Given all 3 are equal I would say work on all 3 but emphysis the bike b/c it is proportionately(sp) longer and potentially more important also the stronger you are on the bike the more you will have left for the run which is probably the second most important segment. This has been my experience. My 2cents.

triplethreat you must be more retired than I am since your posts are frequent and lengthy

happy training and warm weather better come soon or I'm going to be pissed at someone

Training wise, I'd say the most important sport is a toss-up.

Swimming. Nothin works cardio like swimming. And Cardio carries over to biking and running.

Cycling is important time-wise, but mass improvements in cycling=small improvements in running, and not much in swimming.

Running's importance increases as the distance goes up. In a sprint, not very. In an olympic, pretty important. In a half, very. In an Iron, mandatory.

Here's the way I rank them:

Swimming: In longer races at just about all levels and in age-group, but not elite, shorter races, the swim can be a throw away event. If you can get out of the water within a reasonable distance of the leaders you still have a very good chance of dong well. What does that mean for training. If you are a reasonably competant swimmer - spend less time swimming. However, swiming because of it's no-impact nature and whole body work-out is a good training option at any time.

Bike: Cycling is the most talent/ability neutral of the three sports. Why? It's VERY hard to take a non-swimmer and make them a good-very good swimmer and running because of the huge physical pounding that the body takes allows only those with just the right build/bio-mechanics to really do the higher volume training needed to become very good. In cycling by contrast, you can take a non cyclist with a decent level of fitness and with the right coaching, the right equipment and the right training turn them into a very good triathlon cyclist. The sport of triathlon has proven this. Therefore, a big investement in time training for cycling in the early years will pay dividends down the road. Why do you need to be good on the bike - to keep you in the game then . . .

Run: It's THE most important, more or less because it is last - it's the final push to the finishline. Triathlon has always favoured strong runners. The BEST triathletes at both long and short racing are always very good runners. My evidence to support the importance of the run is this: Years ago, when peoples talents where more unbalanced( people were often very good at one sport or another) it was always the strong runners who came through, these days there is definately more balance, but it's the strong runners who still are assured of doing well!

How to train: In the early years, invest time/energy heavily in all three - perhaps taking 6 months chunks of time and focussing on just one sport at a time. After a few years you will find out what you are really good at and what you are not so good at. I always hear the mantra "train the weakness" - I say definately yes to this if running is your weakness. If it's swimming, you need to ask yourself how close am I to the competition. If you are close, don't worry about it and train the bike/run in equal balance remembering that great triathlon running starts with great cycling fitness!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

triplethreat you must be more retired than I am since your posts are frequent and lengthy

I wish. I work. I father. I husband. I train. I cook. I laundry. I am a busy dude. I check the internet frequently as something to do in between other stuff. It's convenient conversation in place of TV. The length is just being wordy (which must stop, I wouldn't read posts that long).

I'm a laid-back guy ...but hyper. I always have to be doing something.

That ... and I don't sleep much. I don't seem to need much sleep.

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Thanks for the comments. The swim is my favorite. I'm fine on the bike. My running stinks 10:00 mile for 6 miles @ conversational pace (Zone 2, 155HR). I hav ehit a 27:00 3 mi (5 K) pushing alittle harder, and I admit that sucks. Sucks big time.

Please keep em coming.

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-- Every morning brings opportunity;
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triplethreat

I find your posts interesting but some take some unraveling. Your one of the reasons my wife thinks I'm on slowtwitch 8hr/day. I get things done but my wife's honey do list infrequently gets completed. Sometimes I wish I was a little more hyper. My mother once ask me if I ever paid attention to time and that was when I was still working. I came into tri's a runner and was pretty good. swimming sucked big time and bike was so so. have worked on swimming and have gotten pretty good biking has improved also but my running deteriorated secondary to a surgical "accident" 10 yrs ago. I was very happy weekend before last I ran my fastest 5k in 10 yrs 22:29

Obviously you are hyper so keep em coming

TT,



It's the run... most people won't admit it, bike manufacturers hate it when someone says it, but it's the run... :-)

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"Yeah, no one likes a smartass, but we all like stars" - Thom Yorke


smartasscoach.tri-oeiras.com

That's the feeling I was getting.

