What would be a better method to base a workout plan on for a relatively new (only done 1 half Iron) triathlete to have best bike split and leave you fresh for the run (for a half-iron race)? Centuries (or long-slow w/ a heart-rate monitor) vs. shorter, higher-intensity intervals? If the answer is intervals, what are the distances sugguested?
Thanks…
The honest answer is both. A good training plan will have both long, steady-state efforts and interval work to build speed and power. Not trying to be a smart ass. That’s the truth.
One more thing … a century (or centuries) where you’re just pack fodder and sucking wheels isn’t what you need. Just logging the miles will help some, but riding in the pack won’t be at all the same to riding on your own on race day … unless you plan on doing a lot of drafting.
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Forgive my lack of vocabulary – when I said ‘Centuries’ I mean solo 100 mile rides (not group rides I’m learning). My question comes from having just finished my first 1/2 Iron, my bike speed avg. was 20 (my goal) - my run was terrible. I attriubte the slow run to having nothing after the bike. Would ‘both’ be best in a 50-50 ratio or would the long/slow be favored for spending more time? Thanks…
That’s kind of a funny question 'cuz many of the experts (in cycling) will tell you that each week you should do speed intervals, hill intervals, low cadence power intervals, several long rides and then take easy spin recovery days in-between them all. To accomplish it all, you need about a 9-day week.
Generally, one really long ride per week will suffice if it’s in addition to other rides that are more focused on building power and speed. I must defer here because I race time trials and triathlon relays because I can’t run. I don’t do the full event. But I do know that getting fast on the bike involves both being in condition to go the distance and learning to ride the bike fast. You can’t go fast if you haven’t trained yourself to go fast. It’s remarkable how many people think they should be able to go 24 mph for 56 or 112 miles on race day when they’ve never once done it (or anything close) in training.
I do lots of 35 mile rides where I go about as hard as I can possibly go for that distance. I do lots of 50 mile rides where I’ll go a little less hard, in general, but where I’ll do a lot of hills and some speed intervals added in. Then I do 70 or 80 mile rides on the weekends. Those grow to 100 mile rides towards race day. I try very hard to minimize stops and keep it moving. I do love to do organized centuries. When I do them, I always do them on my road bike and I always mix it up at the front with the fast roadies. Those days are good for both speed and distance. I’m bad about not taking enough days where I get on the bike and just spin easy. If I feel like I need that, I just take a day off or I might spin for 45 minutes on my rollers.
I think you can apply the principles of changing things up and working in both speed and distance from what I say … but you’ve got to change things up to account for your swimming and running needs. Good luck!
Thanks for the detailed answer. I know I’ve got a lot of work to do…
high intensity centuries!
What would be a better method to base a workout plan on for a relatively new (only done 1 half Iron) triathlete to have best bike split and leave you fresh for the run (for a half-iron race)? Centuries (or long-slow w/ a heart-rate monitor) vs. shorter, higher-intensity intervals? If the answer is intervals, what are the distances sugguested?
Thanks…
I would do sligthly (up to 120K/75 miles) longer rides than 1/2 @ close to 1/2 IM intensity (close to because I would be riding on tired legs not on 1-week taper fresh legs). So I would average ~ 35/35.5 KM/H (~ 22mph keeping in mind I need to deal with traffic & co) vs. 37.5+ KM/h (23.3+ mph) in 1/2 IM.
Fred.
psycholist has great advice. In addition, I’d say that the ‘harder century’ answer has some merit as well. To jump start my spring training, I typically do a June century with a small group of guys and we get after it pretty hard. Basically, we ride at LT+ power when up front and recover at around 75-80% of LT when we drop back. It’s essentially a long interval training ride and a good indicator of fitness level. With a group of about 5, you get in some serious training in the course of the ride.
“sucking wheels isn’t what you need”
Yes and no.
The hardest ride bar none that I’ve ever had in my life was a century with a bunch of hard core roadies who treated the whole thing like a stage race. We started off with a big group and watched guys fall off one by one and the group get smaller and smaller. I hung until about the last half dozen guys and then totally bonked about 15 kms before the end. That last 15 kms after being dropped and limping home solo was the longest ride in my life as every pedal stroke hurt. I sucked wheel most of the ride trying desperately not to be dropped. It was harder than any triathlon I’ve ever done. It may not have been in the zone ideal IM training but I would/could never have worked that hard on any solo ride on my tri bike.
I wonder what sort of mental training one could do
to make themselves work that hard alone…
maybe there is some drug
that would make you REALLY angry…
“sucking wheels isn’t what you need”
Yes and no.
The hardest ride bar none that I’ve ever had in my life was a century with a bunch of hard core roadies who treated the whole thing like a stage race. We started off with a big group and watched guys fall off one by one and the group get smaller and smaller. I hung until about the last half dozen guys and then totally bonked about 15 kms before the end. That last 15 kms after being dropped and limping home solo was the longest ride in my life as every pedal stroke hurt. I sucked wheel most of the ride trying desperately not to be dropped. It was harder than any triathlon I’ve ever done. It may not have been in the zone ideal IM training but I would/could never have worked that hard on any solo ride on my tri bike.
Don’t need a drug. Just need to think of my ex wife. 
tell us all about it so we can think of her and bike fast!
Don’t need a drug. Just need to think of my ex wife.
Trust me, you don’t want to know.
Hey, maybe you’ll have an ex wife some day.
I’m gonna pass on that
my future wife is rad =)
Trust me, you don’t want to know.
Hey, maybe you’ll have an ex wife some day.
Couldn’t resist since I knew you’re engaged. Good luck with it, but from my experience, it’s much better the second time.
I waited till I was 30 to get engaged, maybe I’ll be ok!
Couldn’t resist since I knew you’re engaged. Good luck with it, but from my experience, it’s much better the second time.
There should be a law that no man can get married before age 30. Women can get married at any age, but guys no way. I was 27 the first time btw.
There seems to be a school of thought among some triathletes that riding in a group is bad. I’m certainly no speedster on the bike, but I’ve posted a few fairly respectable times and have gotten faster over the years. I did it by mixing it up – long rides, short rides, fast rides, slow rides, long intervals, short intervals, etc. I’ve also done some motorpacing, centuries where I jumped on with a fast group and hung on for as long as I could – the whole bit. Last year, we had a local metric century and I was not in great shape. I fell in with a group and we hammered until the first rest stop. Everybody else stopped at the rest area and I kept going with the guy who had pulled us all for the last 10 miles. I hung on as long as I could before the string broke and I fell off the back. When another group came along, I hopped in with them for a while. That was some of the hardest riding I’ve ever done. Hanging on with a group of fast riders is excellent training on a number of different levels. I believe that anything you do that forces you ride harder than you’re accustomed to is good training. You probably don’t want to suck wheel on every ride you do, but mixing it up with some hardcore roadies on a century or metric century is another whole realm of pain. It will make you a better all-around cyclist.
I’m in full agreement that group riding makes you stronger as well as improving your handling skills, but it amazes how many triathletes I’ve met that have never done a group ride.
Got a friend of mine who likes to do centuries as a part of his IM training. When he does a century, he won’t ride with a pack. He does the whole ride solo. Guess what? He’s slow. And he’s not getting any faster.