Treadmill session: middle-distance
Ideal for learning to pace the first few km
This treadmill session for middle-distance triathletes helps you learn how to pace and ‘feel’ the first few kilometres of the run. Plus, you can practise feeding on the fly.
Don’t forget to check out our treadmill tips, and indoor running sessions for sprint and Olympic distance athletes.
Warm-up
Start as soon as possible after dismounting from your bike. Hop on the treadmill, start jogging to get up to speed. Don’t hit race pace yet – leave it below target speed.
Main set
Move up to just below your normal, average, middle-distance race speed, to hit around 82-85% HRmax. Watch your form, keep running for at least 8km. Aim to drink from a bottle or gulp a gel at 3km and 6km.
Cool-down
Back off the speed and jog for 2-3km at a relaxed pace. Stretching and/or self massage – again it’s a hard run, so compression tights on.
Progress
Look to increase the distance of the bike and extend the treadmill run. For example, 45km and 8km becomes 70km and 14km.
What’s your favourite middle-distance treadmill session? Let us know in the comments!
Jamie Beach
Former digital editor 
