Fred D and Jason's (Tri808) Half Ironman Mentor Group CLOSED! (Page 19)

Congrats on the improvements!

I did a December marathon in 09', 10', and '11.  Running volume was always significantly higher during marathon training than during tri training in the spring/summer.  Each year I would experience a nice bump in speed for training paces after the marathon like you are experiencing now.

I suspect 2 reasons for me.

#1.  The decrease in running mileage after the marathon means my running legs are a bit fresher (even with the added swimming and biking).  I was running as high as 50-60 mpw for the peak of my marathon training, and I couldn't do that without having a lot of easyish runs at a slower pace.  Going back down to 25-30 mpw for tri training meant my training runs were a bit quicker.  At the very peak of HIM training when I'd get up to 40 mpw...the paces would come down slightly again.

#2.  Simply increased run fitness from marathon training and just the whole body of work.  Keep in mind that run fitness takes a long time to build.  I may put in 1300 miles this year, and really reap the benefits next year.  It's not as instantaneous as say biking or swimming improvements.

IMHO, while swimming and biking does increase my overall fitness and helps me also manage my weight, but I don't think I can attribute it to my running progress.  Last year I did absolutely zero running from mid June to the end of August while I was training for bike races.  I rode almost 3k miles during that summer, but I promise you it didn't help my running.

I didn't take it that way so no worries. Like you I always like to reassess my training and I think that's the best course for everybody. Be self aware.

And this is exactly why people need to consider their own strengths, weaknesses, goals, etc before taking broad stroke advice.

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~Jason 

Traveling all week, so just catching up on some of these threads...I am 46 this year and started strength training thru a group Body Pump class at the Y at the end of last year.  Made a huge difference when I started building base for this year. Last year i had knee issues but i think it was attributed to muscle imbalance and ramping too quickly.  took it slower this year and with the strength training, much improved this year with no issues.  Also helped with biking and upper body strength on the swim...still middle of pack but feeling alot better and enjoying the races more!

I wasn't advocating that everybody should do the core work simply because I do. I was merely sharing that I really turned a corner when I started putting time into it in case somebody else was dealing with some of the same issues.

That's very close to my experience. It was ITBS and muscular imbalance that got me started. Also my hip flexors and side gluts were fried last year and never seemed to recover. This year neither has been an issue.

No I just wanted to qualify it so I wasn't being viewed as preachy.

I would have thought that was a form of sciatica and had to google it. Stretching helps with ITBS as well as does the foam roller. Whatever it takes.

What's on tap for the weekend?  Forgive me, but I can't remember if anyone's racing.  If so, best of luck.

I've got a race paced bike/run brick tomorrow, but I'm not feeling really spiffy at the moment so I may or may not just turn it into a long ride.  Probably won't know until 30 miles into the bike. 

Long run on Sunday.  Not too sure on how far, but if I'm feeling good it will be 16. 

Happy Mother's Day to all you mom's out there.

That's me.