Strong bike weak run
72
Member
379 days
danpatgal posted 8 weeks ago.
The conventional wisdom is a good triathlon isn't good without a good run. Since you don't have any training time to hammer out more bike-run bricks, I'd say hold back a little. Take the swim at a comfortable pace, the bike at a bit more intensity, but still saving for the run. You'll have a much better race and feel better about your finish this way.
522
Member
231 days
jsk85 posted 8 weeks ago.
It's probably a little late in the game to change too much in regards to form or training. In the future, try to work on spinning at a higher cadence on the bike (90rpm-ish) and trying to match up your running cadence to it. I have always been better than avg runner overall, but my tri run legs weren't amazing...they've gotten significantly better when i worked on that. I used to spin low cadence and would burn my legs out pre-run.
For this race though...I'd say hold back a little on the swim b/c unless you're a real good swimmer it's probably not going to make much difference in the course of the day. Then don't take the bike leg easy, it is the longest leg. Instead, focus on trying to ride as comfortable and smooth as possible. Go as fast as possible w/o feeling like you're trying to go as fast as possible (if that makes any sense). Then, your run leg may be better than you have been doing, but don't expect miracles...everyone's run legs are slower than their 5k, 10k, 1/2 mary paces (depending on their race distance) after doing the first two legs...it's just fatigue.
Also, isn't NYC an Oly? How many times have you done that 1.5bike, 1hr run brick. I think you may be overkilling the run if you're not planning on pulling out a wicked fast 10k...I'm training for Chicago as an AG, and I'm doing 1.5hr bikes with 20-30 min transition runs off the bike and feel that's plenty. The transition run is to work on getting your legs used to the switch from bike to run, not practicing both legs in their entirety. Maybe shorten the run portion but work on getting your run cadence up a little and pushing the pace more on a shorter distance. Just my .02.
106
Member
431 days
rebekahliz posted 8 weeks ago.
What you describe is pretty typical, in my opinion, and your ability to run strong off the bike will improve over time. Do you really need a specific performance goal for your first tri? I'd suggest you just swim, bike, and run strong, but comfortably. Enjoy your first race. And other unforseen challenges on race day can impact your time as much as a slower run.
But I offer a silver lining: I came to the sport as a runner, and I became very frustrated during my first tri season when my road race performance suffered. But nowadays my running times have improved substantially, for anything from a 5k to a marathon. I took home more hardware this year than ever before. And I attribute that to committing half of my ATP to triathlons. From my perspective, doing triathlons made me a much better runner.
Di mana ada kemauan, di situ ada jalan (Where there is desire, there is a road). – Indonesian proverb
483
Member
396 days
TryScott posted 8 weeks ago.
When I had a bad run, my thought was that I'm not running enough. You're already a step ahead by realizing that the bike leg and bike training may be affecting your run let more than your run training.
My first race this year was a 10 min slower than I wanted on the run. 2 weeks later I took it easier on the bike (ended up .6 mph faster due to hills/wind possibly) and my run time dropped by 7+ min. I vote you hold back some and then drop the hammer on the run.
372
Member
225 days
jhudalla posted 8 weeks ago.
It's your first race. Swim comfortable, bike hard, and run so hard that 2 weeks afterwards you're not looking back and going... I coulda run harder than that!
Weary is the path that does not challenge.
2
Member
59 days
kd360 posted 8 weeks ago.
Thanks for the advice everyone. Perhaps I am overdoing the run. I've done at least 10 bricks in the last 4 months that are at least an hour on the bike and 20 to 30 running. 3 of them have been full on Olympic distance. I run a mile easy, do pushups to failure, hop on the bike and do 25-30 with hills trying to keep the pace at 20 mph. Then its the 10K where I typically wind up doing 10-11 minute miles. It a little frustrating but it is my first and I'm not exactly a spring chicken at 46. Either way I've got the bug big time and know I'm going to really enjoy it. Hopefully I can break 3 and then just get better with time and training.
Thanks for all the advice!
kevin
2346
Member
1243 days
Triguy98 posted 8 weeks ago.
While youre incorporating lots of bricks into your training, I am afraid your run training itself is not sport/ goal specific enough.
It is a little late to help with this race, but in the future, brick no more than twice a week. As you get within a month or two of your goal race, start picking up the intensity. I think this is your biggest hold back. Endurance is extremely important, but that is what the Base phase is for. As you enter your build, the tempo runs and intervals will allow you to run faster and faster. And you cant do a fast 10k without that speed work.
As for your race- using P.E.- I would go swim- 7, bike-7, run first half- 7, and whatever is left in the tank in the second half. Biking too hard will destroy your run. Even if youre run is already bad.
Life is short. Play hard and get dirty doing it.
106
Member
431 days
rebekahliz posted 8 weeks ago.
kd360 wrote:
Either way I've got the bug big time and know I'm going to really enjoy it.
Glad to hear it! Let us know how it goes.
Di mana ada kemauan, di situ ada jalan (Where there is desire, there is a road). – Indonesian proverb
4464
Member
1638 days
beads1985 posted 8 weeks ago.
Hey KD360, Fellow 'not a spring chicken' here.
I'll be at the NYC tri next week too.
My run is better than my bike so I know I need to work on that.
The NYC course does have some hills but nothing too bad, you should be okay.
Save me some food at the end.
PM me if you would like to meet up the day before at the packet pick up.
''Nothing to it, but to do it''
http://beads1985.trifuel.net/
133
Member
125 days
azmojo804 posted 8 weeks ago.
Maybe I don't do enough bricks, but I have found that my legs only feel like noodles for the first .25 to .5 mile on the run. So, I do just slightly more than that during my bricks in training. I try not to overdo them, and I also don't do too many bricks during my training. I only do them in the last few weeks of training, about 1 time per week. I feel fully prepared, and don't feel like I'm overdoing it.
I don't know what everyone else does, but one addition during training I did was doing the swim all out, then making sure I could jump out of the pool and not collapse. Usually I'm recovered from the swim within a very short time and haven't been bricking from swim/bike or swim/run. Just bricking the bike/run.
I will be doing my first tri in 12 days (Nautica NYC). I am a complete newbie but have found that I am pretty strong in the swim and the bike. The problem is that my run has suffered. I was always an average runner (2 hour half-marathon and 4:20 marathon). Since training for the tri though my run has just gotten slower even with race simulation bricks (bike for 1:30 and run for an hour). With that in mind I was wondering if I should push the swim and the bike and let the chips fall where they may on the run or should I back it down a few notches on the bike to save legs for the run?