Discomfort Zone Spring Triathlon Clinic
Guelph, Ontario
Race-ready triathlon training! Join us and learn to execute your full racing potential! 12 Weeks Non Members: $349
DZ Spring Triathlon Clinic
University of Guelph & Guelph Lake
Mondays & Thursday Evenings May through July
DZ Spring Triathlon Clinic on Facebook
Contents:
About Spring Triathlon Clinic
An Early Start on Triathlon Season
Time For Specific Training
Everyone is Welcome
The Training
Clinic Workouts
Details
Directions
Equipment
Sports Nutrition Supported
Pricing
Register
About Spring Triathlon Clinic
Spring is the time to start specific training. Pack swimming, starts, dolphin dives, rules, transitions, nutrition – there’s a lot to know.
If you’re racing your first triathlon, a spring clinic is a great way to learn the skills needed for a well-executed race. If you’re a veteran, it’s a great way to sharpen them up.
An Early Start on Triathlon Season
Triathlon season is fast approaching, and DZ Spring Triathlon Clinic provides a great way to get ready to race.
Solid spring training with a DZ Triathlon Clinic makes the most of valuable training time early in the season, and lays the groundwork for successful racing later in the year. Join us for a great start to your triathlon season!
It’s Time for Specific Training
In spring, our focus is on specific training and skills for the upcoming race season. Having recovered, improved technique, and built fitness during the off season, it’s now time for triathletes to prepare for well-executed racing.
Fitness isn’t the only component of a great triathlon race season: being able to put your fitness to work is key. Athletes at spring clinic learn how to get the most from their hard-won fitness by preparing correctly, avoiding common mistakes, and executing well on race day.
Participants will not only to build speed and endurance, but also sharpen their race skills. Athletes can expect challenging, interesting, and effective training in a fun, social group setting.
Everyone is Welcome
The great thing about a race-skills clinic is that while experienced athletes benefit from the advanced racing experience of a World Champion Head Coach, beginners benefit from the very same knowledge. We could accurately call DZ Spring Triathlon Clinic “How to Race a Great Triathlon.”
Beginners are absolutely welcome at Discomfort Zone triathlon clinics – we find that working out with a varied group is of vast benefit for everyone. Not to worry: we carefully set different workouts by athlete ability, and spring clinic is a great way to prepare for a first race.
There’s definitely technique and skill in triathlon, whether it’s your first race or your fiftieth. After a spring clinic, we’ve had beginners go on to race their first race so professionally spectators thought they’d been racing for years.
The Training
Spring clinic participants can expect challenging triathlon training run by experienced triathlon coaches. Training takes place in a fun, social group setting and is designed to meet the specific needs of triathletes.
Spring is the time to take all that fitness derived from base training over the winter and put it to work. Spring clinics focus on shifting to more triathlon-specific training in preparation for race season.
We run fun workouts in a relaxed, inclusive atmosphere where triathletes can help and encourage each other. We encourage swimmers, cyclists, and runners to join in for a little cross-training. Everyone is welcome!
Workouts & activities you might see at DZ Spring Triathlon Clinic
– Spring clinics feature swim workouts with a variety of drills and exercises specific to open-water swimming. These fully-coached workouts are great for athletes with the goal of being ready for early-season races, but are also fun training for beginners and excellent fitness for all triathletes. Sighting, waves, mass starts, and drafting are some of the skills covered.
– Timed continuous swims with distance tailored to each athlete’s goals. Swims range from individual time trials in open water to race conditions pack swims. Learn the best ways to swim safely in the chaos of a race, put in a solid workout and get an idea of how you’re doing.
– Flexibility is a great advantage in swimming. These exercises promote the flexibility to go faster while reducing the chance of injury.
– Even experienced triathletes can gain time with a smooth, fast, professional transition. Bike handling skills, equipment drills, practice, and even a few games help you get through T1 & T2 faster.
– With access to good training venues at DZ Spring Triathlon Clinic, it becomes practical to ride, transition, and run several times in one workout. Not only is this great for aerobic fitness, it’s also very race-specific for fast transitions, as well as helping to overcome the dreaded ‘lead legs’ for a faster start to the run. We also train swim exits, swim-to-bike, and swim-to-run.
– A wide variety of bike and run interval workouts in different locations, from loops to hills to out-and-backs, make for fun and interesting fitness-building workouts.
– It’s always more fun to ride with a group! DZ clinic endurance rides are a chance to build some fitness and enjoy riding outdoors.
