In my last post I looked at some of the scientific research on running off the bike. To sum up in a nutshell, researchers have found that amateur triathletes tend to suffer far more from poor running form than do their professional counterparts. Here are some ways that you can incorporate running off the bike into your regular training so that you can ultimately become a more efficient and faster triathlon runner.
Where to from here?
It is all very well to say that we need to run off the bike more to get better at it but actually putting more bike and run training into an already crowded weekly training schedule can be tricky.
The fundamental place to start is the long bike and run session. This is a staple for most triathletes so I will not dwell on it here other than to say that you should be running off your weekly long ride. Even a run of as little as fifteen minutes will get your body used to the transition between biking and running and have you hitting your stride sooner come race day.
When possible, I like to do my long bike and run session later in the day. I then have a small window of opportunity to recover during the night and the following morning I do my long run session with fatigued legs from the day before. Structuring my schedule in this way gives me two good opportunities to get some good practice in running off the bike. The first run practice comes immediately after my long ride and the second practice is done the following day.
If you cannot structure your weekly training schedule in this way then another option is to do a short but intense windtrainer session (it can be as little as thirty minutes) prior to heading out on your regular long run. The windtrainer session can be specifically designed to help improve your cycling but the real purpose of this type of session is to give you the opportunity to practice running with fatigued legs.
Something new
For most of us the long bike and run session is going to chew up a good portion of our weekends. A good way to get some off-the-bike running into our weekly schedule is to do a bit of bike and run circuit training. The essence of this type of training is simple: bike, run and repeat.
In recent months I have been lucky enough to be able to do these sessions at a dedicated gym with excellent windtrainer, treadmill and weight facilities but you don’t need to have all this. A windtrainer is perhaps the only piece of necessary equipment. A typical workout of mine starts with a bike and run warm up and then may look something like this:
- One set of squats
- Three minutes of low cadence strength work on the bike followed by one minute hard at a normal cadence
- One set of lunges
- Run with four sets of thirty seconds fast followed by thirty seconds easy
Normally I would complete around five circuits like this but you can tailor the session depending on available time and how fatigued you become during the session. Remember though that it is intended to be hard, so don’t pack it in too early. Also you can be flexible in terms of the specifics of what you do with the biking and running portions of this session. I have just given one example. The key is simply to get lots of practice in running with pre-fatigued legs.
A single session such as the one described above can be completed in less than one hour and within that hour you get five opportunities to practice your running after cycling. The beauty of doing the run part of this session on a treadmill is that you can concentrate on your form and efficiency. A good idea is get somebody to video you as well so that you can take a look at your own form to see if there is room for improvement. Take careful note of your form at the start of the session and compare this with your form toward the end of the session when you are more tired to see if there are any obvious changes.
You do not need a treadmill, nor do you need any weights equipment. Set your windtrainer up at a running track or even at home and simply bike, run and repeat. The variations on this type of workout are endless so you are sure to be able to design something that suits you, your environment and equipment that is available to you.
By regularly slotting these sessions into your schedule I am confident that you will be able to improve your race day performance when it comes to running off the bike. And this will pay big dividends in terms of your overall race performance.
Good luck and enjoy!
Bill Scanlan is an elite triathlete with over ten years of racing and training experience. Bill has raced extensively in Australia, Asia and Europe and has twice completed the Ironman World Triathlon Championships held in Hawaii. Through his travels and interactions with other athletes and coaches, Bill has gained a great deal of insight into what it takes to compete at an elite level while at the same time managing work, life and family commitments. Bill has recently turned professional and is now aiming to compete at the highest level within the sport. You can contact Bill at bill@ breakyourlimits.com or follow his journey at www.breakyourlimits.com.
