Couple of questions after my first triathlon

Triathlon Forum
1

Just completed my first triathlon on Saturday (the Olympic distance Mooseman in NH). First, a thanks to all you guys. Was nervous about the swim (never done an open water swim). You guys gave me some great advice - relax. Also read about drafting on the swim and it really helped. Gave me something to focus on, helped pace me, kept me going straight, and actually seemed work. Ended up with a better time than I thought I would and emerged from the water feeling strong.

Had a great bike ride as well - again kept a pretty steady pace and finished a couple of minutes ahead of were I wanted to be. Pulled into the transition area feeling tired, but still pretty good.

And then I started the run… Holy cr*p what happened to my legs? OK - I expected it to be slow going for the first couple of hundred yards. Didn’t do a lot of bricks in training, but when I did I usually started out slow but after a couple of hundred yards began to loosen up and feel a little bit better.

This time, by the end of the first mile, I still felt like cr*p. By the second mile I felt even worse - and now we’re coming to a big hill. “OK”, I tell myself, just make it to the top of this hill and you’ll have a nice downhill where you can recover. Crest hill and start going down. Not really feeling any better, and I’ve got one more hill to climb before I hit the turn around.

By now, all thoughts of trying to maintain my planned race pace have been completely abandoned. My only goal is to not be reduced to walking. I had planned on trying to maintain an 8:30/miles (I know, hardly a blistering pace) but this is my first triathlon, and I only started up running again (after a 15 year layoff) in February. I feel like I’m going at a 11:00 per mile pace. I can never remember having run this slowly in my life. And I still feel like I am dying. I basically spend the entire rest of the race just trying not to stop. With less than a half a mile to go, I’m still picking out a spot 100 yards ahead and trying to make it without walking. I cross the finish line and feel like I’m about to puke. A volunteer wants me to take the timing chip off my ankle. I ask him to take it off for me because I’m lightheaded and afraid if I bend down and then stand back up I’ll pass out.

The funny thing is, as slow as I thought I was going, apparently I was running about an 8:45 pace.

So now, my questions: first, what happened? I was expecting to feel a little stiff and weird when I first started running, but I thought that after a couple of hundred yards I’d loosen up. What can I do differently next race to insure that my entire run isn’t a giant suffer-fest?

Second, how is it that my perceived pace was so much slower than my actual pace? I really felt like I was taking much shorter strides than normal. My heart and lungs felt like I was going all out, but my stride seemed ridiculously slow.

BTW - nothwithstanding my problematic run, I had a great time and was actually able to exceed my admittedly modest goals. I definitely feel like I did the best I could given my inherent abilities and my current level of fitness.

Oh, and despite a steady rain and a partially flooded transition area, the race itself was terrific and extremely well run.

2

Bricks- train to run off the bike. Until you do it a lot you will feel the same every race.

3

The cold conditions probably had something to do with being stiff and taking longer to loosen up on the run. I did the half and felt terrible for the first 5 miles–I’m usually good after 1 or 2. The hilly nature of the course probably skewed your pacing “feel”, since your going a lot faster on the downhills than you think.

4

I did the same race. The cold combined with probably working too hard on the hills may have contributed to general fatigue. I was in the same boat as you as I thought i was going to die. Funny how you feel slower on the run than you actually were. I was shooting for 6:30’s ran 7:05 and felt like 8:00 pace.

5

Bricks, bricks and more bricks. I do one a week, either off of a short (20 mile) or long (50+ mile) ride.

6

yes, do bricks, and run/ride hills.

additionally, make sure you take a gel/water right before you get off the bike.

it takes experience to get the feel of bike to run…you’ll get better.

7

Congrats on becoming a triathlete!!!
Yeah, brick training is key. I do two a week, and find that after a long bike ride, it takes me a good 2 miles before my legs start feeling loose again.

8

Congrats on joining the club.

Going a little easier on the bike will probably allow you to feel a little better and faster on the run. As I’m a stronger cyclist I find it VERY easy to go too hard on the bike and trash myself on the run. Also, as others said, briks, briks, briks - and more race experience will teach your legs what they need to know. I can usually run fast right off of the bike, but that ability has taken many years to achieve.