– Drafting may not be legal in many races, but getting along in a pack or pace line is a worthwhile skill in its own right. And it’s fun! We also cover cornering, turnarounds, clipping in and out, and even riding etiquette.
– What triathlon training clinic would be complete without running drills? Athletes who do drills consistently improve their agility, run more efficiently, and get faster.
– A little competition is fun and motivating, so we invented the DZ 151 Duathlon. It’s a friendly mini-race with a sneaky cone course skills component and the best prizes of all: fitness and bragging rights!
Triathlon Clinic Details
Workouts run twice weekly for 12 weeks, Mondays and Thursdays from 6:00-8:30pm. Be sure to register online prior to clinic, as space is limited.
Clinic begins with plenty of outdoor running and cycling, then as weather permits training moves to Guelph Lake for open water swimming, transitions, and specific skills.
Once it’s warm enough for open water swimming, come prepared to swim and run on Mondays, then to bike and run on Thursdays. Cycling workouts take place at different area venues to take advantage of a variety of good cycling terrain.
Athletes are welcome to join us for the entire clinic or just the swim+run (Mondays) or bike+run (Thursdays).
Registered participants will receive an email prior to the start of clinic with maps and directions, as well as contact info for the coaches just in case.
Participants also receive a midweek email about each upcoming workout, with any last-minute updates, where to meet, and what to bring.
You can also check out the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) for more info, or Contact us and we’ll be happy to answer any questions!
Directions
Clinic starts with a triathlon-specific run workout in the University of Guelph Arboretum, which is located on campus. Coaches will be in the lobby of the W.F. Mitchell Athletic Centre on the first day so athletes who aren’t familiar with the university can easily find us.
As soon as weather permits, workouts move to Guelph Lake Conservation Area for Monday swim+run workouts.
Thursday bike+run workouts take place at a variety of locations near Guelph – we’ll generally meet at Calvary Baptist Church on Arkell Rd. and ride to our destination.
Equipment for Spring Triathlon Clinic
Spring clinic takes place entirely outdoors, so you’ll need all the equipment you’d bring for a race, plus some warm clothing for the cool days in the early spring.
Swims are open water, and the first few are cold. People have done them without wetsuits, but we recommend wearing one. Be sure you have a swimming wetsuit – diving and windsurfing wetsuits aren’t the same thing. We can recommend places to rent a wetsuit if you don’t have one. Also remember to bring a towel, goggles, and a bright-coloured swim cap.
While a road bicycle is recommended, a cyclocross, mountain, or hybrid bicycle is perfectly usable at all DZ clinics. Athletes often borrow a bicycle for the first part of clinic while they get some advice and shop for a new bike.
For running, all you need is run clothing appropriate for the weather and a good pair of running shoes. We’ll be running mostly on road with a bit of trail.
Spring clinic is designed to alternate workouts so that you’ll usually have to bring your wetsuit only on Mondays and your bike only on Thursdays, rather than having to bring everything to every workout.
Check out the Gear List for what you’ll need. We’re happy to assist athletes who need equipment, just let us know ahead of time by registering online.
For specifics, athletes should check our Clinics Gear List. Coaches (and other athletes) are always happy to help with gear choices.
Sports Nutrition Supported
Thanks to our longtime partnership with Infinit Nutrition Canada, Discomfort Zone Spring Triathlon Clinic includes Infinit fueling and recovery products for athletes’ use during clinic training.
Athletes can try Infinit DZ CLINIC FORMULA, a professional-level sports drink formulated specifically for DZ clinic training.
For recovery, Infinit REPAIR supplies needed nutrition after a challenging clinic workout.
Pricing
2017-2018 pricing:
24 Sessions (41 hours)
Mondays & Thursdays 6:00pm – 8:30pm
Triathlon Ontario Members: $329
DZM Members: $299
Mondays (Swim+Run) only: $199
Thursdays (Bike+Run) only: $199
Individual session: $30
How to Register
It’s easy to register! Simply click the link below to register online.
We use the same online registration system as Triathlon Ontario and the Ontario Cycling Association. If you need a Triathlon Ontario membership, you can easily join or renew at the same time.
Consider joining DZ Multisport Triathlon Club: $99 includes Tri Ontario, discounts on all DZ events and team gear, newsletter, and a swag bag.
More Info about Spring Triathlon Clinic
For more information or questions about spring clinic, Contact us and we’ll be happy to answer any questions.
You can also find lots of answers in our Clinics FAQ.
Check out our Clinics Gear List for detailed info about equipment.
Connect with us on social media:
DZ Spring Triathlon Clinic on Facebook
