World Triathlon

In this week’s addition of Wednesday workouts, Great Britain’s Christopher Owens gives us some insights into how he trained his way to a first place finish in the men’s 60-64 age group event at the 2013 ITU World Championships.

How you got involved in triathlon?
After many years of running with Ranelagh Harriers (www.ranelagh-harriers.com) and swimming indoors once a week, I discovered modern wetsuits kept you warm enough to enjoy open water. This motivated me to improve my cycling, and start triathlon about four years ago. 

How often do you train?
From four to six days per week, cycling up to three hours, swimming one to two hours, running 60-90 minutes. Rest is just as important as working out.

Best training advice?
Find a good club to strengthen your weaknesses and that gives you a good environment to train in. James and the others at Optima (www.optimaracingteam.com) have contributed as much to my success as my own efforts. Make sure you put as much back into the club as you take out.

What motivates you to race?
The challenge of executing all the events properly and producing a good performance on race day. Representing my country and competing in some very exotic places around the world is also a great motivator.

To get in shape for that, all after a good warm up, some enjoyable sessions for me are:

Swim in the summer: Alternate 400m and 800m loops in my local lake gradually increasing pace - it is a good day when I can manage three sets…..
Swim in the winter: 400m warmup, 4 x 100m firm, 15mins stroke technique, 4 X 400m resting 3mins per rep, 200m warmdown
Bike: Ride from Richmond (UK) into the countryside with three or four short steep hills including Box Hill (part of the 2014 Olympic road bike course) – 2.5 to 3 hours depending on the weather!
Run: 3 x 10mins with 90secs recovery between efforts