What I learned from my first HIM (Page 3)

I say this because odds are very, very high that a BT athlete is undertraining rather than overtraining. I'd say differently for FOP athletes and high-volume athletes, but that's not the typical crowd being addressed on a beginnertriathlete forum. Most BTers barely crack 10 hrs per week of training I'll bet - the problem here is almost always undertraining, not overtraining.

I remember when Jordan said that, in fact I believe he was going off my comment originally when I posted on ST, when I was comment off Gerlach's post. "I would agree, although I think there is a big misconception in the age-group field that bike/run workouts are for fitness, when rather, they are for skill. In other words, biking 6 hours will get you the same measure (roughly) of fitness as a 5 hour bike/1 hour run per say. However, if you are going to run off the bike it is more about learning to pace yourself, keeping a good form, nutrition, how to was into the run, etc. a skill. 

I remember when Jordan said that, in fact I believe he was going off my comment originally when I posted on ST, when I was comment off Gerlach's post. "I would agree, although I think there is a big misconception in the age-group field that bike/run workouts are for fitness, when rather, they are for skill. In other words, biking 6 hours will get you the same measure (roughly) of fitness as a 5 hour bike/1 hour run per say. However, if you are going to run off the bike it is more about learning to pace yourself, keeping a good form, nutrition, how to was into the run, etc. a skill. 

Really? I'm not sure I'd equate the two.

I just looked.  It was in response to something you wrote.  Good memory.

I just always liked how Jordan articulated it and quote that often.

Really? I'm not sure I'd equate the two.

Great thread for those of us looking at our first HIM in the near future.  Thanks for the great OP and for all the informative follow-up posts!

Quite a few posts refer to using the bricks to see if you have your nutrion dialed in, with run lengths of 2-10 miles.  What aspect of nutrition are you really looking at here if you are doing just a 2 mile run?  Does it show you that you've missed it completely on the bike and thus you are dead on the run from the beginning, or is it something else?

Question:

If the run of a HIM is during the heat of the day, should we be doing our run training during the heat of the day (heat acclimatization)?

Question:

If the run of a HIM is during the heat of the day, should we be doing our run training during the heat of the day (heat acclimatization)?

I think it's a good idea to simulate race conditions as best you can, so yes.  

I think it's a good idea to simulate race conditions as best you can, so yes.  

Great thread for those of us looking at our first HIM in the near future.  Thanks for the great OP and for all the informative follow-up posts!

Quite a few posts refer to using the bricks to see if you have your nutrion dialed in, with run lengths of 2-10 miles.  What aspect of nutrition are you really looking at here if you are doing just a 2 mile run?  Does it show you that you've missed it completely on the bike and thus you are dead on the run from the beginning, or is it something else?

Depends on how much it takes out of you. If doing it in the heat of the day has you "in the well" for the next 3 days what benefit is it if you can't train for the next 3 days? I always suggest a few days of race specific conditions training though out your build, and prepare the training leading up and following those days properly. But if running a long run 0f 18 miles in the middle of your IM build has you in the well for the next week then it maybe isn't the best idea. 

However, you really never can know race conditions until 1-2 days out, you can only have a general idea. I think IMWI and IMSTG are great examples of expect the unexpected. 

Welcome to long course racing and all that comes with it.

I'm going to be very blunt so that you don't continue to make similar mistakes.

Don't make another two beginner mistakes and think strength training your legs makes you a stronger cyclist and that bricks are some kind of magical triathlon run cure.  You're way off base.

Cycling makes you a better cyclist.  What happened to you had nothing to do with leg strength.  It had everything to do with endurance, fitness, bike execution and very unrealistic goals.  Assuming you raced Galveston on Sunday, a 2:30 bike was a top-10% bike split.  What lead you to believe you could hang at the FOP on the bike?

Remember that everything compounded for you in a bad way.  The swim took more out of you than you thought, which meant the bike took more out of you, so the run was bound to be a death march.  I'm impressed with the 2:18 all things considered.

Bricks for long course racing are almost a complete waste of time.  They serve a more debatable purpose for short course racing when you have less time to get your run legs going.  Like I said... that's even very debatable.

I often quote Jordan Rapp when it comes to bricks as I thought he articulated it well...

Running off the bike is a neuromuscular skill. Basically, you train your body to quickly make the switch from the neuromuscular firing pattern for cycling to that of running. This is why bricks are more important for shorter events and why, over time, the more experienced you are as a triathlete, the less you actually need them. 

Nobody needs to practice running sh*tty (running on "tired legs"); the point of a brick is the exact opposite, to practice running WELL (with good form) after cycling. 

If you understand this, it will help to explain when to run off the bike, and also what you are (or should be) trying to achieve with that workout. 

The point is to learn to run correctly. And then to train and race/pace appropriately such that you can maintain good form. 

There is some skill involved in running correctly. And there is some skill involved in running off the bike effectively. But running off the bike effectively necessarily requires all the skills that are required for good running. Practicing running off the bike a lot without the required skills is like trying to learn calculus without knowing algebra. 

Learn to run well. THEN learn to run well off the bike. But no matter how you look at it, running off the bike is ONLY a skill. Running - in any context - is certainly a skill, but it's also overwhelmingly fitness-reliant (like swimming). So the best training is to do whatever will allow your run training to be most effective. And that's NOT going to be running when you are tired from cycling. 

Same reason that a pull buoy, paddles, etc are so useful in the pool. They help you take good strokes even when you are tired. Likewise with running, do what you can to help your running - if you're shelled, run when it's cool, or run where it's flat, or use a treadmill to help with turnover, etc. 

You don't need to practice your Ironman shuffle. Your body is very capable of figuring out how to simply get from A-to-B.

No.

No matter how far you run, if you biked beforehand, its a brick.

From the Glossary of Triathlon Terms on this site:

Brick:

Only mention of time I see is the amount of time between sports.  No mention of distance either....