What discipline should I focus on?

Originally posted by marcag

A couple of angles on this

First, It depends what "focus on" means. For example I normally do about 50% of my time on the bike, 34% on the run, 16% on swim. For "me" this is relatively balanced for longer distance races. When I put a "focus", I may up one of those percentages. Maybe I'd be 48, 38, 14 if I did a run "focus". So it's not an all or nothing just a rebalancing. I do a lot of hours so even 16% swim is still 12000 yards per week so your numbers may be very different.

Second, if you are in this for the long term and you want to be competitive, you have to be able to run. If that is your weakness, start working on it now because it takes time to develop.

Balance picking "low hanging fruit" with an investment in the long term. Swimming and running are longer to develop than biking. Typically there is a lot of low hanging fruit on the bike. But if smart you can also pick some of that low hanging fruit with few hours.

Finding a balance is quite hard.

You shouldn't have to focus on one specific sport (tri is actually 6 sports... S/B/R, transition, nutrition, recovery), but rather change HOW you train for each one.

Originally posted by MikeD1

What is your current run training like?

Originally posted by Nick B

Running. If you want to improve in your running you'll need to run more times per week for a greater number of km. Really if you are only doing some 1x a week and the others 2x a week you have a ton of room for improvement.

3x a week is where I saw improvement in each. 4x a week would be better.

A swim background is the best thing to have in triathlon.

Originally posted by MikeD1



I totally agree with this. It sounds like you inherited some pretty good natural ability. To make the most of it, you'll need significantly more volume. But, increase that volume slowly. A consistent buildup is much more effective and far less likely to get you injured than just adding a bunch. For example, try to get in two runs a week consistently for the next month or so. Then maybe add a third run and so on. Also, I don't know what kind of intensity you're doing but you'll want most of your running, probably around 80% to be real easy. A pace that you can talk in sentences is a place to start for most of your running. I personally wouldn't add much speed or intensity for at least a 1/2 year or so of building up a consistent volume.

Originally posted by Trilogy



I think I'll give this a shot and see what happens. I'm scared to death of running injury (I'm actually dealing with some foot pain now), but I think doing runs at a lowered intensity would be a good approach.

Originally posted by Trilogy I think I'll give this a shot and see what happens. I'm scared to death of running injury (I'm actually dealing with some foot pain now), but I think doing runs at a lowered intensity would be a good approach.

Originally posted by MuscleMomma I am no where near the caliber of triathletes that have already answered you, so take this for what it's worth. I've read here on BT that what often feels like a weakness in the run is really a weakness on the bike that burns you out for the run. So maybe don't lighten up on the bike in favor of the run.

Originally posted by Hot Runner

All I can say is you must have a lot of natural talent to place that well on such casual training. I guess it depends on how much and at what level you want to excel in the sport, and how much you want to swim/bike/run just for enjoyment. At the high levels (qualifying for, and maybe placing at Worlds), even with older age-groupers, I feel safe in saying that most people have some natural talent in at least one or two disciplines, AND most/all work their butts off. Definitely your run volume is very low--I would gradually increase volume by more frequent runs, not necessarily longer ones--that can wait until you have built up more resilience.

Iif you're in it to win it, you should definitely build up to do some runs that are equal to/longer than race distance (unless we're talking full IM), and incorporating some form of speed work once you have focused on stamina for several months. Heat/humidity is no excuse. I live in Saigon about 9-10 months a year. I do runs up to about 2 hours here, and rides up to 4 (although due to traffic and rainy season weather, I do some of the rides partly or entirely on the trainer with the AC). There are some types of workouts that are super-hard here and I sometimes have to modify--particularly tempo runs where I'm running hard continuously--I can't cool off if I don't slow down and I have gotten so overheated I get nauseous. Maybe better to do those on a treadmill, or do intervals or fartlek instead, and/or just do them really early AM.

There is at least one athlete who has qualified for Kona mainly living here in Saigon; I know several athletes based in Singapore and Jakarta who have done so as well. I qualified for 70.3 Worlds this year. (At IM Vietnam 70.3 --Living in tropical conditions does give one an advantage in racing there!) So it can be done. It just requires extra attention to hydration before, during, and after the workout. And, I hate to say this, but an acceptance that not every run workout is going to be a barrel of fun. To be honest, I enjoy running a lot less here than at home in Oregon. But the run is one of my strengths, and I like to win things. So I persist, even when it's kind of ugly. I'd limit those late-morning runs to brick workouts--by definition, by the time you finish biking, it will be later, and hotter than h..... Do the longer or harder runs when it's cooler or you will have trouble with recovery.

Originally posted by MuscleMomma

I am no where near the caliber of triathletes that have already answered you, so take this for what it's worth.

I've read here on BT that what often feels like a weakness in the run is really a weakness on the bike that burns you out for the run. So maybe don't lighten up on the bike in favor of the run.