I know for me I improved a LOT in my cycling my 2nd year. I was a runner before that so I didn't really see any gain there but I got a lot stronger in cycling based on a few reasons:
-more training, well more hard training at least
-started riding with* a group which took me farther and harder
*riding, as in started with them, and was dropped every ride first by the guys then the women...
-got better at peddling in circles, seriously 10 min on a Computrainer spinscan changed my life
-got better at TTing and riding at that sustained leg burn level

My swim got a bit better too, but I think you really need to concentrate a LOT of time on improving your swim if it's not your background and you're not all that great at it.

Oh, and my transitions got waaay faster:)

anyways, good luck, half the improvement is just being used to and comfortable doing what your'e doing and the other half is fitness.

I am not so lucky to be able to track wattage with a metre, so I will use times.

After doing only sprint distance last year I was able to decrease my times in the same races by about 10-12 minutes and in a sprint race this is huge as you can imagine.

The reason I improved was shear volume. I went from 4-5 hours/week training for a sprint tri, to upwards of 15h/wk training for a half iron race which was my next goal. Don't ask why I didn;t bother with the Olym I just didn't. I think it mainly because folks said I couldn;t, which is why I am doing an Iron distance race next year...can't afford or get into a name brand iron race.

I also went into my first year with no athletic background since I was about 14 and stopped swimming and playing hockey from there it was a career in smoking, drinking and other stupid shit. (Still drink beer just not by the keg any more)

I am hoping for more improvements next year and with maybe a sponsor even though I am a BOP'r.

Cheers and good luck in 07

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http://slow-triathlete.blogspot.com/

I think you will make large improvements in the second year, especially if you were not previously an endurance athlete. I just finished my third year and even from year two to year three I have seen olympic distance race time improvements of 10 or more minutes.

You asked what contributes most -- I think the main thing is it seems to take a long time (more than a year?) of consistent 10+ hour training weeks to really build up the base fitness levels needed to convert your body physiologically to a state in which it can excel in triathlon.

Sure, I just finished my second year of tri, and saw a lot of continued improvement.

My speed at short distances improved in all 3 sports. Mainly however my ENDURANCE improved. I wasn't outrageously faster at the shorter distances, just able to go much longer. Basically jumped from sprint/Olympic distance up to Half Ironman without a problem.

What helped the most was frequency. You will hear a lot of debate about whether you should be doing your workouts "faster" or "slower," but generally the more often you work out, the better you will get. Pretty simple really. The sport that I did the most (bike 4x/week when possible) was the one I most improved on.

I did not get all that much faster on the SWIM even though I worked quite hard on that for a few months. My mistake was doing a lot of swimming before getting the technique right. You need to work on technique, technique, technique TILL YOU GET IT RIGHT, and then worry about endurance or speed. Wish I had taken my own advice on that one, now I have good swim endurance but am quite uncomfortable and slow, and will have to relearn it from scratch from a coach this winter.

Hi,
I made pretty good improvements from year 1 to year 2. I would say pick either cycling or running and spend 3 months focussing on it as you head into the season. I did that with running last year and went from a 6:50 pace for a 10K run leg of an olympic in year 1 to a 6:25 pace for a HIM run leg in year 2. I ran a bunch in the off season. My biking is OK, but I am going to make a focus on that from Feb-June this year. IMO, you lose a lot less fitness in the other two sports than most people think when you are focussing on one sport, and it is not possible to make big gains in both running and cycling at the same time once you get decently quick in both.

Ultimately, I think the key is to look at it as a multi year project and to figure how you can be fastest in year 4 or 5.

Good luck!

kdw

Bump, because I'm also interested in answers to this question.

I'll throw out a couple numbers for fun:
First off, I run a decent amount year-round. I don't swim or ride in Nov. or Dec.
2003: 2:25 olympic race on 3 months training / 10 hr per week average.
2004: 2:11 oly on 6 months training / 10-12 per week
2005: About the same training and race times + a few "big" cycling weeks ... 4:47 first HIM
2006: About the same training ... Now down to 2:05 oly PR and 4:42 for a tougher HIM
2007: First Ironman ... Gone from running a 42s off the bike to 38s ... All due to bike training, which is still my big weakness.
Good luck!