The practice of any high-performance sport requires a lot of preparation and training, all with the aim of achieving good results in competitions. Duathlon, a sport that requires high levels of endurance, does not escape this reality. It is a sport that brings together two equally demanding disciplines, such as cycling and athletics.
Some specialists consider that duathlon can be classified as a modality that belongs to triathlons. Although it only comprises two of the variants included in triathlon, it can still be defined as such. This sport is practiced mainly during the spring and summer, when temperatures allow participants to make long journeys, either on the road or in the mountains.
Within the duathlon there are different modalities depending on the distances to be covered. There are usually three modalities: Spring Distance, Olympic or Short Distance and Long Distance. If you are a beginner in this sport, after preparing properly, your first competition should be of the first modality.
It is clear that this type of competitions are for true sports lovers and those who like to push their limits daily. In addition, duathlon requires a previous training period, focused on the characteristics of this sport. Therefore, a common training routine in the gym is usually insufficient to face this type of competition.
If you are facing your first duathlon, in this article we will give you some basic tips and advice that could make your training easier. We also propose several specific routines that can tone your body to face this experience.
Routines to prepare for training
First phase
If you usually do little exercise, you will need a previous period of training in the gym, emphasizing those routines that will improve your resistance levels, such as cardiovascular exercises.
Along with this routine, you must prepare yourself in terms of speed, although it is not about being extremely fast, it is an important feature for duathlon. In this sense you can write down the marks you achieve to have a record of your progress or setback. All this would enter a first phase of training.
Playoff
By properly overcoming this first period, you would be ready to make a specific training focused on the competition to your liking. Some specialized portals recommend planning two-week training cycles. On these days athletes should alternate with both disciplines, cycling and walking.
We recommend that you perform both routines in a scenario similar to where the competition will be, depending on whether it is on the road or on unpaved terrain, on the plain or in the mountains. In this way your routine will adapt more accurately to the test in question.
It is important to put emphasis on one or another discipline per week. For example, in the first week you can do about fifty or seventy kilometers by bike, with walks of half an hour or forty minutes. Then next week you decrease the bike distance to about thirty or forty kilometers and run or walk for about an hour.
Third phase
With these two weeks of training, you would already have a basic preparation to face a duathlon. However, you need even more severe training that allows you to withstand the competition in its entirety.
For this you can make a two-week training plan where you combine the bike and the walk with greater intensity. This time you can try the transition between the two disciplines more often. For example, run or walk about a thousand meters, after pedaling about ten minutes and so on. Accompany this third phase with training in the gym to add strength to your muscles.
Finally, practice speed, for which it is necessary to decrease the distance you travel in order to increase the quality of training. Also include a day to practice transitions and put more emphasis on it as the test approaches.
The preparation in its entirety should not exceed a month and a half, also taking into account the rest days that your body needs. Exploiting your physique too much could lead to serious consequences or finally not having as effective preparation as you expect. Try to plan this training period to end a couple of days before the test.
Tips to prepare a duathlon
We propose some tips and basic details that you should not lose sight of to compete in the duathlon successfully. Some of the tricks that we propose will also serve you in your performance during the duathlon.
- Despite being an individual competition, you can train in a group, since in this way the preparation period becomes more fun.
- Train with the clothes and shoes of the competition days before this.
- Test the bike and modify all the necessary elements to make it comfortable for you.
- Do not start too fast, try to go with the group and later you separate.
- Increase the pace upwards, without burning too much energy from the start, since otherwise you could get fatigued before you even start pedaling.
- Always try to turn or go through the curves on the left side of the track.
- In the last meters of the bike segment, try to arrive before the peloton, so that you do not waste time trying to place your bike and your accessories (which you should not leave scattered either, since they hinder the other cyclists)
- If you are a beginner, preferably participate in duathlons on flat terrain or that contain slight climbs.
- You can wear gloves, which will serve you especially when using the bike, ultimately you can release them in any of the sections.
- For your shoes use elastic laces, so that it is very easy to adjust and unfasten them.
- Especially in the final stretch, try as hard as you can, thinking that there are only a few minutes left.
We hope these tips will make your training for and during duathlon easier. With a lot of effort and sacrifice you will surely achieve better marks every time you try.