The season's come to an end, meaning you can sit back, flood your system with craft ale and pile on the pounds. In the process, of course, you can wave goodbye to those hard-earned 2022 gains and bid adios to a 2023 PB. Yes, it's good to take time to unwind from your summer of events but you've more than likely enjoyed that period of R&R and should be champing at the bit to train.
And that's where off-road running, or trail running, comes in. This simple but effective slant on your normal running will deliver many physical, mental, and performance benefits including higher aerobic capacity, stress relief from the bucolic backdrop, and faster run times. Running off-road also varies foot strike, meaning the chances of overuse injury are reduced compared to the metronomic and often debilitating striding atop hard tarmac. That said, don't stop pavement running completely. A good mix is what's required for all-round gains.
If you need evidence that off-road running can send your fitness into the stratosphere, look no further than Kilian Jornet. The Spanish runner holds myriad trail titles and world records including winning the acclaimed Skyrunner World Series six times. In 2018, he also smashed the Bob Graham Round, one of the most celebrated challenges in endurance sport, comprising a course of 106km with 8,200m ascent over 42 fells that must be completed in 24hrs. Jornet completed it in 12:52hrs (the record lasting until American Jack Kuenzie broke it in September this year). His VO2max has been measured at a frankly ridiculous 92ml/min/kg with his resting heart rate down in the low 30s.
You might not reach those levels but, as Jornet shows, there's no denying hitting the trails will give your run a boost.
10 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR 2023 RUN PERFORMANCE
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Esta historia es de la edición December 2022 de 220 Triathlon.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
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How to Carb Load - Packing your working cells with carbohydrates in the build-up to your big race is a proven strategy to race stronger and faster...
Whichever distance triathlon you're racing, the intensity and duration of your activity will see your body tap into its stores of carbohydrates (in the form of glycogen) to power your effort. While it's possible to top up your tank on the go, it's better to start your event with your stores full to the brim.
The Olympic Champion - On 31 July, Great Britain's Alex Yee put together arguably the greatest one-day performance we have ever seen at an Olympic Games to win gold. And we were there at the finish line to speak to tri's new poster boy...
The opening line of the race report read how 20 years on from New Zealand’s first and only Olympic triathlon gold medal, Hayden Wilde had put in a careerbest performance to regain the title for his nation. Then Alex Yee comes around the corner.Yee’s charge, seemingly from nowhere on the final lap of the 10km run in Paris, didn’t just help him become the most decorated Olympic male triathlete of all time, and didn’t just cap a rivalry that has been building for six years, it left seasoned watchers of swim, bike, run in awe. It will go down as one of the greatest triathlon races; Yee, still just 26, as one of the greatest triathletes. His medals from Paris added to the two from Tokyo, leaving his haul at two gold, a silver and a bronze, and counting.
"I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO INFLUENCE THE GROWTH OF TRIATHLON"
British Triathlon CEO Ruth Daniels talks Paris, her plans to grow tri and her own personal goals... knees allowing
ZWIFT RIDE
£1,199.99 Zwift's new Ride is an indoor bike that might help you break your PB... but won't break the bank
PARIS SHOWED THE VALUE OF OLYMPIC EXPERIENCE
With the spotlight on triathlon like never before at these Games, debutant athletes talked about being overwhelmed by the unique environment
GAMES AT THE GAMES
After watching and enjoying the Olympic triathlon events, Brunt amused himself by playing the 'guess how far into each event I would die' game...
WHERE EAGLES DARE
With little heat prep, the wrong gear choice and a course-recce mistake, would experienced extreme triathlete Sean McFarlane soar like an eagle or drop like a stone in Italy?
HOW TO INCREASE RUN PACE WHEN FATIGUED
The ability to dig deep in the latter stages of a race helped Alex Yee achieve Olympic gold. Here Ben, a member of Team GB's coaching staff in Paris, explains how you too can find that extra gear...
BUYER'S GUIDE: BIKE COMPUTERS
Log your rides, find your way and monitor your multisport training with a quartet of impressive bike computers...
POLAR GRIT X2 PRO
\"You can't be anything other than impressed with the GPS, whose design is one of the significant changes to the V3\"
