just been thinking about my running times in triathlons after a disappointing run at the Miami man on Sunday.
It seems that by distance my triathlon runs are slower than running PRs by the following %ages:
10k - ~2%
13.1 - 24% (typically but a whopping 33% on sunday)
26.2 - 39% IMFL '04 23% Lake Placid '05
so how do your runs compare? My half runs are always way below par…something to fix for next year.
interesting side note, Heather Fuhr told me she doesn’t think she could run a marathon faster than she does in IM…i guess that shows how optimally tuned she is for the IM race
since running is “supposed” to be my strength, how to improve the ratio??
is it:
a) Improve bike so less fatigued for run?
b) Improve run?
c) Improve running off bike specificity?
or (this is for Frank…)
d) Get some power cranks and improve bike and run at the same time?
E) improve your swim fitness, you will be less fatigued on the run. You may laugh, but I have seen lots of guys/gals pump up the volume on the swim and they run better. Myself included.
Adding swim volume will increase your aerobic capacity without pounding our joints (ie running). That is a benefit in my opinion.
So - a) - YES - being less tired coming out of the water and
b) - YES - as mentioned above AND
c) - getting out of the water in the front of the pack and not having to hammer through the field and play catch up the whole race. That wears on you more than people think.
If you have the leaders in sight after the swim, and you are a good runner, you have simplified your race considerably.
Surprisingly… I’m way faster on most of the distance off the bike than on an open race. Maybe it’s because I always start too fast on open road races and usually blow up at half point.
Some times to compare:
5Km - 16’50 (off the bike) vs 16’14 (on the track WITH track shoes)
10Km - 33’40 (off the bike) vs 34’3x (open road race)
20Km - 1h17 (off the bike) vs 1h18 (open road race)
There is a lot that goes into that - starting with how hard did you have to work on the swim? If everything is equal on the swim (fitness is solid) now you go to the next factors which is how well are you trained, and then nutrition and pacing. So IF ALL of that is equal, you still have the issue of Muscular Endurance - but I have seen guys ‘double’ their times and run fine off the bike, and I have seen some literature that says double the time and add 20-30 minutes. I have seen that double + 20-30 minutes to be pretty typical.
You’re lucky. My 1/2 time is 1:30 even. At the last 1/2 Iron I did it was 2:18. There were other factors involved (mainly heat, hawai’i vs seattle). It’s been a couple of years but I have whittled the differences down in the shorter races likely due to increased bike training. Maybe 2:00 on a 5k (20 tri vs 18 open road race).
I did Miami Man last week too. I think you also might consider the bike course/effort when factoring running pace into the equation. We both know the 20 - 30 mph winds & heat took a toll on the legs during the bike. Example, I should have held 6:30 pace (based off prior performance) and I could only muster 7:37pace…
So I guess it depends on how hard you worked on the bike.
PS Miamiman… That was an EPIC race… loved every minute of it… I’ve memories to keep me warm (current Ann Arbor Mi temp 23f).
“”“”“E) improve your swim fitness, you will be less fatigued on the run. You may laugh, but I have seen lots of guys/gals pump up the volume on the swim and they run better. Myself included”“”“”“”
Don’t let therascal see this thread. He’ll go ballistic again. Here is a link to a thread debating that very subject.
Your run times will usually be slower for several reasons.
A non inclusive list would include peripheral fatigue, muscle tissue tramua, dehydration, lowered blood sugar if not properly eating, lack of running fatigue resistance, lack of cycling fitness.
