Welcome to the REAL Series training
This year’s Series brings the options to train for the Duathlon, or a triathlon or a 5km walk/run. Or, a combination of all of them!
We’ve designed a training programme for all the options to make sure you are ready for your event day.
We have designed three 10 week programmes to help you get in shape for the 2012 Duathlon Series. One is for our keen ‘walking’ ladies, one is for those who like to ‘jog’ and one is for the ‘runner’.
If you wish to train for our new Triathlon in Mt Maunganui we've designed two 5 week programmes – one is for beginners to the sport and the other is for more advanced triathletes.
If you are not a biker, nor a swimmer – we have also designed a 4 week programme to help you prepare for the 5km walk/run at Ambury Regional Park, Auckland.
All of the programmes have the same activities on the same days and all the ‘rest’ days are the same. We’ve designed it this way so you can commit to training with a friend even if you are using different programmes. This way, you can meet for your run/jog or run and do it at your own pace according to your programme. It’s always fun to have company and it keeps us honest when we know we have said to someone – “I’ll ride with you tomorrow”.
Each programme has a minimum of two rest days per week. Make sure you take these days – all the research in the world says we only progress our training if we rest and let our body recover between some sessions.
We have also put some stretch sessions into the programme. It doesn’t matter if you move these around to other days – but try and stay motivated to do them. For some further help with “stretch exercises” click here. It is important to gently stretch our muscles after a workout and it is also good to have a stretch on a rest day. Just 10 minutes while you are watching TV, or listening to music!
In the Duathlon and Triathlon programmes you will see that after some of the bike sessions we have put a 5 or 10 minute walk/jog or run in the programme. It is important to teach your body how to walk/jog or run after the bike. As you know, the two forms of exercise demand different things from the muscle groups so sometimes our legs feel wobbly or heavy when we first get off the bike – let alone heading off on a walk/jog or run. Therefore, it’s a good idea to prepare the muscles for this so we introduce it early in the programme. We know 5 – 10 minutes seems short and almost not worth doing – but it is, I promise!
Finally, remember it’s ok to miss a few sessions in a programme. We are busy and sometimes things crop up and we just can’t get to that session on that day. So, it’s OK to miss it. But don’t try and repeat it somewhere else that week. Rather, just go to the next session on the next day.
Have fun, be safe and “Just do it for yourself”!
Here are a few pointers to help you choose the right programme.
Walking – this is the right programme if you are new to exercise and you are just getting back into it. And there are lots of ladies who just don’t like to run and prefer to walk – this caters specially for you.
Jogging – this is the programme to choose if you are a casual runner who feels comfortable going for a slow run for 10min+ without too much effort
Running – this is the programme for the lady who is not new to regular running and can run for 25min or more at a brisk pace.
And, a description of some on the key words used in the programmes.
Easy – Easy pace - taking your time, not pushing the body at all
Moderate – training mode, heart rate is elevated, work rate is medium intensity.
Effort – Effort pace - simulating event day conditions, pushing yourself, work rate is above medium
3Peat – this is when we try to simulate event day and attempt all the disciplines together. If it is too hard in the beginning that’s OK, just do two and work your way up to doing all three.
Please find training programmes below:
