Im fairly new to this sport and trying to learn as much as I can here.
I cant seem to find a thread regarding what to build first, speed or endurance.
If you know of one can you please share it here. Would love to read it in my downtime.
I am curious whats the “best” way to train for a half distance triathlon?
Do you build your speed first and slowly build endurance as the race slowly approaches?
or
Do you build endurance and rack hours in the off season and slow sprinkle the speed later?
Probably need more specifics on what you’re wanting. In general I would say build endurance first then speed. Build speed first could easily lead to injury because there’s no base developed in any body support/functioning systems. Tendons, bones, muscles, etc… or you could work on both at the same time?
If you try to build “speed†before you have endurance, you’ll likely end up hurting yourself and have to take time off from training. Being consistent matters more than any nuanced shmancy training plan, and it would be essentially impossible for a beginner to train consistently using mainly “speed work.â€
Build a “base†with endurance work, so you can eventually get through some decent sets of intervals without failing prematurely or injuring yourself, especially in running.
Basically define for yourself how much time per week you have to train and do mostly endurance-paced efforts that don’t keep from being able to recover for the next workout, and continue this habit for three months or so before you get into vo2max or threshold intervals.
based on my experience as an older athlete I’d say the way to go is build consistency and a solid basic technique as your highest priority, a structured program where you understand purpose of each workout and you do those consistently as they were designed; that consistency will strong arm your way through both endurance and speed. For swim solid basic stroke with ability to hold different tempos, for run a higher cadence roughly correct posture and stride, for bike reasonable cadence, bike fit and posture with the skills to handle a bike (brake, drink, fix basic stuff etc).
Within that should be a good mix of some speed, some tempo, some endurance, so this injury stuff from going too fast shouldn’t be an issue. But if pressed the speed and good technique comes first, easy to get endurance the play book is just adding volume. But if you are slow you will always be slow. Better to be faster and then take the speed out into longer distances, at least that’s how it is traditionally done and (as a 50+) it worked for me I’d have never acheived anything in full IMs if I didn’t already carry at least some speed up from short course sprints to olympics to 70.3 and kept mixing it up to maintain some speed as volumes increased. You learn more doing 20 sprint tris in a season vs 3 70.3s as many more chances to make the mistakes and rebound from them, nail transitions, understand pacing and head to head situations, etc. And to do sprints well, you need speed.
Mentally important to understand how to hold sustained speed, meaning if you are doing 10X200m in the pool or 10X25m hard in the pool or 10X400m at the track that the aim isn’t to smash 1 and then hang on for 9, but to pace through the 10 which is also how to spend more time in zone and avoid injuries to some degree. So speed in itself should cause injuries if used wisely. Especially if you are an old f**k like me
I cant seem to find a thread regarding what to build first, speed or endurance.
I am curious whats the “best” way to train for a half distance triathlon?
There are 100s of ways to slice that cake. What works for one person may not work for the next.
Do you build your speed first and slowly build endurance as the race slowly approaches?
or
Do you build endurance and rack hours in the off season and slow sprinkle the speed later?
Thank you
I think you need to define what you mean by speed. Also since you seem to be new to the sport anything you do will develop both to varying degrees. Newb gains are real. Don’t underestimate how fast you can get off of just training lots of volume. Volume is the #1 determinant of endurance performance, especially long term. If you’re training 15-17h/wk after some time you’ll never see the person training 8-10h/wk in a race.
The #1 goal you should have is be consistent. day after day after day after week after week after month after month after year after year.
If you want to develop better neuromuscular coordination (which is needed for speed) then add some strides in for the run. Everyone likes to show off their bike bling and prowess.
The results sheet still favors whomever the better runners are. It’s a lot easier to make up 6 minutes on the bike than the run.
My first coach told me years ago, “Speed is the icing on the cake. You don’t even have cake.†Like Desert Dude, he was big into consistency day after day as well as paying attention to nutrition, sleep and recovery. RIP Kevin.
As a newbie to this sport I’m always googling things online and came across a thread in reddit (I think) that beginners should focus on improving their 100s in the swim/ ftp in the bike and 5k in the run. Then expand from there.
This is the speed I’m asking.
The majority of your triathlon training should be considered endurance or aerobic effort. This means most of your runs are at a conversational pace and your bike rides are steady but not hard. Then we mix in speed or interval training when it fits into the plan. It feels like yesterday I was a newbie like yourself. I learned the most from reading the book Your Best Triathlon by Joe Friel. This helped me understand how to do interval training and when to train speed vs endurance.
The best training plan you can do for yourself is to find a routine that allows you to swim, bike, and run a few times every week for years to come. Personally, what I do to keep it simple is 3 sessions of each sport per week. 1. Endurance/long. 2. Speed/intervals. 3. Easy/aerobic.
As a newbie to this sport I’m always googling things online and came across a thread in reddit (I think) that beginners should focus on improving their 100s in the swim/ ftp in the bike and 5k in the run. Then expand from there.
This is the speed I’m asking.
Thank you
Those thoughts have some validity. Those are both aerobic based activities. To quote one of the smartest people ever to post on ST “it’s an aerobic sport damn it.”
The biggest question is how to go about that. Do you want a really sharp 3 inch knife or do you want an 8 inch knife that isn’t as sharp? You can always sharpen the longer blade but you can’t lengthen the shorter blade. That’s the sort of trade off people make all the time.
If it were me, I’d train as much aerobic volume as possible, both total # of hours per week and single session length. You can always do some stuff to add some “speed”.
When everyone talks about the 80/20 where 20% of your sessions should have intervals let’s think about that. You’re going to warm up and cool down in those sessions. The actual intervals may only be 25 min. The average person is going to have < 10% of their total weekly minutes of training be intervals, the rest is going to be aerobic.
IOW go slow to go fast and go fast for longer. If you only go fast, you’ll be able to go a bit faster, not much really, yet you won’t be able to hold it very long.
So I have been following the 80/20 online for a few months now but I don’t seem to see much improvement in the swim and bike but seeing good results in the run.
When and how do I improve my ftp in all three?
Their off season plan didn’t seem to help in swim and bike.
Is there a training plan that you highly recommend that I should follow?
That knife comparison is a really good example. Thanks
So I have been following the 80/20 online for a few months now but I don’t seem to see much improvement in the swim and bike but seeing good results in the run…Their off season plan didn’t seem to help in swim and bike.
That tells me you probably need to change something in the swim & bike training. Since you didn’t make improvements in the offseason (and I’d want to know what your tracking and how you’re tracking that) look at the period of time when you made improvements. What’s different?
When and how do I improve my ftp in all three? Just training will do that. The simple act of training is a great way, especially when new(er) to a sport, especially an endurance sport, to increase your ability to perform better
Is there a training plan that you highly recommend that I should follow? Other than one I design? I don’t really follow what’s out there for canned plans or not and it’s been years since I’ve really looked through those. I can and have designed plans for people, heck even had a Kona KQ and multiple 70.3 worlds qualifiers on them, before they handed 70.3 spots out to anyone. Interested? PM me or email from my profile
Too much over thinking for a 1st timer. I would just go on Training Peaks and buy a plan that suits your ability level and time availability. Stick to the plan and race; then, possibly, think about how to refine things and improve.