1. I never hear anyone say "Kick ass on the swim". It's always "use the swim as a warmup", or "survive the swim".

2. I never hear people say "Kill em on the bike", it's "go fast and steady" or "go till it feels like too much, then back off, repeat".

The posts about IM Kona bike times not being faster than times 5-10 years ago seem to be evidence for this. Some is due to course changes, but the tech improvements should nullify that. Seems like folks are holding back some on the bike (probably not in shorter races), so they can ....

3. ..... go like heck on the run. In college I routinely ran 2 miles in 12 min ... and that was for baseball (conditioning or punishment ... usually punishment). If I can get under 8:00 mile AVR for an Oly or semi1/2IM by late May/June, I'll be happy as a ... well, I'll just be happy. Was college that long ago? [10 years]

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Side branch -- personal note.

Ironically on the internet I have 2 problems I need to remedy: [1] I don't know when the discussion ends. [2] I get too wordy.

In real life ... if you don't capture my interest after 2 minutes, I walk away. Really. I've got stuff to do, and I invented ADD. Same deal with ending a discussion. Basically, it's over when I decide there's something I'd rather do than listen to you talk. That sounds bad, I know ... but my attention span is that of a 6-month old Lab (dog).

On the internet, I'm likely the guy I avoid in real life. How 'bout that? I believ the term for that is ironic.

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There is only one discipline. The bike. It cost the most and has the coolest gear. It is also the fastest.

From reading the posts about Kona and Tim Deboom the only way to be kore and have the true spirit of triathlon is to swim ok to poor, blast all out on the bike and explode during the run.

Pacing and proper course managment are for people who want to win and as we all know winning isn't kore or the spirit of triathlon. That is why Tim Deboon will never be a true champion.

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customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.

What is kore? Not meant as a grammar thing - just don't understand

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"which is like watching one of your buddies announce that he's quitting booze and cigarettes, switching to a Vegan diet and training for triathalons ... but he's going to keep snorting heroin." Bill Simmons, ESPN

doesn't matter how well you can run if you're 10min back off the bike.. I speak from experience. Unleashing a 17min 5k run after a 40min 20k bike just doesn't do it.
You need a competent swim (top 30% or so, not that hard, triathletes can't swim), similiar in one of bike/run, and one of bike/run good, to get anywhere. I suspect most gains can be had from training the bike, just because that's where most of the time is spent. That said, there are lots of ex-swimmers who are excellent triathletes..

Also note that you get free speed from improving transition times - I haven't sped up at all in the swim or run, only a bit on the bike, but my transition total is 3-4min faster than it used to be. This gets me within howling distance of the AG podium on occasion..

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"It is a good feeling for old men who have begun to fear failure, any sort of failure, to set a schedule for exercise and stick to it. If an aging man can run a distance of three miles, for instance, he knows that whatever his other failures may be, he is not completely wasted away." Romain Gary, SI interview

Without a doubt, it's the bike. Run is a distant second. Bike fitness has a large effect on how you will run.

You need to work all 3 and concentrate on improving your weaknesses. There is no most important or critical discipline if you want to be competitive. As a former competitive runner, I entered my first season of triathlon years ago capable of running 32 minute 10ks off the bike (I got outsplit by Greg Welsh by 10 seconds for fastest run split in my 2nd tri ever) but unfortunately being a 30+ minute 1500m swimmer I was so far behind that most of the people that I flew by on the run thought I was a relay guy from the final wave instead of a crappy swimmer/biker from the 2nd wave. I've gotten better on the swim and bike and admit that my run background certainly helps but I'd trade a couple of minutes off my run for the same percentage of time off my bike any day.

