The Power of Stroke Variety: Ava Jih-Schiff's Mixed-Stroke Swim Session

The Athlete: Ava Jih-Schiff brings a unique pedigree to triathlon. After 14 years as a synchronized swimmer—including representing the U.S. on the national team and competing for Stanford University—she transitioned to triathlon while working as an electrical engineer at Nvidia. Her systematic approach to swimming reflects both her technical background and athletic precision.

The Philosophy: "I love that it's intentional work – I'm not just swimming laps, I'm paying attention to how I move through the water," Jih-Schiff explains. Her focus centers on developing an efficient pull while preserving leg strength for the bike and run segments that follow.

Workout — Mixed-stroke recovery session with technical focus

Structure:

• Warm-up: Easy freestyle with building intensity
• Main set: Alternating strokes with specific technical focus:
  • Breaststroke: Practice setting high elbow catch and engaging lats
  • Butterfly: Reinforce catch mechanics and tricep engagement
  • Backstroke: Emphasize body rotation for pull acceleration
  • Freestyle: Integrate all technical elements
• Cool-down: Easy freestyle with focus on rhythm

Why It Works: Each stroke serves as a technical drill that reinforces specific elements of an efficient freestyle pull. Rather than traditional drill work, Jih-Schiff uses the strokes themselves as tools to develop the components of her ideal technique.

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Key Technical Focus:

• High elbow catch: Setting up the pull for maximum water contact
• Lat engagement: Using back muscles to power the stroke
• Tricep finish: Pushing all the way through for complete propulsion
• Body rotation: Adding core power to accelerate the pull

Application for Your Training: This approach works particularly well for swimmers looking to break up monotonous lap swimming while maintaining technical focus. The mixed strokes keep the session mentally engaging while targeting specific technique elements that directly transfer to freestyle efficiency.

Smart Training for Busy Lives: Elyse Gallegos' E-Sports Bike Workout

The Athlete: Elyse Gallegos embodies the reality of elite age-group racing. As a registered nurse on permanent maternity leave, she jokes that her full-time roles are "mom, maid, chauffeur, and snack maker" to her two boys, ages 4 and 6. Despite these demands, she has qualified for Kona six times and achieved multiple top-10 age-group finishes.

The Philosophy: Gallegos has mastered the art of extracting maximum training benefit from limited time windows. Her approach combines steady aerobic development with high-intensity race simulation, all while fitting around family responsibilities.

Workout — Zone 2 endurance ride + online race + brick run

Structure:

• Phase 1: 3-4 hours Zone 2 cycling at steady Ironman watts
• Phase 2: High-intensity online bike race (20-60 minutes)
• Phase 3: Immediate brick run off the bike
• Timing: Scheduled to end just before school pickup

Zone 2 Definition: Aerobic base training typically performed at 60-70% of functional threshold power, sustainable for hours while primarily burning fat for fuel.

Why It Works: "Those races bring the best out of me – physically and mentally. They're unpredictable and punchy, and I love practicing nutrition under intensity," Gallegos notes. The combination builds aerobic capacity while practicing race-day nutrition and transitions under pressure.

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Key Benefits:

• Aerobic base development through sustained Zone 2 effort
• Race simulation via unpredictable online competition
• Transition practice with immediate brick running
• Time efficiency maximizing training within family schedule
• Mental engagement through competitive elements

Application for Your Training: This workout is ideal for time-crunched athletes who need to combine multiple training elements into one session. The e-sports component adds competitive intensity that's difficult to replicate in solo training, while the brick run specifically prepares the legs for running off the bike.

Building Mental and Physical Strength: Laura Heinonen's Threshold Track Work

The Athlete: Laura Heinonen's triathlon journey began in 2018 when she volunteered at a medical tent during an Ironman race in Finland. As a nurse anesthetist who had never properly learned to swim as a child, she faced significant hurdles. Through determination and systematic training, she transformed her weakness into competency and discovered a natural aptitude for triathlon.

