Piranha National Series Strategy – Race 5

The fifth race on the Club Calendar has arrived!!   Saturday, 9^th August sees 21 Piranhas participate in Caroline Kearney Memorial Triathlon hosted by Midlands Tri Club

I have the same two recommendations for Piranha’s:

• Please walk back the course once you are finished and cheer on the Piranhas coming in after you. This was a really great success in Kinsale, Dunmore East and at the Two Provinces.  [There are only two waves 10 minutes apart – so there will be no extended hanging around.  It has been a great experience for everybody.]
• Can Piranhas undertake the race-day warm-up in small groups. It has proved too difficult to arrange a single Piranha warm-up on the day of the races – but those who have followed Shannon’s guide below have found it very useful.   Also,  if you have numbered transition slots, then you don’t have to worry about hanging onto the perfect one that you found in an open transition!

This note re Caroline Kearney Memorial Triathlon has the following sections:

• Who’s racing?
• Getting there
• Car Pooling – how to arrange a lift
• Pre-race day training and race day warm-up

Who’s Racing?

There are a number of Piranha’s who are making their return to National Series racing after their heroic Ironman exploits – welcome back team.

Getting There

The race is being held at the Lilliput Adventure Centre on Lough Ennell, Co. Westmeath.  The trip is only 90km or 1 hour.

The link below will give you directions to Lilliput. It assumes that you are leaving from O’Connell Street.   Essentially take the Galway Road from Dublin (N4) or M50 to the N4 / M4 towards Kinegad. 

Directions: Dublin to Lilliput Adventure Centre, Co. Westmeath

Car Pooling – how to arrange a lift

It is only a 90km, 1 hour drive to Lilliput Adventure Centre. Notwithstanding the short distance, there may be club members in need of a lift so please complete the spreadsheet (Link below) if  (i) you have a spare seat in your car or (ii) you are in need of a lift.

Caroline Kearney – Car Pooling

 Pre race-day training and Race-Day warm-ups
(compliments of Dig Deep’s Shannon Connolly)

 Pre-race day drills:

 Swimming: If swimming in open water:

• 10 minutes aerobic front crawl swimming- focus on open water skills- sighting/turning around buoy-
• 4 x 20 seconds hard with 30 seconds recovery
• Another 5-10 minutes very easy swim (Mixture of front and back crawl)
• Stretch

or

If using pool, 20 minutes easy swim to include,

• Warm up: 200m as 50m front/50m back easy
• Main set: Include 4 x 25m at higher intensity with 30 seconds recovery between each 25.
• Cool down: 5-10 minutes easy front or back crawl

Bike:  30 minutes easy cycle, with 3 x15 seconds at zone 4 Hr (effort 8/10) in the middle of the session- separate each of these efforts with 90 seconds easy spinning. Keep to a flat route today, and focus on maintaining high cadence.

Run:   5 minutes easy run with 3 x 7 second strides at increased intensity at the end.

Tip 1:  for the longer distances, do these sessions early on Friday, and then keep off your feet to get recovery before Saturday morning

Tip 2:  Focus on hydrating by sipping water throughout day

Tip 3:  If doing swim in open water (recommended if possible)- Hang your wetsuit out to dry early. A dry wetsuit will be a lot more comfortable in the 15 minutes before race start.

Race day warm up

Cycle:     Before you rack bike try to get 10-15 minutes easy cycle- this will give you a feel for you race position, changing gears and pedaling technique. Keep this cycle at easy intensity- This can be a couple of hours before the race start and the purpose is to give you a feel for the bike (Use run/swim as warm up before race)

When racking your bike:   Do a couple of jogs through the transition and visualise where you have to enter and exit for T1 & T2. Know actually where your bike is – memorise how to get to your bike quickly.

Run:       After racking your bike and setting up your transition completely- I’d recommend to do run warm up next- complete 10-15 minutes jog with 5x 10 strides seconds at intensity of 7/10 (see link below)- try to be finishing the run warm up approximately 20-25 minutes of starting your race – then get wetsuit on for swim warm up below.

Swim:     I would recommend dynamic movements of your arms and shoulder e.g. circling your arms and practicing the swim motion then get into the water for at least 5-10 minutes if possible for swim. Start with some aerobic swimming and add 4 x20 seconds at race intensity, with 1 minute easy between each.

Any questions then please contact me on the numbers below.

Happy racing,

Ellen Shilling

PM: Ellen | Email: eshillingm@yahoo.co.uk