I don’t do alot of sprints…or races for that matter in a year. Obviously the problem with this is you never really know how hard to push before you blow up.
Soooo… Any advice on what to look for or what signals you get when you’re pushing to hard or not hard enough in a typical sprint race, say 15 miles, on the bike? Typically I try to push right to the point of “yea old leg burn” and back off. About right?, not hard enough?
I guess I’ve always been a tad bit afraid of pushing really hard on the bike and simply sucking on the run. But I’m also wondering if I don’t leave enough on the bike course.
Sprints are just that…SPRINTS…if you aren’t going so hard you ALMOST puke on the bike…and PUKE after crossing the finish line…you aren’t going hard enough.
Seriously…I doubt it is possible to go too hard on the bike in a sprint…I ride a sprint leg like I’m doing a 30 minute critical power test (CP30)…get off the bike and jam the run with my eyes seeing starts…I still usually run a 5k sprint leg in 16s to low 17s depending on the course.
I ride a sprint leg like I’m doing a 30 minute critical power test (CP30)…get off the bike and jam the run with my eyes seeing starts…I still usually run a 5k sprint leg in 16s to low 17s depending on the course.
Always nice to have an opportunity to brag, isn’t it?
So in essence your running legs don’t suffer…all that much, if you do a full out bike sprint leg? How much is your sprint time effected vs your standalone 5K time.
One other thing to take into account is the seat tube angle. Depending on if you have a road bike with clip-ons or a tri bike you may notice a huge difference when you finish hammering and start running.
Well, brag it may be…though it wasn’t intended as so…my point was that it is still possible to run REALLY fast if you totally blast a sprint bike leg.
I’m with you, it’s funny how people think 17’s are fast now for 5K’s, 20 years ago, 17’s were slow. Around the Indy area and north we have guys typically running sub 17’s for 5K after cycling and averaging 25.5 + on the bike. I can usually go 17:10’s, 16:50’s without cycling. The key is to practice running after cycling, 90% of my runs are after cycling. I’m an old man of 38
Well, brag it may be…though it wasn’t intended as so…my point was that it is still possible to run REALLY fast if you totally blast a sprint bike leg.
I’m with you, it’s funny how people think 17’s are fast now for 5K’s, 20 years ago, 17’s were slow. Around the Indy area and north we have guys typically running sub 17’s for 5K after cycling and averaging 25.5 + on the bike. I can usually go 17:10’s, 16:50’s without cycling. The key is to practice running after cycling, 90% of my runs are after cycling. I’m an old man of 38
Like I said… 1 percent of the competitors will be that fast…
Standalone 5ks are in the 15:30-16:00 range…or about 30-40 seconds off of my sprint leg times when I’m really blasting the race…
I think doing hard brick sessions is is the key…you have to figure out how to grit through that first mile at a good pace…after a mile my legs free up and I’m running more like my open running.
That still doesn’t negate the argument we are making that you can go as hard as you can on the bike and still run really fast…whatever “really fast” is for the athlete in question.
The proper pace and effort is highly individualized. It takes trial and error to figure it out. Fortunately with sprints you can race often. What other sports have hour long “sprints”?
Sprints are just that…SPRINTS…if you aren’t going so hard you ALMOST puke on the bike…and PUKE after crossing the finish line…you aren’t going hard enough.
Seriously…I doubt it is possible to go too hard on the bike in a sprint…I ride a sprint leg like I’m doing a 30 minute critical power test (CP30)…get off the bike and jam the run with my eyes seeing starts…I still usually run a 5k sprint leg in 16s to low 17s depending on the course.
Since I doubted your claim and I’m waiting on a client, a quick check of your results this year and last show your sprint triathlon 5k times to be more in the 19 minute range…
That still doesn’t negate the argument we are making that you can go as hard as you can on the bike and still run really fast…whatever “really fast” is for the athlete in question.
