Ave mile time.”
“Definitely the fastest mile I’ve run in recent memory.”
“I ran 5:30, prior best was 5:45.”
“I ran a 6:50 twenty years ago. My new best is 8:30.”
“I just took 2min of my previous best loop time.”
“Was I supposed to do my loop this fast?”
“Somehow I did two hard loops and my second was my fastest ever by 30sec.”
*If you’re racing, you should be bricking*
5/30/13
Format: straight bike/run session.
The workout:
20-30min warm-up on the bike, with several pickups throughout to raise heart rate and get your legs ready for harder efforts
30x (30sec hard/30sec easy spin), 30min total for the set
Hard efforts are the best pace/output you can hold for all the reps, so the first is not a maximal effort
Run off the bike for 20min at your best possible pace, followed by a 10min jog to cool down
Goal: Burn some matches and work on power output. You’ll push the pace harder and more often than you would during any of your events, then see how well you can run afterward. Imagine a course of short, but steep, rolling hills. Test yourself. When you pace more consistently (less peak outputs, less easy spinning) in your races, you won’t lose much time on the bike, but you’ll be less likely to have pace falter at the middle to end of the run for an Olympic, ½, or IM triathlon.
5/16/13
This week’s workout was a Multi-Brick with Time Trial efforts.
We had around 25 BTCr’s out for the session. And a beautiful morning it was!
Read to the bottom to see if what they learned along the way applies to you.
GOALS:
Time Trial for a short (4-6min) and a long (30-40min) distance. First, get a time for a maximal effort from the South Entrance, past the tight turn, all the way to the crest of the hill just as you can see GAP. This is a good indicator of raw power. Second, get a time for a maximal 2-3 loop effort. This is a good indicator of Threshold ability. Data you could glean are as follows:
– Total time for each effort
– Lap splits for the 2-3 loop effort
– Average and maximum heart rate for both efforts
– Average and maximum power for both efforts
We’ll do this workout again in 3-4 weeks to see how much everyone has improved.
Note: if you missed the workout today and want to do a time trial, just let me know at your next session and I’ll help you include it. They are highly useful.
THE WORKOUT:
1 mile run – easy, warming up
2 loop bike – first loop easy, second loop includes the hard half loop
1 mile run – half easy, half building HR for your next time trial
3 loop bike – all out, best effort
1-2 mile run – to finish out the time
KEY POINTS/LEARNINGS:
These are comments from different club members about their workouts and what I think can be learned from them.
– The difference in my South Entrance to GAP time on my easy loop was only 10sec slower than my best effort (probably went too hard on the first loop, or could have pushed harder during the maximal section – was it an “everything” effort?)
– I feel strong today, did 28min for the three loops (now to go for 27…)
– I went too hard to start the hill and faded (back off to begin the climb next time, or inquire about gearing choices next session that could improve climbing ability)
– I can’t stand up well (without wobbling) so I couldn’t really push the hill (practice standing/sitting on the flats in a “gear up/stand up, sit down/gear down” fashion)
– I felt dead so I cut it short (good call, since if the energy just isn’t there and pace is failing, the time trial results won’t be useful)
– I only had time for a mile run, 2 loops on the bike, and a mile run – but I got something done (excellent way to look at it, since consistency and frequency are keys to success in triathlon)
– I ran 10 miles yesterday and I’m doing my own thing on the brick today (note to all: it’s fine if you want to come out but need to do a different workout from the group)
– I didn’t have good 20min power numbers, but now I’ve got numbers to work from (the bricks are an opportunity to get a variety of data you may not be able to collect on your own)
– These were my best three loops ever, and a full minute faster than the same time trial a week ago – is this odd? (no, it’s normal, as 20-30min time trial efforts are great training, and you might see improvement every week for 4-6 weeks if you kept going)
5/2/13
THE WORKOUT:
It was a beautiful morning, with 25+ BTCrs out for the brick. We’ve now completed four weeks of work.
