Given how big that FTP jump is (kudos there!) I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s impacted your run to some extent. In a very general sense, focusing on one discipline and making significant gains there usually limits what you’re able to do elsewhere (and TR plans are by nature very bike focused)While it’s always a bit disappointing having invested a ton of work to seemingly no avail, unfortunately our capacity to adapt to stress is limited, so if you’ve seen improvement of that magnitude in two of three sports I would consider just maintaining your run fitness a success, especially if it translates to better overall race performance!
I am certainly no coach, but if improving your run is a priority I would consider decreasing your bike load in order to really focus on that for a while- you may even see some fairly instantaneous improvements simply from going into sessions with less accumulated fatigue, along with higher quality key sessions and being able to sustain a greater overall workload (within reason )
Running does seem to be a lot simpler than bike and swim, but we can assess the training in muchthe same way as if your bike were not improving .
How good is your running, what’s your volume (time and intensity) like per week/month/year? (Excepting your spring achilles injury)
I also did not see much improvement in my running or my triathlon running 2016-2019 but after honest assessment I just wasn’t running nearly as much (relatively) as I cycled nor as consistently. 2019-2021 I’ve used structured training for my running and been more consistent and I’ve seen improvements in my stand alone running. A week ago was my first result with improved triathlon running, short course. As you know it’s trickier to express better running in triathlon because it so easy to mess it up in your swim and bike.
My next test is half distance, and ultimately full in October.
As some other have said. It’s all about how much time you put into it.
I can almost guarantee that the time you spent running is not even close to the time on the bike. In order to get better at running, you need to run. For most people TR running is more than enough, but in reality is not.
I do their running because I don’t have the time to do the running the way I would like it. So for that running volume tops at about 20 and some miles. That’s less than 4 hours of running. That’s nothing. You really need closer to 5 hours to really see running improvement. And that is super hard.
When I was running my best i was running about 60 to 80 miles a week…now i am much slower but I know that’s because I only have time to do less than 30 miles a week…
That’s good volume for a triathlete but if I can pick a little, with the aim of being constructive - is that 4h 40m actual average, and over the last 6 months? A year, or two?
What are your paces like racing and training? I found I could run much harder than I’d ever thought without getting injured through pace-based training.
I was about to +1 for focussing on running if the aim is to get faster at running, but that seems to have been covered.
I’ve found from my own experience that reducing my running volume and intensity eventually made me run faster, but it took time and forcing not to run at race pace every single time.
I am curious to know what your progression has looked like- you mention you’ve tried a few different protocols, but how does your overall volume/frequency compare to earlier, as well as the difficulty and structure of the key sessions?
You’ve also referenced how your run times compare to previous tris- have you done any standalone time trials or running events?
I really don’t have much time to do more running a week.
Last year I was running much more during lockdown did 4 30 minute runs a week, 2 1 hour, 1 2-3 hour all zone 2 following the slow twitch plan I had seen on here.
This year I have done mainly 80:20 running.
My PB’s are 22 minutes for a 5k, 45 for a 10K 1.45 for a hm, at the other weeks outlaw I did 1.52 off the bike although that included walking the off road downhill sections for safety reasons rather than pace which probably added 2-3 minutes.
I’m just at a loss.
My swim puts me in sub 5 hours and pretty competitive in smaller races, my biking defintely does but my running is well off
I haven’t done any stand alone running races, I have a hm booked for October which I really want to make a priority for,
During lockdown, I was following the barry p plan and just adding 10% a week every 2 weeks and deloading a little every 6, this year I have followed the intermediate 80:20 plan, I had 3-4 weeks off completely and then stopped all my intensity for a few weeks until my ankle healed.
I will be needing some new running shoes soon. I need a “workhorse” training show.
I race in On Cloudflyers. Comfortable, light, and I slip in and out of them easy in transition (for triathlon). I have a pair of Hoka CarbonX that I like, but those would be only for running only races (too slow in transition).
I’ve been training most of my miles in the Pegasus Turbo2. I bought them a while ago to test out the super-foam. People I’ve talked to said it’s the goal more so than the carbon plate that Nike uses. And the foam leaves their legs feeling better after workouts. But since they don’t make the turbo2’s anymore, I need a replacement. Something ideally that will get good mileage, but also be good at keeping legs feeling good during training.
For all rounder… I like the Reebok floatride energy. They are on the 3rd version of the shoe. Not the fastest, not the springiest, not the softest… If anything it doesn’t do one thing great. But it does everything well… If you are looking for a balanced shoe, then that’s the one… Plus it will last 800 plus miles on ideal running conditions…
If you want to make a show faster on transition, you can always do bungie cords… It will make any shoe wick to transition.
I really like my on cloudflyers for triathlon. Already have the elastic laces. I think I had the 2nd fastest T2 at gulf coast 70.3 for my age group. Very easy to get into and the fit is great once they’re on. The only reason I don’t train in them is because I want to save the mileage for race day, lol
Not a horrible reason… The best racing come from shoes you like to run with… For racing my choice is adidas adios, but I have to deal with aftermarket Bungie cords…
Ive got the Floatride, Nike React Miler, Pegasus 35 & 36, and Structure 23 for training none of which as good as the Pegasus Turbo 2 apparently, but Ive never worn the Turbo 2.
Essentially the idea is for the Floatride and Pegasus for tempo and speedwork, Miler and Structure for easy and long runs. I’m just transitioning from old shoes to new.
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