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D3 University is our library of articles and videos from the D3 coaches and other experts to help you train and race your best.
Triathletes and Flip Turns: Are they worth the Trouble?
The argument against doing flip turns is a strong one: You don’t do flip turns in a race! While that is a valid point and I can see the logic behind it, but I can take the same logic and…
Athlete of the Month, August 2008
D3: Why triathlon?JP: I was a competitive swimmer from the age of 5. I stopped swimming after my freshman year in college because I had lost my edge and desire to compete. After moving to Colorado, I started mountain biking…
POWER TRAINING BASICS AND TERMINOLOGY
Before we get into how to use a power meter, let’s talk about how to establish a baseline Functional Threshold Power (FTP). Establishing an FTP: According to the ‘Racing and Training with Power’ by Coggan and Allen, a 20 minute…
Planning a Week in Triathlon Training
Winter time is a time for most of us to start getting back into shape and getting our fitness revved up again for the season ahead. It’s very early in the training cycle and you are months away from your…
Turning Off Season to On Season
Off season is usually approached by two kinds of triathletes. The sit and wait until the snow melts to begin training types, or the embrace the cold and take a leap forward in fitness types athlete. This transitional period is…
Swim Drills: Swim Slow to Go Fast!
To go fast, sometimes you have to go slow. Nowhere is this saying more applicable than in swimming. No matter how fit you are, what your LT or VO2 Max is, without proper form you will never reach your full…
WEIGHT TRAINING ADAPTATION PHASE
General Adaptation Phase Frequency: 2-3 times per week. Sets: 2 to 5 ideally, with 3 working sets. Repetitions: 15-25 Rest between Sets: Done as circuit rest 15-60 seconds between individual exercises within each circuit and 1-3 min. between circuits.Tempo: 1…
Swim Workouts to Spice up your Winter Training
I am often asked how to work technique work into a swim workout or swim plan and in my opinion swim technique drills should be done each and every time you get in the water. Even something as simple as…
Swim Pacing for Ironman Racing
How fast does one need to swim 100’s in order to simulate a goal IM swim? The basic question asked would solicit several other questions: How many 100’s? How much rest? What kind of training are you doing? What kind of shape are…
Sport Rotation in Triathlon – Getting through a Plateau
Earlier in my life I worked in a big city, took the train to work everyday, and trained for triathlon about 6 hours per week. My job was stressful and my commute was long; about 3 hours per day. I…
Ironman Hawaii Course Preview
If this is your first time racing Ironman Hawaii, it’s likely you don’t know what to expect. Yes, you may have watched every Ironman race on TV since 1978, but seeing it and experiencing it are completely different things. We…
Bike Workouts to take you from the Base to Build Period
A general rule of thumb for writing a comprehensive training plan is that it should encompass progressive overload, be specific and take into account the individual needs of a specific athlete. Scientific approach to designing a training plan that follows…
5 Tips for Resuming Training after the Holidays
With the holiday season behind us we can focus on the upcoming race season. Many athletes jump into training during the winter without really having a road map of where they want to go. I have listed some easy to…
Beginner Video Series, Part 6: Strength Training
UNDERSTAND THE POWER OF STRENGTH TRAINING!An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Yes, that is a cliché, but in this sport, your body’s happiness is important. Managing your training with intention and purpose will help you prevent…
Beginner Video Series, Part 7: Triathletes Love Technology
TEAR UP THE COMPETITION WITH TECHNOLOGY! About 90% of new athletes train in the No Benefit Zone (NBZ), and that wastes precious training time! You can avoid the NBZ by using devices that give you insight into your body’s performance.…