10 reasons an Ironman triathlete should do a 100 mile Time Trial
May 3, 2019
Time Trials are incredibly cheap and often only £7.50 compared to a Triathlon which is often £120.
There’s much less faff, kit, setting up and hassle compared to a triathlon which can make a refreshing change.
It simulates a lot of the demands of an Ironman so it’s great preparation. A lot of triathletes spend a lot of time riding with friends and in a group, which obviously makes the training fun, but sometimes means athletes lack the ability to pedal consistently hard over the distance.
It helps you to practice your kit and position on the bike for the Ironman whilst riding hard under pressure. A common mistake made by lots of triathletes is they never ride hard enough in training. So come race day, nutrition and kit hasn’t been properly tested.
See above point – It helps you to practice your nutrition under race conditions
It helps to teach you focus and concentration for the distance.
It’s an opportunity to practice a race plan that might be something similar to your Ironman
It’s a great benchmark to give you an idea of where your fitness is and what you’re capable of in your Ironman and can help with pacing and predicting a bike split for your Ironman.
It’s a lot easier to recover from a long hard ride, than a long hard run or a middle distance triathlon.
Long distance Time Trials are often harder than a Triathlon because there’s very little support and as they’re usually very small there’s not even many other athletes on the course. Making them lonely and HARD. Which is great for developing mental toughness so that you’re “hard as nails” for the Ironman.