I wish I had your problem - this past weekend I felt like I was going much faster than I actually was.

9

Congratulations on your first Tri! As everyone has mentioned do a alot of bricks. I try to run for at least 15 mins after nearly every bike ride. Also, it sounds like you’re new to working out, so you just plain need to build your endurance. As you build your fitness, a 27 mile bike ride will no longer be pressing your endurance limits and neither will a 6 mile run.

That said, I did that same race, and the cold conditions definitely made it worse. I could not feel my toes and felt like I was running on stumps until about mile 4.

Keep at it!

10

Great job!!! and congrats on your first race (in miserable conditions, too).

That all sounds pretty typical to me: Bricks do help. So does racing more … Even a 1.5 mile / 15 min. run right after (as in 2-3 minutes) biking helps tremendously. So try to do that 1x a week at least.

In oly races, I go almost all-out, but I do try to spin and catch my breath for the last 30-60 sec. of the bike leg, just before transition (so what if a bozo passes me, I’ll run em down). I try to transision fast, but also hold back a little for the first couple minutes of the 10K. That helps too.

11

for me, the harder I ride the more screwed up my perception of pace is. like everyone said, brick workouts help. I like doing a run-bike-run too as you can repeat the same run and it will give you a good idea of how bike changes your run. Finding that optimum bike pace that allows you to run well can make a big difference in your overall time. One thing annoying about triathlons is the distances and/or mile marker are often inaccurate so if you can’t always rely on mile markers to give you accurate split times.

12

Congratulations on your first tri! Sounds like the weather definitely contributed to your run legs, and would agree with all who suggest bricks. I generally aim to do two or three decent bricks a week (2-3 hour bike, 45 min - 1.5 hr run).

Do you use a HRM? I have found that using perceived exertion on the bike doesn’t work well for me - and that I usually end up in the “red zone” unless I use the HRM to keep my HR solidly aerobic. If I hammer anaerobic for an hour on the bike, there’s nothing left for the run. If I stay aerobic on the bike, usually can get off and run some decent splits. Caveat: I’m a 50+ guy, and probably coulda done better as younger fella - not sure how old you are. Anyway, my coach has gotten me to be very disciplined about keeping HR under control, and it’s really helped my overall times and performance.

Hope you’re hooked - and good luck!

13

Thanks for all the advice and words of encouragement. More training certainly wouldn’t hurt. Didn’t really start training for this race until early February. Before that, my exercise routine consisted of 30 minutes of spinning a couple of time a week, so I had a lot of ground to make up.

Will definitely start doing more bricks. For this race I probably only did four or five bricks - basically one a week in the month and a half leading up to the race. Would usually bike about 20 miles at a moderately hard pace, and then run a couple of miles. Of course the race course definitely had a lot more hills than my normal training routes, so that probably took something out of my legs.

Maybe also try to aim for a little more milage on my long bike rides. Right now I usually do about 40, and legs are definitely tired by the end. Might try slowing down a little and bumping up my distance to 50+.

Slowdoc - sounds like I’m a little younger than you, but not by much (48). Do usually train with a heart rate monitor, but didn’t use it on race day. I suspect that with all the excitement of my first race I was going harder on the bike than I should have. I did complete that leg a little faster than I thought I would.

BTW - I think for me the weather was actually a plus. I’m pretty big (6’1" and 192 pounds) and have a tendency to overheat in hot weather. Hard for me to drink enough water/gatoraid to stay on top of all the fluid I’m sweating out. As nice as sunny and mid-80’s temps might be for spectating, would not have been great race conditions for me - particularly since we haven’t had any warm weather this year and I’m not acclimated.

14

You can also incorporate transition runs of 10-15 minutes after all your bike workouts, especially longer rides–nice and easy pace. Also, you might want to try a “pile of bricks” workout to really sharpen your legs for the run. I usually do a variation of this workout 1-3 times a month on the trainer:

Bike 1 hour, Run 30min AeT, Bike 1 hour, Run 30-45 minutes Aet or 20 minutes LT pace

You can mix up intensity and duration for each segment depending on where you are in training, etc…