Sprint tri this past weekend (that’s all I’m doing this year, with maybe the odd Oly distance thrown in). I had the 3rd fastest swim in my AG, 4th fastest bike, but I ranked 9th on the run. I managed to piece together a 5th place AG finish (out of a whopping 12 people), but I was way out of making the podium. A better run could have moved me into fourth, but third was largely out of reach.
Looks like I gotta run, run, run. Any ideas?
RP
You need speed, baby. Do one fast run, moderate in length (3-5 miles @ at 90-95% race pace) and one of these interval workouts per week.
10x400m @70 or less on the 3 minute
4x1600m @ 3 mile pace on the 10 minute
2x1600 @ 2-mile pace, 2x 800 @ 1-mil pace, 2x400 @ <70 sec, 2x200 under 30 - all in that order.
Hills are always fun too. If you can find a .75-1.0 mile loop with a 40-60 second climb in it, just run in circles, hit the hill hard, and jog to the start of the hill again.
If weights are your thing, the clean and jerk is nice.
I guess I know I’m going to have to hit the track. I just don’t want to . . .
RP
Not much to go on here, but the two general things that WILL bring results over time are:
Increase your running frequency ie the number of times you run each week to 5 - 6 days/week. Increase your weekly overall volume only slightly at first, then slowly try and increase it over the course of a month.
Run hills and run them often. People bound to their HRM always back off on the hills sometimes to the point of walking - don’t. Ignore the HRM or leave it at home and at first keep the effort steady on hills, then as you get stronger you can actually start to push the pace on hills.
Fleck
Robert, it is not just about the run, but the bike-run. What you did not mention is how close your run time is to the run time you would post standalone at the distance and how close the bike time is to a standalone TT at the distance. If the run is way off, you killed your race on the bike. If it is close, then your bike was solid and you did not dig yourself into a hole on the bike and do need speedwork. Without these details we are shooting in the dark.
It would also be intersting to note your bike position. Is it conducive to running at top speed five steps after getting off the bike, or do you need 2 miles to ease into the run. In a sprint, you don’t have 2 miles to get your running legs going. Did you practice some quick bike-run transitions in training ? If not, this is the place to start first, then start worrying about high risk track work. Track work is like “high return diamond mine stocks”. Yes, they can go up big time, but they can also tank. The upside to track work is speed, but the downside is a TKO if you get injured and not making it to the start line of your next race.
You really need to provide more info for us to properly offer some guidance. Positions within age group are relatively meaningless…but as Fleck says, triathlon always boils down to the run.
Dev
My bike time was pretty close to my standalone TT time at that distance. I do a lot of 10-20 mile training time trials, and my bike time was acceptable. But my run time was way off – like 5:00 off my standalone 5K time.
Bike position: I ride a road bike. For this tri, I didn’t even have clip ons. So it was just a standard road set up.
I’ve always had problems running off the bike. I have ridden steep tri bikes and road bikes, and I’ve never turned in what I would consider an acceptable run (within 1:30 of my standalone run time at that same distance).
RP
Robert, where did you race last weekend?
St. Augustine.
…again, without seeing you, testing your or having seen your HR profile on the bike relative your various thresholds, I would guess that there may have been a few points on the bike where you dug yourself a bit of a deficit that really showed on the run.
One often overlooked point where you can kill your run split is during the swim to bike transition. I see countless dudes, sprinting out of the swim like they are Carl Lewis, instantly going anaerobic as the body has not shunted blood from the upper body to the leg yet. One trick to make this quicker is to “soft stroke” with the arms for the final 50m and kick like crazy. Once on land, STOP and immediately remove your wetsuit when it is filled with water. Why people run with the wetsuit on, I don’t know. You have to take it off at some point, so may as well rest and do it immediately and let the blood drain to the legs gradually as you remove the suit. Then when you get the suit off, carry it and just jog to your bike. Don’t sprint. You’ll arrive to T1 with a lower heartrate and will be able to get your stuff changed much quicker, thereby making up the time on the idiots that sprinted like they are in the final 25 m of the Olympic Games 100 m sprint. Once on the bike, gradually ease into the ride. Don’t hammer the first 200 m at 450 W and dig a bigger hole. Believe me, all these little tricks in T1 will keep your HR nicely capped and will allow you to bike more efficiently and eventually run quicker.
These are race strategy basics that will allow you to race faster with NO ADDITIONAL TRAINING. If anything, you then need to add some T2 workouts like bike 10 min-run 2 min times 5 all at an aerobic pace (ie no hammering). Just get used to the transitions. Save the hammering for race day.
Take a day off. Sell your bike on e-bay. Burn your running shoes. Try curling or lawn bowling.
That’s the best advice I’ve heard in a long time. My wife would certainly be in favor of it. However, I’m just a little too stubborn to give up yet.
RP
Robert, how often do you run after biking? As I BRICKed for the first time in a while last night, running an easy 2 miles after biking, I thought about your question. Running after biking is a whole different sort of running. Consider running, even short and easy, after most rides as you prepare for your next tri. I bet you’ll have a much stronger tri run. Good luck. Bill
I’ve done a few bricks this year, but certainly not enough. That’s part of it, but even when I do regular bricks (three a week), I stll have a hard time running. My run – at any distance – has never been what I would really consider to be “acceptable.” I define that as within a minute to 90 seconds of my standalone 5K time (I’m talking sprints here). So I obviously need some work somewhere.
RP