Pacing Your Olympic Triathlon

Learn how to structure your race pace strategy to optimise your potential in your Olympic Triathlon.

Formulating a realistic pacing strategy will maximise your chances of having a great Olympic distance race. Using this process will also make you a more consistent athlete, enjoying success race after race.

For most people it's a 2 to 3 hour race, and your pacing strategy needs to reflect that. Don't think of it as three separate races - it's actually one continuous event.

Olympic Swim

During the first few minutes of the swim you can find your place in the group and hopefully get in the draft-zone of similar-level (or slightly faster) swimmers. After this ease back down to a moderate intensity and maintain that right through to the end of the swim. If you're a nervous swimmer, start off steady and stay out of harm's way.

There are several ways to pace yourself, including heart rate, pace and RPE. From a practical point of view, using RPE (feel) works well - it saves you trying to look at your watch.

Rate of Perceived Exertion (10 is your hardest)

For the first couple minutes your intensity should be in High Z4 to Low Z5 at 8/9 out of 10 (this will feel hard or very hard)
Then settle into Low Z4 at an intensity that feels hard at 7 out of 10

Max Heart Rate

For the first couple minutes your intensity should be 90 to 95% of your Maximal Heart Rate
Then settle into 85 to 90% of your Maximal Heart Rate

Pace

Swim at 1 to 3 seconds per 100 slower than your Critical Swim Speed
If you’re racing in a wetsuit, make sure you base your pacing strategy on your recent wetsuit training times (and vice versa)

Olympic Bike

Getting the bike section right is key to a successful race. Sensible pacing will also help you run faster off the bike. Here are three common mistakes to avoid:

Attempting to ride at a constant power output that is slightly too high.
Riding in bursts, ranging from easy to hard - without realising.
Riding too hard on the hills, often due to inappropriate gearing.

Use the pacing guidelines below and be realistic with your goals.

Power Output

Olympic Target	% FTP
Sub 2:30 hours	90 to 92%
2:30 to 3 hours	88 to 90%
3 plus hours	86 to 88%

Threshold Heart Rate (THR)

Olympic Target	% Bike THR
Sub 2:30 hours	95 to 99%
2:30 to 3 hours	90 to 94%
3 plus hours	88 to 90%

Rate of Perceived Exertion (where 10 is the hardest)

Olympic Target	RPE	Zone
Sub 2:30 hours	7 out of 10	Low Z4
2:30 to 3 hours	6/7 out of 10	Mid to High Z3
3 plus hours	6 out of 10	Mid Z3

Smart pacing throughout the bike leg will reap you rewards on the run. Maintain your energy levels by paying attention to your nutrition.

Olympic Run

Given that an Olympic triathlon is a two or three hour race, don’t expect to set any personal bests for the 10 km run. Realistically you can expect to be 90 seconds to four minutes slower than you would be in a standalone 10 km run race. If you pace the swim and bike properly, you will be closer to 90-seconds than four minutes. Imagine you’re doing a standalone half-marathon, rather than a 10 km, and you’ll be nearer the mark in terms of pacing.

Threshold Heart Rate (THR)

Olympic Target	% Threshold HR
Sub 2:30 hours	95 to 97%
2:30 to 3 hours	92 to 94%
3 plus hours	90 to 93%

Pace

Olympic Target	% Threshold Run Pace
Sub 2:30 hours	95 to 96%
2:30 to 3 hours	94 to 95%
3 plus hours	93 to 94%

Rate of Perceived Exertion (where 10 is the hardest)

Olympic Target	RPE	Zone
Sub 2:30 hours	7 out of 10	Low Z4
2:30 to 3 hours	6/7 out of 10	High Z3
3 plus hours	6 out of 10	Mid Z3

Using all three of the methods above (RPE, Pace and HR) is best as none of them are completely reliable in isolation. There are many variables that can affect them such as wind direction, gradient and cardiac drift (an increase in heart rate due to heat stress). The downsides of starting too fast are far greater than the downsides of starting too slow.

For all Disciplines

Ensure you base your Olympic Triathlon pacing strategy on real results from fitness tests done in the last 8 weeks. DO NOT GUESS!!!

Fitness Tests To Determine Your Thresholds

Your run success will be determined by how hard you went in the bike and swim sections - and your nutritional strategy. If you cycle too fast you will struggle to hold your pace on the run. If you pace the bike section intelligently and get your nutrition right, you can ride fast AND run well. Check our article for more on Race Nutrition.

This article was based on information from our blog post here: https://www.myprocoach.net/blog/how-to-pace-an-olympic-distance-triathlon/

Good Luck for your Olympic Triathlon!

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