The Philosophy: Training in Helsinki with camps ranging from Lanzarote to Lapland, Heinonen has built resilience across climates and terrains. Her approach emphasizes structured workouts that provide both physical adaptation and mental satisfaction.

Workout — Threshold track intervals

Structure:

• Warm-up: Easy running with dynamic drills
• Main set: 6 × 6 minutes at threshold effort
• Recovery: 2 minutes easy between intervals
• Cool-down: Easy running to complete the session

Threshold Definition: Running at the highest intensity you can sustain for approximately one hour, typically corresponding to 85-90% of maximum heart rate or the effort level where lactate begins to accumulate faster than the body can clear it.

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Why It Works: "I love the rhythm of it. It's structured but satisfying," Heinonen explains. The workout builds both physical capacity and mental resilience through sustained hard efforts with limited recovery.

Key Training Benefits:

• Lactate threshold improvement for sustained hard efforts
• Mental toughness development through challenging intervals
• Race pace practice for Ironman run segments
• Rhythmic satisfaction that makes hard training enjoyable
• Structured progression with clear work and rest periods

Application for Your Training: This session works well for athletes looking to improve their ability to sustain harder efforts during the Ironman run. The 6-minute intervals are long enough to create meaningful physiological adaptation while remaining mentally manageable.

Common Threads: What Makes These Workouts Effective

While these three athletes come from vastly different backgrounds, their preferred workouts share several key characteristics that make them particularly effective for Ironman preparation:

1. Specificity to Ironman Demands

• Jih-Schiff's swim: Develops efficiency for the long swim while preserving legs
• Gallegos' bike: Combines aerobic base with race intensity and transition practice
• Heinonen's run: Builds threshold capacity needed for strong Ironman run splits

2. Integration of Technical Focus

• Technical elements are embedded within fitness-building sessions
• Athletes maintain awareness of form and efficiency throughout
• Workouts serve multiple training purposes simultaneously

3. Adaptability to Individual Circumstances

• Professional demands: Jih-Schiff balances engineering work with Stanford Masters training
• Family responsibilities: Gallegos maximizes training around parenting duties
• Geographic constraints: Heinonen adapts to Helsinki's climate and travels for camps

4. Mental Engagement and Satisfaction

• Workouts provide mental stimulation beyond pure physical stress
• Structured approaches create satisfaction and sense of accomplishment
• Variety and challenge prevent training monotony

Applying These Principles to Your Training

Whether you're preparing for your first Ironman or chasing a personal best, these elite age-group approaches offer valuable lessons. For comprehensive guidance on triathlon training drills, explore proven techniques from top coaches.

Choose Quality Over Quantity

None of these athletes rely on simply accumulating volume. Instead, they focus on purposeful sessions that address specific needs while fitting their lifestyle constraints.

Embed Technique Work

Rather than treating technique as separate from fitness development, look for opportunities to work on efficiency during your regular training sessions.

Make Hard Sessions Engaging

Find ways to add mental stimulation to challenging workouts, whether through variety, competition, or structured progression that provides satisfaction.

Adapt to Your Reality

Elite age-group success comes from maximizing what you can do within your circumstances, not trying to replicate a professional training environment.

Your Next Steps

1. Assess your current training for opportunities to embed more technical focus
2. Identify time-efficient options that combine multiple training elements
3. Add mental engagement strategies to your most challenging sessions
4. Choose one workout from these three to integrate into your current training cycle

The 2025 Ironman World Championship in Kona represents the culmination of years of work for Jih-Schiff, Gallegos, and Heinonen. Their approaches demonstrate that elite age-group performance comes not from complex training programs, but from thoughtful, consistent application of proven principles adapted to individual strengths and circumstances.

As these three remarkable women line up for their final all-women's Kona championship, they carry with them the lessons learned from countless training sessions like these—workouts that build not just fitness, but the confidence and competence needed to excel on triathlon's most iconic stage.

For more insights on preparing for your first Ironman, explore race-specific guides and training strategies from experienced age-groupers.