Racing & Strategy

Block Periodisation vs Traditional Build: Does the Structure of Your Winter Matter?

Block periodisation packs hard sessions into short, focused weeks. Early trials in cyclists looked impressive; a meta-analysis found small gains and a later 12-week trial found none. What that means for planning your winter.

Winter Wheeze: Exercise-Induced Bronchoconstriction in Cold Air and Chlorinated Pools

Cold, dry air and chlorinated pools are two of the best-known triggers for exercise-induced bronchoconstriction, and winter gives triathletes both. What the research shows about who gets it, why symptoms mislead, and why testing beats guesswork.

Planning Next Season: How Many A-Races, and How Far Apart?

No trial has tested how many A-races an age-grouper should target. What taper, Ironman and marathon recovery research implies for spacing them, why each peak costs weeks of building, and how to use B and C races.

The Spring Training Camp: What a Week of Big Volume Actually Buys You

A week of big training can lift performance once you've recovered, but pushing into overreaching backfires. What studies of overloaded triathletes and cyclists show, and how to plan a camp that pays off.

The Masters Training Week: Recovery, Intensity and Lifting After 50

Older triathletes often feel they need more recovery, yet cutting intensity drives much of the age-related decline. What studies of masters athletes show about recovery, hard sessions and lifting, and how the week can change.

Cycle Syncing Your Strength Sessions: What the Evidence Actually Supports

Should you lift heavy in the follicular phase and back off in the luteal phase? What meta-analyses of strength across the menstrual cycle and the few phase-based training trials show, and what to track instead.

A Gym Session the Day Before the Race? What "Priming" Research Shows

Some athletes lift on race morning or the day before to feel sharper. The research comes from team-sport and power athletes, with a handful of endurance trials and nothing in long-course triathlon. What it shows.

Humid, Not Just Hot: What a Sticky Race Day Does to Pacing and Cooling

At the same temperature, humid air slowed trained cyclists by a further 3.4%. Why humidity matters separately from heat, what it does to pacing, and what the evidence says about ice, slurries and cooling during a race.

Tapering for an Ironman: How Much to Cut, and for How Long

Meta-analyses point to a taper of about two weeks, cutting volume by 40-60% while keeping intensity and session frequency. What the evidence shows, where it comes from, and what's inference for a full-distance triathlon.

The Kona Standard: What Age-Grading Says About How Much Slower You Really Get

IRONMAN now ranks Kona qualifiers by age-graded time. How the Kona Standard factors work, what they imply about ageing, and what 25 years of research on Ironman results says about swim, bike and run decline in men and women.

Menopause and the Triathlete: What the Evidence Can and Can't Tell You Yet

Menopause symptoms are common in endurance athletes, and the research on training through them is thin. What a 2025 survey, heat, bone and exercise studies show, and where the gaps are.

The Off-Season: How Much Time Off Before Fitness Really Slips

A short break after a long season costs less than most triathletes fear, but a long one does cost fitness. What detraining research shows about VO2max, blood volume, muscle and strength, and how to plan the gap.

Where Should Your Next Training Hour Go? The Race Value of Getting Fitter in the Water

The swim is the shortest leg and the weakest predictor of finishing time. But swim fitness also changes how fresh you start the bike. How to weigh an extra hour in the pool against one on the bike or run.

Reading the Research as a Female Triathlete: What Transfers, What Doesn't, and Where to Look

A practical framework for female triathletes: which male-derived findings probably transfer, which need caution, what the women-specific evidence actually shows, and how to test it on yourself.

Mostly Men, Mostly Cyclists: How Well Does Triathlon Research Represent Women?

Women make up about a third of sport science participants and only 6-7% of studies are women-only. What that gap means for the triathlon research you read, and where it matters most.

The Watts the Heat Takes

Heat cuts your power ceiling within 45 minutes even when you're perfectly hydrated. Here's what it does to your watts during the ride, what cooling really buys you, and the warning signs that mean stop.

Your Hour-Four FTP Isn't Your FTP: The Problem With Intensity Factor

Race %FTP targets are calculated against a fresh FTP — but that threshold falls 5–15% by hour three, so the same target quietly gets harder to hold as the race goes on.

Salt Tablets Won't Save You: Fluid, Sodium and Hyponatremia Risk

Sodium supplementation doesn't prevent exercise-associated hyponatremia, and scheduled over-drinking isn't the safe or fast choice either — here's the evidence and the emergency signs to know.

Smooth Beats Surgy: How Bike Power Variability Shapes Your Run Split

Average watts aren't the whole story: surging, variable bike power costs age-groupers time on the run, but the fix isn't as simple as “ride perfectly flat.” Here's what the evidence actually supports.

Heat Acclimation for Race Day: How Many Days You Actually Need Before Racing in the Heat

How much heat prep actually works before racing in the heat, what the sports-science consensus says about timing, and the safety rules to respect along the way.

Racing by Feel vs. Racing by Numbers: What Pacing Science Says About Power Meters, GPS, and RPE

What pacing research actually supports in the feel-vs-data debate, why even and negative pacing consistently beat aggressive starts, and how to combine RPE with power and pace data.

Block Periodisation Isn't a Secret Formula

Myth: Block periodisation beats a traditional build.

A Training Camp Works Best If It Doesn't Break You

Myth: The more wrecked you are after camp, the fitter you'll get.

More A-Races Don't Mean More Peaks

Myth: The more A-races you plan, the more chances you have to peak.

Your Winter Cough Needs a Test, Not a Guess

Myth: You can tell exercise asthma from your symptoms.

Gym the Day Before Your Race? Not for Long-Course

Myth: A gym session the day before a race makes you faster.

After 50, Lifting May Pay Off More, Not Less

Myth: After 50, drop the hard sessions and the gym.

Cycle Syncing Your Lifting: What the Evidence Actually Shows

Myth: You should only lift heavy in your follicular phase.

Humidity slows you down, even at the same temperature

Myth: if you can handle the heat, humidity doesn't matter.

You don't slow down steadily every year after 30

Myth: you get slower every year after 30.

A good taper cuts volume, not intensity

Myth: tapering means resting up and doing almost nothing.

A short off-season break costs less than you fear

Myth: take a month off and you'll lose everything.

Being fit doesn't protect you from menopause symptoms

Myth: endurance athletes sail through menopause.

The swim isn't automatically the worst use of your hour

Myth: skip the swim — it's the shortest leg and barely moves your result.

Your cycle isn't secretly wrecking your training

Myth: your cycle and the pill are quietly wrecking your performance.

Most triathlon research was never tested on women

Myth: triathlon research applies equally to everyone.

Heat cuts your power even when you're hydrated

Myth: stay hydrated and heat won't touch your watts.

Your hour-four FTP isn't your FTP

Myth: your fresh FTP number holds for the whole race.

Salt tablets won't stop hyponatremia

Myth: if you're cramping or feeling off late in a long race, take more salt tablets and drink more.

Smooth pacing beats surging, watt for watt

Myth: surging on the hills and easing off on the flats evens out to the same effort.

"Just race by feel" vs what the science says

Myth: just race by feel — ignore the data.

Sauna vs. training outdoors in the heat

Myth: you need to travel somewhere hot to prepare for a hot race.