Without a doubt, Craig "Crowie" Alexander is one of the most recognized names in the sport of triathlon. With Crowie's lengthy resume of achievements and remarkable reputation, he is one of the most respected people in all of endurance sport. Here, he lays out four key aspects of training to focus on going into the season.
This is the longer duration, lower intensity (zone 2) work. This is the time to work on "becoming a fat-burner"
Triathlon is a strength-based sport; strong muscles are resistant to fatigue and better at producing power/speed.
How?
a) Incorporate hill work into your long/low intensity sessions
b) Have a very specific and planned strength program.
c) Incorporate discipline-specific sessions utilizing high load to target strength (ie. big gear work on bike)
*TECHNIQUE FIRST
Incorporating a bit of intensity assists in the transition from Base Phase into the season but doesn’t harm the physiological goals of early season prep.
Q: What advice would you give to aging athletes that are trying to juggle family, work, and training and still want to be competitive?
You have to be very organized with your time. One thing I would do is sit down with my wife and write down the training plan for everyone in the house to know what the plan was. Then I found out what the important events/things were (the non-negotiables).
Also, as we get older, recovery is not as good. Factor more recovery time in between hard sessions. Additionally, emphasize sleep and supplement your diet.
Q: What tips do you have for not going too hard, too often?
*In reference to Zwift* - While it’s a great tool, don’t join a group ride every time. Just log in, pick a course, and ride in your zones. Be disciplined enough to stick to your plan when needed.
Q: Fueling tips for racing in extreme heat?
Pacing: drop your threshold by 5-8% to adjust for the impact of heat + humidity in those situations.
Sauna: use a sauna protocol to stimulate some of the changes our body needs to operate in a hotter climate.
Fueling: have a nutrition strategy and practice that plan; it should be focused around calories per hour, hydration(fluid) need per hour, and electrolytes per hour.
Q: How do you train yourself mentally?
Visualize certain aspects of your event in your training sessions. For me, it may be the first 200-300m of the swim where I had to get out hard. I could take myself mentally “away” and be at an event. Also, changing my thought process over time; patterns that reinforce positive pathways.