Format: Duathlon – 2mi run/3-4 loops bike/2mi run
1st mile is a warm-up with several 30sec pickups to a fast turnover.
2nd mile is strong back to the bike.
Steady effort for all loops, moderately hard pace.
Last two miles are moderately hard to hard effort.
4/25/13
THE WORKOUT:
1 loop ride
1 mile run
Repeat as many times as possible in 1:30
See if you can negative split all the repeats and become a master of pacing. A number of people at this session nailed it.
Goals: Transitions are “free speed” if you are good at them. Look at the pro times – the winners, especially in sprint races, get in and out in half the time it takes everyone else. The idea is to take out every unnecessary motion. Have things set up so you don’t have to reach or take a step or shift your weight to make your change. Economy of motion. Also, multi-bricks are great for pacing! How does how you feel match up with pace as you fatigue? Do six of the above repeats and you’re almost at an Olympic distance triathlon. It’s easier on your body than a straight 20mi of cycling and 6mi of running. Different movement patterns give your legs a break. Finally, your body adapts to what it does often, and being comfortable running off the bike is kind of a big deal in our sport.
4/23/13
This week we’ll do a MULTI-BRICK and begin to work on transition speed.
In preparation, do the following:
– Buy and install SPEED LACE on your running shoes
– Be ready to hear a COUNTDOWN if you linger in transition
– Think about what CLOTHING you’ll wear to bike and run. It will still be chilly in the morning, upper 40’s, so you may need to put a jacket on to ride and drop it on the run.
– Bring a towel to put down and ‘stake out’ your TRANSITION AREA (2ftx3ft). You’ll ride in and lay your bike on the grass behind it – don’t spend time standing it on the curb.
– Have the MINIMUM AMOUNT OF STUFF in transition. Get used to eliminating items vs. needing more.
– Bring FOOD AND DRINK for 1.5hrs, just as you would in a race. This is a great time to practice eating and drinking on the bike and run. Go to the store and buy supplies. Then consider where they will be placed on your bike for easy access? How about on your person while running? Pockets? Fuel belt? You don’t want to eat/drink in transition as that eats/drinks time.
– Get SLEEP the night before. Skill work requires being conscious out there.
Coach John
4/18/13
There was a great turnout for the bricks this morning as 20+ Brooklyn Tri members came out to test their legs. Here was our workout and goals:
1hr Cycling – 1-2 loops warm-up, include one Spin-Up on the bottom and top of the park. If you’re just starting out, go easy. If you want some intensity, go harder from the south entrance of the park, up the hill to the north entrance, then recover around the top.
30min Running – 1 park loop, or several 1-mile out-and-backs to test your ability to hold pace. Smooth gait, loose hands and jaw. Run “tall”.
Spin-Ups – 30sec builds of cadence, from slow to very fast, shifting as needed. When you start to bounce, back off a little and hold that high cadence for several seconds before recovering with easy spinning.
Goals – With many people doing their first or second bricks of the year, and 1.5hrs being the longest workout of the season for some, we’re out to build endurance. Spin-Ups challenge your muscles to work more quickly. You’ll build a smoother pedal stroke as you learn to do this faster and faster without bouncing. These benefits come without the need for much recovery, either during the workout or after.
4/11/13
Our first brick of the season last week was a duathlon format. Here’s the layout, with run and loop pacing to give different length workouts. If you want to add time, add a cycling loop or two. Effort is easy to moderate, adding hard half loops or half miles as desired for intensity. The warm-up is 1-2 loops on the bike. The main sets are all around an hour.
1mi run/2 loops/1mi run, 11-12min mile/16min loop
1mi run/3 loops/1mi run, 9-10min mile/14min loop
2mi run/3 loops/1mi run, 8-9min mile/12min loop
2mi run/3 loops/2mi run, 6-7min mile/10min loop
Goals: Gain experience at distances similar to duathlons in Prospect Park. Get a sense of pacing for future workouts. Make a speedy transition from a longer run to the bike like you’ll see if you’re in the southern transition of the NYC Triathlon.