Posts Member

I am a much better runner than biker.

I am noticed that when I train for Tris, thus biking and then having to run less, my run times are the same. Conversely, if I run a lot and then hop on the bike, my bike sucks.

So, for me, biking helps running, but I am not so sure running helps biking.

This is also back up with a lot of my friends who started as runners and have moved to doing Tris too. Matter of fact, had a friend complete IM-Loo on very little running. He focused on his bike and swim, ran 2 times per week with nothing longer than a 15 miler 6 weeks out. He had a great race and ran strong enough to average 7:40 per mile the last three miles trying to break 13 hours. This is a guy who is a 4 hour stand alone marathoner.

Posts Member

the biggest thing I believe cycling has helped me with is endurance. The concept of doing one continuous exercise for longer then 3 hours was very unfamiliar to me before cycling.

Posts Member

I agree with blueraider_mike about running not helping biking. But I find that fast biking helps me run fast. I think that it has something to do with cadence and fast twitch fibers.

The issue about injury prevention is true too. What good does it do to have a great run if you have a ton of injuries?

Posts Member

It's easier to make a runner out of a biker than to make a biker out of a runner.

As you noted in your last post, your bike power diminishes unless you keep biking. I have proposed earlier that the one indispensable thing to an IM program is that long bike ride.

I (only half) jokingly tell Larry and BBB that I do my swim training on the bike. As my aerobic capacity and endurance rise so does my ability to swim for longer distances.

If there is a strong wind, as at IMAZ, your IM can end by 5:30 in the afternoon (the bike cutoff), but nobody (outside the pros, for whom this is moot) bonks so bad they can't walk.

PoC

Posts Member

Coach Troy is a cyclist, so his mentality is that cycling is the best overall exercise, just like you have more of a runner’s mentality and believe that running is the better exercise.

The thing is, both cycling and running improve your level of fitness, which one does it more efficiently is debatable. The point is that that in the world of triathlon, they are not interchangeable or substitutable. You will never be able to take a cyclist who has never run and get him to run an entire marathon without run training. Just like you will never be able to take a runner who has never cycled and have him do a century without cycling training.

Posts Member

This echoes the original barroom debate back in 1978 in Hawaii that started the whole tri-athlon game in the first place: who's the better athlete - the swimmer, the biker or the runner.

I know, let's do 'em all one after the other and see who comes out on top!

Whatever, It's all good.

PoC

Posts Member

What do you base this on?
When you look at the top triathletes and the sport they excelled at prior to taking up triathlon, I can't think of any that started their careers as Cat I or pro cyclists. There are tons of College track athletes and swimmers. Based on that, I would disagree with your assertion.

Posts Member

I would base that on the fact that most triathletes start as swimmers or runners, because those sports are geared toward young people. Middle schools and high schools across the country have great track/xc and swim programs. Not too many have good cycling programs. That means many people are running or swimming competitively for 8+ years before they would find an outlet for competitive cycling. Even on the college level, though most universities will have at least a semblance of a cycling team, track and swim teams are better established and probably better funded than cycling teams.

Also, cycling is inherently more expensive than running and swimming. It's hard to afford proper race gear when you don't have a job or your job pays very little. So I would mark that as another deterrent against cycling at a young age. So if more people start as runners and swimmers, then more top triathletes will come from a run/swim background.

Posts Member

Sully,
Very insightfull, thank you.
I tend to agree with your premise on WHY there are more swimmers and runners in the sport.
My post was challenging the authors assertion that it's easier to train bikers to be triathlets than it is runners. I'd like to know how he came to that conclusion.

Posts Member

I think all the sports help us to get fitter. For me, swimming all winter and summer on a swim team greatly helped my running when I decided to start training for triathlons this summer. When I ran all the time a few years ago, I was never able to fininsh a 5K without walking, even though I finished several of them. After getting in shape this summer by swimming, however, I was able to run my first 5K ever without stopping to walk. Since then, even though I have put a little more attention to my running, my running has greatly improved. i can now run 6 miles witout stopping! This abality to run farther has also helped my endurance in the other two sports as well. I believe all training can be beneficial.

Posts Member

Wow
This thread sure has generated some great traffic and volume.

I'm cycling more often now than running, as I am just getting back into running. Trying to put in as much time on the bike as I would be running. I'm really skeptical about the cycling area I now live in, as it is very dense, urban, riding. I wait until the weekends to ride outside, as my weekday rides are mostly on the trainer.

Take Care All!