Speed, distance, power, effort are all part of this big giant triathlon puzzle. Sometimes it takes a simple approach to fit the pieces in the right place. There’s more to getting faster then just overall speed. Aren’t you curious as to the other factors relative to improvement? If you are or even if you aren’t then read ahead and take notes. Field testing is a great way of seeing improvement over time and also it gives you the ability to formulate new training zones that are more appropriate for your new and improved body.

But not everyone has power meters, heart rate monitors or access to those high end testing facilities. So you are on your own to test yourself in the three sports. But what are you looking to achieve?

It is very simple actually. With our sports we want to see how fast we can go from point A to point B. You knew that right? Of course you did but there is some other information we are looking to get as well. Let’s say you do have a heart rate monitor. Now you can see how your heart rate is responding from point A to point B as well. When deciding on which tests to do it is important to be honest with yourself and do a self assessment of your current level of fitness. For instance if you are a newbie then it would be wise to choose the shorter of the tests listed below. If you are a really advanced athlete or are doing long course racing then choose the longer of the tests.

When testing you are always looking for repeatability or being able to repeat the conditions from test to test. It is a good idea to test every 8-10 weeks and work on making all the variables the same each time. So you test at the same time, eat the same foods and use the same equipment. See where we’re going here. Use a log book or any of the online training logs to record all these elements down in the same place. You do keep a log don’t you?

For swim testing it is quite simple as you are in a very controlled environment. For our purposes here you will need a 25 yard or meter pool. You want to have a very good warm up for all of the testing and the swim is no different.

For newbies I suggest 300-500 yards minimum of easy swimming and kicking with some drills. If you are a seasoned athlete then shoot for 800-1200 yards of the same.

Now it’s time to get the muscles firing. Complete 6-10 x 50’s of fast swimming with 1:00 rest in between. This will help your lactic acid clearance system kick in. Spend a minute or two stretching and reaffirming your test strategy in your head. Get in the game here and visualize your test like it is a race. THE PERFECT RACE.

Now it’s test time. Novices should complete 300 or 500 yards all out and you hard nosed vets should aim for 500 or 1000. In the very least get your total time for the set. Boom! You now have data to go by. If you are up for a challenge then get your 100 yard splits by hitting the lap button each time you push off the wall at the end of a 100 yard piece. If you want to get a gold star for the day then also take your stroke count average for the first 100 and also the last 100. You now have a baseline to go by to track your improvement.

You can also identify your threshold pace by breaking down the average 100 yard time for the test. So if you did 500 yards in 7:30 your threshold pace is 1:30 and you can build your swim workouts around this pace.

Now for the single component that most every tri head loves: the big bad bike test. We are looking to achieve the very same things with the bike test as with the swim test. We are looking to see how much time it takes to cover a certain distance. For the bike test we should always put safety first. Find a flat smooth road you can ride on in the daytime and one that has little traffic. If you are new to cycling then we will go for a 20:00 test. Below is the warm-up you can use for the test:
10:00 easy spinning in small ring
5:00 easy spinning in big ring
Then 5 x 1:00 going at hard effort; take 3:00 rest between efforts (these little pickups will make it easier for your legs to transition to the workload of the test and help to get all your systems firing at 100%) If you are unable to turn the pedals over, feel tired or unmotivated then turn around go home, sleep and eat well. Try the test another day!

Now pedal for 20:00 as hard and as fast as you can and remember to build it up in terms of effort. Start too fast and you will have a tough time towards the end. For this test record any information you can. For example: the distance traveled, average speed, average heart rate and also see if you can separate out the data from the first 10:00 and the last 10:00 to see if you paced it correctly. If you died towards the end then you know you gave too much and what heart rate to stay at in the next test.

If you are a seasoned triathlete or cyclist then you can use the warm-up as above or add fifteen to twenty minutes to it. You will want to do a thirty or forty minute test and achieve the same information. If you are using a heart rate monitor that does averages then the forty minute test will give you a very good estimate of what your Lactate Threshold Heart Rate (LTHR) is. You can use any number of LTHR calculators to come up with very accurate training zones for your cycling workouts. If you give the test a very good effort you will be surprised at the change in zones from what you are used to. Put all this data in your log book so you won’t forget it.

The run testing is quite simple but always make sure you are well rested, well fueled and well hydrated. Read over the protocols for the test a few days ahead of time and spend some time visualizing the test in your head. Come up with your pacing strategy and overall motivation strategy to help ensure that you give your best effort.

Here is the warm up for the run test:
8:00-10:00 easy running
1:00-2:00 stretching
5 x :30 accelerations to 90% effort with 2:00 between efforts

Run test for a newbie:
Run a 30 minute hard and best effort of flat and smooth road or track. Push the watch/ HR monitor ‘split’ button ten minutes into test. The average heart rate for last twenty minutes almost predicts your Lactate threshold heart rate (LTHR). As with the other tests if you are not using a HRM then note the distance covered. You can do this on a track to mark out your distance as well.

For you hard core runners out there then find a clean flat open 10K race to do and give it your very best effort. Your average HR will be your LTHR and you can go from there.

Anybody can do these tests and in this way you’re able to really see the changes that come along with consistent, quality training. Being able to quantify these changes and the work you are doing is a big piece of this triathlon puzzle.