The key thing is to obviously be as good as you can as running, but then to capture that potential, you need to be a strong as you can be on the bike.
The stronger you are on the bike, the more of your run potential you will capture coming off it. Of course, the better your run ability, the faster upper limit you’ll go.
I experienced this firsthand as a runner → triathlete. In my first sprint, I had very little bike background, and despite the measly 5k finish, legs felt like bricks and I ran slower than I’d expected.
In my very next tri, with a lot more bike training, but less running (a lot less, actually), I actually felt good coming off the bike despite riding at the same speed as that prior race. Run went a bit faster as well.
The bricks aren’t helpful for me unless I’m actually practicing transitions - the transitions will actually save more time than the brick practice.
Sounds obvious, but the best way is to be as strong as you can on bike and run individually. No magic brick formula will replace this.
But if you don’t care to skim through these threads, some of which are damn funny at times, here is what you need to know.
Bricks are stupid but doing repeated cycles of hard short bike then a short run isn’t.
It’s not just about the bike, bike smart is great advice, but a smart bike + piss poor run fitness = piss poor run off the bike.
Run fitness rules. No one ever crossed the finish line and complained about running too fast. Lots of people cross the finish line (many of whom biked smart) and were disappointed in their run times.
Most people when choosing what to do, if they have to make a choice, will chose to bike instead of run. Most people are idiots.
Running off the bike is a skill, not a sport. Treat it/train for it as such and you’ll be way ahead of those who think it’s a sport.
I think running better off the bike is 20% training 80% mental you just need to keep it together the first 2 miles and your body will come around.
That’s my experience anyway
FWIW, I have found that bricks helped a lot, but as others have said, good bike fitness sets up a good run.
Personally, at the olympic distance, and contrary to some others, I bury myself on the bike (and swim) - shove out all thoughts of having to run and dig myself a big hole - always feel like the first km takes forever on the run, but inevitably move forward, usually negative split, and am rarely passed.
I’m not a fast runner in straight 5k/10k, but the bricks make me a strength runner, and that seems to be more relevant to our sport.
I hate to be contrary, but I think running off the bike is about 95 percent training and 5 percent mental. When I am superfit, running really fast of the bike is the easiest mental exercise ever. I have never, ever jumped off the bike, felt crappy and then had the run legs come around to the point of having a good run. Every spectacular or even good run I have ever had were the easiest mentally because when I jumped off the bike, my legs felt awesome. The five percent mental part comes toward the very end of the race when your body has had enough and wants to quit. You can do that with a mile to go. You can’t do that from the very beginning of the run.
Chad
I’m gonna go with the mental aspect as being the main benefit. With a properly paced bike and evenly paced start to the run, your legs will come around, but it doesn’t hurt to get a few practice efforts so your head actually believes it! I only do it maybe once or twice early season. Just finish the last 5 mins of the bike at oly/sprint speed and then the first 5 mins of the run at the same race speed.
If nothing else, you get transition practice under race effort.
Well, I’ve never done an IM, nor likely will I ever, but even in that case you better feel relatively good or else you have no chance of running 26 miles well. I would still submit that for an IM, training is still the problem. The task of IM is really ridiculous and the average human with a life cannot possibly train well enough to complete one comfortably. No amout of mental strength can get you to the finish if your body is poorly trained.
Well when it comes to IM fitness is important for sure but the race is 80% mental speaking from experience. To speak to the time it takes to get there it tough but worth it.
Well when it comes to IM fitness is important for sure but the race is 80% mental speaking from experience
When it comes to racing, not just IM, fitness is important. You can have the best mental abilities of anyone else in the race, but if you don’t have the fitness level to bang heads with the best people in the race, you’ll get your as handed to you well before the finish line. Just ask anyone who is tough mentally and finishes an IM in 11:30 (to choose a random time)
it’s just like running off the bike, the fitter of a runner you are the more likely you are to run fast off the bike, no matter if you’ve done bricks or not.
Well when it comes to IM fitness is important for sure but the race is 80% mental speaking from experience. To speak to the time it takes to get there it tough but worth it.
I generally respect your opinion about training, but I think you are square wrong about bricks. Now, I’m not trained in sports science or physiology, like some of you, but I have lots and lots of observational antidotal experience.
In my experience being a good triathlete is quite different than being a good biker, a good runner, or a good swimmer. I don’t training my triathlon running the same way I would train for straight running. I am never going to execute a triathlon run as fast as I would an open running race, those energy systems are simply not available at that point, so training to be the fastest runner you can be is a waste of time. To run well in your standard USAT age group triathlon you have to hike your aerobic threshold to as close to your anaerobic threshold as possible. Training like that sacrifices some of your upper anaerobic potential, but allows you to perform well when fatigued. Proper brick training helps with this aspect of triathlon physiology.
I am never going to execute a triathlon run as fast as I would an open running race… so training to be the fastest runner you can be is a waste of time.
You do realize that a faster open runner will typically be the faster triathlon runner? A 39:00 open 10k runner has a much, much smaller chance of running 40:00 in a triathlon then a 36:30 open 10k runner.
Proper brick training is a skill that 99% of all triathletes perform wrong. The most effective way to train yourself to run fast off the bike would be doing something like 5-8 x(3km hard bike + .5km fast run). Not a hard bike followed by a 5k run.
Brian I have been going it alone on the basis that I can learn enough from your stuff, Rappstars, Barry P and Paulo when he was around. But if you keep giving this stuff for free I do have to wonder what you could do for me if I paid you for coaching.
Still triathletes are special people who struggle to work out that better runners run faster and that being fitter is actually important.
I am never going to execute a triathlon run as fast as I would an open running race… so training to be the fastest runner you can be is a waste of time.
You do realize that a faster open runner will typically be the faster triathlon runner? A 39:00 open 10k runner has a much, much smaller chance of running 40:00 in a triathlon then a 36:30 open 10k runner.
Proper brick training is a skill that 99% of all triathletes perform wrong. The most effective way to train yourself to run fast off the bike would be doing something like 5-8 x(3km hard bike + .5km fast run). Not a hard bike followed by a 5k run.
+1. While running off the bike can kill the form of some of the best light weight, ultra lean running types…plus they often can swim for shit… for many, the ability to run effciently on fresh legs translates to running well on fatigued legs. The general rules if you "bump up, once race distance for yoru pace. Meaning that your Olympic run pace is about the same as yoru open 1/2 marathon pace, your 70.3 run is the same as you open marathon pace and you IM run is close to a 50k run pace.
My tri run splits have followed that pretty closely.
Thsi season I’m focusing a lot more on the bike compared to the run. Though since I’m increasing my volume of both, I won’t be able to make a good objective comparison. I am keeping my bike volume at around 50-52% of my total volume once I get into my base. Its’ a little lower right now as strength traiing is occupyiing a larger percentage of time. But I’m still biking a litlte more than I’m running. Swimming as always, is held below 30% of my time spent.