Virtual Training and Challenges with online events to do this Autumn 2020 during Lockdown and 2021
I've been planning on releasing a blog post on this topic for a while now, and now seems as opportune a time as any. Nice and early on a Sunday morning, new dawn and new goals! Reset, learn to adapt and evolve and change to suit your environment.
We know that trying to stay motivated this year has been tricky, races cancelled left, right and centre, or no races, but with a bit of creative thinking and looking online I have pulled together a range of options for you that will keep a marker in the sand for you to aim for. A goal, a target, a plan, something to keep you focused, with some structure, and a routine, to keep you focused during these tricky times. A deadline to an event or goal always helps you to stay training and sticking to a routine more than not having one.
You can create your own point to point distance challenge with friends, or a Strava one. Find a segment you recognise, and see where you are on the leaderboard. Using Strava and/or Garmin segments to keep your motivation up and to track how you're doing against yourself and others locally. Try and beat your best times on a particular segment, whether this is running, walking or cycling, or swimming. I did this recently in Chawton Woods in Alton, after a friend spotted we were in the top 10 for a mountain bike section. I thought I can go faster than that and checked it out at a slower speed, then went for it, and dropped 40 seconds off my first time, moving me up to 2nd place. I have another 12 seconds to remove to get me to 1st place, and I thought "that was fun!" Simple and effective. Follow the people you want to try and beat, you never know, you might bump into them next time your out training there! Potential new friends await you everywhere! You can also use benchmarking tests against your own performance can really help too.
Join our Facebook speedy swimming group community here and keep in touch with like-minded souls, connect with future training partners, ask each for tips and advice, ideas for training, learn about open water swimming, cycling and running and also make friends.
Join this here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/speedyswimcoachcafe
We also have an online Zoom meet up group on Tuesday evenings which is focused towards core strength for swimmers and triathletes, where we build and maintain fitness using swim bands sets, boxercise for upper body cardio, yoga for stretching and supple muscles, strength training to correct muscle imbalances and stay injury-free.
More info on this here: https://www.speedyswimming.co.uk/swimstrengthonlinetraining
The Ironman Triathlon Virtual Racing series
This is a series of weekly triathlon races online and virtual and also training by yourself using a GPS tracking watch which uploads your training data to Sport Heroes website, which then connects to Ironman VR. There are different distances and events each week, of different distances, including run/bike / run and
Introducing the IRONMAN VR World Tour
The next phase of virtual racing is here as IRONMAN Virtual Club announces the IRONMAN VR World Tour. This five-week-long series takes athletes on a virtual journey to explore the global portfolio of IRONMAN's live events and celebrate our community of athletes from all over the world.
The IRONMAN VR World Tour kicks off in Europe, and then travels to the Americas, Asia and Africa before wrapping up in Oceania. This virtual training and racing experience includes four weeks of weekday workouts and virtual races, with the series culminating in an IRONMAN 70.3 half distance VR at the end of November. Each week will feature training workouts in the swim, bike, and run disciplines, as well as a weekend VR tied thematically to the region.
Register here: https://app.ironmanvirtualclub.com/en/challenges
Different set distances each week
Xterra VR
https://www.xterraplanet.com/xvr
From the Xterra website explaining how their VR series will work and what you need to know:
"The 2020 XTERRA Virtual Race Series is a universal collection of dynamic challenges to unite and inspire the global endurance community. The season kicked-off in July with the Rally Around XTERRA Planet Challenge, which was a smashing success, connecting more than 1,500 athletes from 56 countries in a 30-day quest to circle the globe as many times as possible. Together, the XTERRA Family logged 239,413 kilometres – enough mileage to circumnavigate the planet almost six times!
In the weeks and months to come, XTERRA is offering trail runs and duathlons with themes that highlight the amazing people and places where XTERRA races from Europe to the Asia-Pacific, Americas, and Maui as home to the World Championship. Sign-up today and join in the fun, it’s FREE!"
Cycling on Zwift
Zwift time trials, races road and mountain bike
https://zwift.com/events/tag/britishcyclingrace?__znl=en-eu
Zwift Academy Sessions by British Triathlon
Sign up to the Zwift triathlon academy and we can help you train properly for them and achieve your best!
Can you make the team?
The Conqueror Virtual Challenges
These look and sound great with challenges ranging from running the Inca trail, Hadrians wall, to swimming the channel over a period of time, and other epic distance challenges. You can earn medals, and amazing apparel, track your progress online. "Your next adventure awaits!"
https://www.theconqueror.events/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwlvT8BRDeARIsAACRFiXKV5s1aLbC02WYbPc72wpJLIWLvPoHc3J5Xbh3yK-TGYO4RCFyOdQaAnyaEALw_wcB
Running
"Join over 50,000 runners worldwide and enter a virtual race you can run anywhere, anytime at your own pace."
Some Inspiration for you!
Iceman Antarctic Ironman Triathlon
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/triathlon/54530301
Create your own endurance challenge
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-involved/events-and-fundraising/organise-your-own-fundraising/organise-your-own-challenge/organise-your-own-cycle
Raise money for charity
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/cycle-dementia
Water Aid, Alzheimer's, Cancer charities all have virtual events you can sign up to and raise money for or create your own event if you prefer...
Remote Online Coaching using Training Peaks
Stay tuned with us over the next few days as we are launching a Training Plans membership, adding more spaces to our core strength zoom classes for front crawl, and have spaces for remote online coaching too. I'm also looking at Dynamic training plans for the different distances of triathlon, updating what we are offering and looking at different options.
We can help you achieve this all, stay motivated, on track, training correctly, and towards your personal best, whatever your training goal may be.
We are currently accepting new athlete registrations for online coaching via Training Peaks. Initially, the best thing to do is to arrange a suitable time for a consultation where we can talk through your future goals, training and racing history, understand you and your lifestyle more, how much time you have to train per week, what your experience level is, distance event you are aiming for, and areas you specifically want to target and improve upon in the form of goals
We can help you to:
• Train correctly in the right training zone • Receive weekly or monthly training plan updates and scheduling • Analysis and monitoring of your training sessions • Bespoke structured daily training sessions, using the Training Peaks online coaching platform • Periodisation of your weeks training through different phases • Small manageable goals set along the way • Training Peaks to track and monitor your sessions and performance
We'll help you to work out where you are right now, you tell us where you want to get to, and we can help you to become more efficient and on track, give you weekly and monthly targets, keep you focused, improve your technique, learn about sports nutrition, open water swim skills and drills, transitions, and training and racing tactics to perform at your best, and what you must improve upon to reach your target.
Your best performance is subject to planning and structuring your training sessions.
View our coaching plan packages here:
Nick has been a Level 3 British Triathlon Coach for 14 years, and has been a master endurance coach with Training Bible Coaching UK in that time. He is also a Training Peaks Level 2 Accredited Coach, and has worked as a Regional Development Coach for the South East region for British Triathlon. He was also one of 12 coaching advisors on the new STA Open Water Coaching Course.
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