What’s your best improvement on a race…percentage, time, whatever measurement you use? And what do you think got you there? Is 15% improvement on IM reasonable if you have done the distance and have really amped up your training? I’m sure I’m dreaming, but would love to hear some great success stories…
I would start with the free improvements; aerodynamics and transitions.
IMA 2002 = 14:22 (18)
IMNZ 2003 = 10:40 (19)
IMA 2003 = 10:31 (19)
IMA 2004 = 9:34 (20)
IMH 2004 = ??:?? (21)
Us Ozzies cant work out the math, but Im sure you’ll add up the time!!!
pinkboy…I know, Im only a baby!!!
SWIMMING - wetsuit saves a minute or three. Is the hardest to make make huge gains since it is technique based. I’ve found many hours in the pool have translated into relatively small gains in open water.
BIKE - Can make big gains doing some of the basics - aero bars, clipless pedals, front aero wheel, CH Aero disc cover. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to make that old bike competitive.
RUNNING - Ugh. Used to hate this with a passion, but now enjoy it by training more scientific and using a HRM. Training should include long slow runs to build aerobic base and shorter more intense runs with hills,speed intervals, fartleks. Put in the volume and you’ll get faster.
nice curve pinkboy. to what do you credit your big improvement from IMA 2002 to IMA 2003? Race experience, more endurance in the legs… ?
Thanks for the tips. HID, you’re right…my transition times are baaad…and I’m working on being more aero.
Cerveloguy - what kind of volume for running? I come from a running background and never do tons of volume; right now my long runs are 2 - 2.5 hours but I’m only running 3/week. One long, one tempo on an uphill and one speed session (like 1/2 and 1 mile repeats). Plus 15 minutes of easy running after my long bikes. I think I’m getting good quality runs in, but I’m definitely not focusing on a lot of volume.
Pink - wow - that is just what I wanted to hear! 
I’m hoping to go from 14 to 12, which seems a little unrealistic, but you made a tremendous improvement. What up? What were the major differences?
Way back, I did a series of corporate running races (the Manufacturers Hanover series), which were 3.5 miles each. The first one I did, in Central Park (NYC) in May, I came in at 22:45 (6:30/mile pace). I weighed about 188. At the finals in Sept/Oct, on Fifth Avenue (which was a hoot!), I weighed about 172, and did 20:24 (5:50/mile). The following May, back in Central Park, I did 19:48 (~5:40/mile).
At the final on 5th Ave, I was running the same pace as the women’s leader. ESPN broadcast the race, and there I was.
“Cerveloguy - what kind of volume for running?”
I’m the wrong guy to ask for running advice. I’m OK for the bike, but I’m more qualified to listen than answer when it comes to running. But to answer your question, my volume is about the same as yours, which is a lot for me since my running background was as a 100m sprinter in HS. I never ran at all for many years until getting into tri.
Cerveloguy - so what do you recommend for biking? For example, the basics I gave, I would recommend to folks for most run training, i.e. 1/2 marathon, marathon, even 10k. I would just adjust the distances and the speedwork accordingly. But generally three runs per week: 1 distance, 1 tempo/fartlek/hills, and 1 speed session.
To recommend a generic training plan (or specific if you like for IM distance), what do you recommend to people still getting their biking legs?
Thanks!
My biggest single improvement came during my 1st year of running:
1st marathon: 3:57
2nd marathon: 3:07
I’m guessing the weight difference was one big reason.
1st marathon: 204lbs
2nd marathon: 175lbs.
By two benchmarks are Cal Half 2002, where I went 5:11 on a flat, fast (lots of unavoidable draft packs) course. 62/211 in my AG, with the run split about a 100 rank, and a bike split around the 60th best.
The other is WTH two weeks ago. I didn’t do the swim, and so would add about 5 minutes to my overall time to make a comparison (I had a short T1, and would have swam about 2 minutes slower than my relay partner). I think I would have fallen into the 6th place slot in my AG, out of 38. My run split was 12th; bike split about 5th.
On a ranking basis, these splits move me up through more than half the AG field on both the bike and run. Not in Kona-qualifying territory yet, but at least I am headed in the right direction.
What I did: I ran my ass off. I put away the bike in August 2002, and stopped swimming too. I ran 5-7 days a week for the better part of 18 months. I did a few 4-5 week stretches of 50+ miles per week. I ran up and down mountains; I ran slow; I ran fast; I ran everywhere.
When I got back on my bike in earnest in Jan this year, I was within days faster than I was in the summer of 2002. Who says cross-training doesn’t work!? I also revamped my bike training to become extremely focused on, and a slave to, my power meter.
If I had a goal of holding 210 watts on a long ride, I stared at that meter and would NOT let it get under 210. If I was going to do an interval at 250 watts, I stuck to that number. I apopted an attitude of “no wasted pedal circles” on my rides.
Some people improve their run splits by becoming more bike-fit. I improved my run by running a lot. My run fitness gave me the confidence to push the envelope a bit on the bike effort. I finished that WTH bike ride pretty darned tired, and still had a good run.
Cali Half bike: 4:04 to 3:20.
Like Jaylew, dropping a lot of pounds helped on the hills, as did a much better base and more miles in the legs.
clm in sf
"Cerveloguy - so what do you recommend for biking? "
For most triathletes - join a roadie group and learn some bike skills.
I do three group rides per week 1) drop the other guy on Tues 2) hill ride on Thurs 3) long ride on Sunday morning. Usually I also ride the tri bike a couple times per week solo for an hour and a half each time. The group rides would be unstructured in the sense that you go fast when the group goes or you’ll be dropped, but I find riding with roadies gives me a better work out and is a lot more fun than riding solo.
The bike is more my thing more than the other two sports. I’ll be riding as long as my body isn’t too feeble to turn a crank, probably long after I’ve retired from tri.
Hey Cathy - that was just recently, right? I think I read that on your blog - good stuff by the way. What do you average for weekly mileage? I’m not trying to match anyone’s mileage, just curious what the strong bike folks are doing.
Average bike mileage varies. Last week was around 125 miles. And note, this is all “BM” (before Molina), so from January up to a week ago–I would try to ride long on Saturdays, then ride again on Sunday and then hopefully, once or twice during the week (sometimes none though). “Long” built up from 50 miles in December to 100 mile rides recently (IM training) and what really helped was doing some early (January) crits. There the weekly distance wasn’t so much, but the intensity was high. The Sunday rides were usually around 90-120 minutes, sometimes more or less, depending on who I was riding with.
It’s also worked quite well to move my long run (as it is) to a weekday morning. I have over 1,000 miles on the bike (road miles, no trainer time) to date for 2004. In 2003, I only had 1,652 miles for the entire year.
Going forward, with the new program, it will be interesting to see if/how much I continue to improve. Half Vineman will be a good gauge.
clm