February Training Update From Pro Triathlete Matt Leeman

I’m back out in the Cyprus sun with my coach Perry Agass and the squad, training alongside the ETE tricamps. This is my second year based out here in Paphos, I knew what to expect and the results that a long hard stint out here in the winter delivers. Training has been intense since I arrived; high swim volume and plenty of hard structured bike, run and brick sessions. I’m feeling pretty sharp and the volume is starting to build around the core quality sessions. We follow a reverse periodisation model of quality work being our ‘base’ rather than the traditional long-slow aerobic work. Having trained using both, I very much agree with the reverse of the traditional method and keeping the speed there all year round, here’s a link to an article that explains it in more depth.

The training vibe here has been really good and definitely helps facilitate the hard yards required to be competitive in triathlon. Swim sessions have been long but pretty much always consist of some hard efforts, even for a recovery swim, short sharp reps of 25/50m are the key component of the session. And nothing beats the open air for a pool session!

The natural environment and facilities here provide a very constructive environment to train. There is the infamous DC (dual carriage way), a quiet long stretch of road with a series of roundabouts and good road surface that are absolutely perfect for structured bike sessions as you hardly ever have to stop and can really focus on the session without worrying about the things that can impede a quality bike session on the road. Plenty of hills, a great track, and a pool as well as varied terrain and scenery for a long ride.

Race season is just around the corner with the majority of the ETE race team opening the 2018 campaign at a middle distance race in Ayia Napa, not somewhere generally associated with triathlon... I’m looking forward to getting it underway and see where the training so far this season has got me.