The most tiring part of a triathlon race is the run, even though it seems to be the least feared by those without a competitive background in any of the three sports.
Running is a very natural gesture and we are convinced we can tackle this “leg” much more “lightly”.
Nothing could be further from the truth: the run comes when our organism is already tired and we are already suffering from a shortage of glycogen. Let’s see how we can overcome these handicaps through training drills and methods.
The first thing we can do is connected with the fact that, whereas in cycling we mainly use the front/upper part of our legs, most of our impetus when running comes from the rear/lower region.
The plantar and bipennate muscles are used more when running: we use their elastic strength to run more efficiently. Our feet are relatively inactive during the bike ride and, after over one hour’s exertion, they lose some of the sensibility required to provide the right impetus and drive.
Here are some drills designed to develop these specific abilities:
– Zero impact jumps: stand with your hands relaxed along your sides and make little jumps using just your feet and calf muscles (small jumps with as little impact time on the ground as possible)
– Box…