... and IYO, what is the best way to achieve great bike fitness? I guess I'm asking what cadence you would recommend.

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Swim - enough so you aren't too tired and don't lose too much ground - maybe 3-5 min in an oly or 6-7 in a 1/2. Will depend on natural swim ability but a distant 3rd in importance.....I'm a swimmer (can cruise a 28-29 min half IM swim with min training) so the difference between swimming 2 hours/week and 10 hours/week in a half IM for me - maybe 2 minutes....you can't be horrible on the swim to place but a little extra ability in the bike or run will easily make up for a mediocre swim.....

Bike - need to be strong enough to bike fast - and be able to run. Want to podium - you need to bike pretty darn fast. If you blow your legs on the bike its all over on the run regardless of how fast you bike...Bike is the longest event - plus plays a huge role in the run. How can it not be the most important???? I'm a middle of the pack biker now (2:50 half IM- and thats flat course - vineman or big kahuna) - when I was biking a lot (200+ I could ride 2:35 at Wildflower's hills).

Run - Clearly you need a strong run off the bike to place well. But a mediocre swim - strong bike - mediocre run will place you higher than any other similar combination - a lot higher.... If you bike smart - you should run within say 2 minutes of a standalone 10K - within 5 in a half marathon. Your triathlon-run is obviously limited by how fast you can stand alone run - but being a great runner doesn't help you bike much and the run is sig. shorter than the bike....so 2nd most important....I'm running half IM's in 2:40-2:50. If I run a ton - maybe I could drop to 2:30-2:35.

Everything I've ever heard about bike training boils down to miles. miles, miles......you need to bike a lot to improve and almost everybody who has the time to bike a lot can become a lot faster - I'm sure I could drop 20 - 30 min off my bike 1/2 IM time (plus some on the run too!) if I could bike 200 -250+ miles/week for a while......all I need is another 10 hours to train per week! If I swam a ton - I'd save maybe 2 minutes - if you are an average swimmer maybe 5 minutes. Run a ton - maybe 10 minutes. Cadence - I doubt it matters much - what matters is miles, miles, miles. IMHO. Want to become a good biker - bike a ton.

I know that a lot of People will tell you that you should train most on the bike, cause you're sure to improve a lot when training a lot on the bike, particularly at the beginning, and this is a great way to do lots of aerobic base while avoiding injuries compared to the run, ...

I have read lately about some research which results were showing that there is definitely a cross-over training effect from running to biking but not the opposite, or less in the opposite way (which was contrary to what I believed before reading this). So if you want to improve both running and cycling, train more your running (unless you can train both a lot of course).

As for the swim, if you are already a good swimmer, you don't need to train too much for the swim. Everybody's aim should be to finish the swim in a good position, within distance to pass others in the other two disciplines.

I am a natural runner (way too heavy right now, but with good running bio-mechanics, I just did running since I was very young), can kick ass on the bike when well prepared, but I just suck on the swim. THanks to TI I now finish very fresh the swim, but still need to gain speed endurance (and just plain speed too).

Like another poster said, miles. Include long climbs if you have access. As far as cadence, I think each person has to experiment to determine what cadence is optimal for them when racing. I find it useful to train at varying cadences. Once a week, I'll focus on very high cadence, one leg, and form drills, another day I'll include big gear intervals, keeping my cadence really low. My other rides are primarily at race cadence. I'd say the most important thing is to have a purpose for each ride; know the goal of each session.

Kore is a late 90's single speed and free ride thing. Used by people who wear there hat backwards, refuse to sell out and use the word extreme to explain how cool there trick was.

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customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.

It has to be running. Running improves your fitness for all the events. To be a regular place winner you must be solid at all three.

I'm not a good swimmer, am an OK runner on a good day, but, my bike split gets me on the podium when I get there. My worst swim splits didn't keep me off the podium when I didn't get there, nor did my best swim splits get me to the podium when I got there. If I can just hold my place on the run, I make it to the podium. Therefore, for me, the bike is THE most important.

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Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)