Hi All - Thanks for all the prior advice. Did my first IM in Lake Placid in July and caught the bug. I’m 6’, 210lbs and 39 yrs old. Did IMLP in 14:22 (swim 1:06, bike 6:58, run 5:45).
Can I work on getting faster on the bike and run at the same time? For example, should I do something like TrainerRoad’s MV/HV sweet spot base with something like Hansons/BarryP run plan at the same time? Or is this just asking for trouble? If it’s asking for trouble, would I do something like TR’s 8-week sweet spot base and followed by 8-week sustained power build and only then move onto focusing on the run? Maybe something different or different order?
Goal is to do a 70.3 in summer of 2023 in under 6 hours and then IMLP in 2024 in 12 hours. Maybe this isn’t realistic?
Some other info …
I’ve never really focused on getting faster on the run. Best 13.1 time is 1:52.
FTP is 260. Started cycling in Sept of 2020.
After IMLP I felt really good. Makes me think I could have (should have?) went harder.
I’ve been doing about 1 hour in the pool, 6 hours on the bike and 3 hours running for the last month or two.
Love the hunger - keep gettin’ after it! I’m hoping to get faster on bike and run this winter into next season, too, so hitting the subscribe button!
You’re best bang for the buck is losing 40lbs safely without losing bike or run power. I say this as another 6 footer who was a gym rat before endurance sports.
You’re best bang for the buck is losing 40lbs safely without losing bike or run power. I say this as another 6 footer who was a gym rat before endurance sports.
I’d love to! Has been hard putting in 10 hour weeks working out while trying to lose weight. Last time I was under 195 was high school.
Hi All - Thanks for all the prior advice. Did my first IM in Lake Placid in July and caught the bug. I’m 6’, 210lbs and 39 yrs old. Did IMLP in 14:22 (swim 1:06, bike 6:58, run 5:45).
Can I work on getting faster on the bike and run at the same time? For example, should I do something like TrainerRoad’s MV/HV sweet spot base with something like Hansons/BarryP run plan at the same time? Or is this just asking for trouble? If it’s asking for trouble, would I do something like TR’s 8-week sweet spot base and followed by 8-week sustained power build and only then move onto focusing on the run? Maybe something different or different order?
Goal is to do a 70.3 in summer of 2023 in under 6 hours and then IMLP in 2024 in 12 hours. Maybe this isn’t realistic?
Some other info …
I’ve never really focused on getting faster on the run. Best 13.1 time is 1:52.
FTP is 260. Started cycling in Sept of 2020.
After IMLP I felt really good. Makes me think I could have (should have?) went harder.
I’ve been doing about 1 hour in the pool, 6 hours on the bike and 3 hours running for the last month or two.
So…I was runner before crossing over to Triathlons. I was mostly doing 1/2 Marathons for the 6 years before the cross over a 1:22:00 was a good race for me and 1:25:00 was a bad race.
My first triathlon was the half iron distance and my bike speed was a little under 19 MPH and my run was a little over 2 hours. I knew I was going to be middle of the pack on the bike, but was expecting to be about 1:30 to 1:35 on the run. I decided to focus on the bike because I though that if I improved there it would set me up for a better run. After a year of bike focus I hadn’t seen much improvement. I was maybe 0.2 MPH faster on the bike and my run time was still a little over 2 hours. I then went run focused because I didn’t like to see slow times on the leg of the race I felt I should be dominating. So I moved from doing 2 hours a week running and 5 hours a week cycling to do 3-1/2 hours of running and 3-1/2 hours of cycling. A funny thing happened. My run improved and I was about to get down to 1:50:00 in the run, but my bike speed increased from 19 PM to 21.5 PHM. So I stuck with the run focus for another year and was hitting 22 MPH and 1:40:00 Run times. I still wanted to get my run time down to the 1:30:00 to 1:35:00 range so I kept training to run harder than I trained to cycle. I am now hitting 24 MPH on the bike and sub 1:30:00 run times. So…you defiantly can get faster at both the run and the bike at the same time. The rule of thumb that I saw when I started the sport was to do for a 4:1 bike run ratio in your training. That may work well for you. For me I had to got to about 50:50 on the bike run, which I don’t think would work for most. I do a 1-Hr trainer Roads type workout two days a week and a long ride out doors once a week. When I have been training from running events I drop the long ride to make time for long runs. I seem to be just as fast on two days on the bike a weeks when I am doing three or four days a week on the bike. The high intensity bike intervals work for me. I think if you have 35+ years of endurance sports training that the high intensity works well. If you are new to endurance sports I don’t think you will see the same results. It take about 3 years to start to peak in endurance sports. In the first three years you need to build your endurance and capacity. Anything you do to increase your endurance and fit ness will have some cross-over to both cycling and running. So…if you are getting more fit you will see improvements in both running and cycling at the same time.
You’re best bang for the buck is losing 40lbs safely without losing bike or run power. I say this as another 6 footer who was a gym rat before endurance sports.
Agreed. Was 230lbs when I started IM. Now performing far better at 190 lbs and the stress on the body is lower. I can only imagine how light and springy 180 or 170lbs would feel. Still like to hit the gym, but do it far less. Can’t give up on it entirely because it’s another hobby.
Continue with a balanced training plan for swim, bike, and run. It will come with time. Be consistent. You are so new that you don’t need to go all in on the run or bike. Just keep being a triathlete and you will improve. Find a tri training plan that fits your available time or possibly a coach and stick with it!