Help transitioning
 

I am training for my first triathlon and thought it would be a good idea to have a work out where I ride fairly hard and then run fairly hard immediately after. Well I rode 15 miles and ended at the high school track where I jumped off the bike and put on my running shoes which, I carried in a small bag on my back. I began running and what do you know, I make it 100 yards in about 60 seconds and can't continue no more because of the weird and different pain that I was now feeling. I cooled off and stretched for about 20 minutes then continued to run my two miles I had in mind.

What the heck do I do??? I need to be able to do this if I want to race. Please give me tips, should I be doing something the last couple hundred yards on the bike to prepare, should I not be going so hard for my first time???

Keep doing them. One of the hardest parts I think about tri's are the first mile to mile and half of the run. My legs usually finally start feeling good after 2 miles. Unfortunately for a sprint the race is almost over. I regularly stop and stretch in the first mile of the run. Just keep doing them over and over. You will have to find a balance of how hard to go on the bike versus what you can deal with on the run. Supposedly going a bit easier towards the end of the bike and trying to really spin the pedals instead of mashing helps. Supposedly this helps get the legs moving faster and gets rid of some of the lactic acid from the bike. I try and be in an easier gear than normal and spin around 110 for a minute or so before T2 compared to my normal 95. Don't worry, they get easier. Just keep at it.

When is your first race? You doing Metroplex sprint this weekend? Or you have another one in mind for your first race?

Hi guys, I am in Arlington. Don't have anything to add, I have just never met a triathlete before, and it is cool to know you guys are in the area. I planning on doing my first one this year. Anyways, good luck on the training!

I am finding that I probably need to just run through some of my pain, but I plan on going to the doctor for some knee pain next week. It is something I get when running only, but I want to be cautious. This isn't the case with the pain you are feeling, right?

Well, I am thinking of doing the TWU power pioneer sprint.

It's more of a wow I can't believe I am this tired /(slash) holy crap how can this many muscles not work, pain. nothing like a messed up muscle or poped joint of any kind.

^That's the best advice. I would sometimes to a brick workout that went like this: 1/2 hour easy on trainer, 3 miles easy run, 1/2 hour hard on trainer, 3 miles hard run, 1/2 hour cooldown on trainer. Do this a few times and your legs will get used to the transition.

I just did my first brick this morning and the last quarter mile or so on the bike I would pedal real easy and do on bike calf stretches. I found my legs loosening up an amazing amount after 3 or 4 cycles of this. Of course I am not the worlds fastest runner by any means yet but I found this seemed to help me avoid muscle pain going into the run. Now to figure out how to get around the fatigue.
:o

what on-bike stretches did you do?

Oh yeah, it hurts. And there's not much you can do about that except to keep doing them. After transitioning to the run, don't worry too much about running hard. Just keep turning the feet over.

Oh Crap.
 

I, too, am training for my first triathlon (sprint) in August and I've been avoiding the bike-run brick 'cause I heard about an uncomfortable "leg lock" that occurs.

I never heard about the *pain*.

I've been doin' a reverse run-bike brick and there's no acute pain! What a wuss, eh. Gonna have to suck it up soon and start doing bike-runs.

I wish the tri order was swim-run-bike . . . .

put one foot to the bottom of the stroke, drop the heel and stretch the calf. Then do the other side.

Use a heart rate monitor
 

If you use a heart rate monitor you can control your intensity to a level consistent with making good transitions. I find if I go all out on the bike my run is a lot harder. If I keep a moderate pace on the bike, which requires paying attention to myself and my heart rate, not to other bikers, then I am in much better shape for the run. Then I can go all out with my remaining energy for the run. This also reduces lactic acid problems from the bike.

I find that shifting up to a hard gear and pedal while standing (like you are climbing) the last quarter mile helps alot. It gets your legs used to the idea of carrying your body weight again. Works for me.

mattyde, I've always heard the opposite of spinning fast and easy towards the end helps, but your logic does make a little sense. I might have to give it a try on some test bricks to see if I feel better or worse before using it in race.

At what intensity do you do your ride and compare to your run.

Do you ride at 135 and then run at 135 or is the ride 135 and the run closer to 160. These are example heart rates, as I have no idea what your heart rate is our where you performance level is.

I am just getting started with this and I am trying to keep my heart rate up while on the bike, similar to what I do when I run/jog, but if I do that, I won't have legs to even attempt a brick (bike to run). After doing 10 miles of bike last night, when I got off of the bike, I was feeling pretty good, but there is no way I could run after doing the bike. I am not planning on doing any tri's this year, as I still have a lot of weight to get off of my body first. But, I am looking at doing some bricks, and maybe even create my own sprint tri, just to see if I can do one by the end of the summer.

Advise on heart rates would be appreciated, as I use my monitor every day, except in the water. I use it on my weight lifting days also, to make sure that I am going from machine or free weights to the next one quickly enough that my heart rate stays up.

i agree with the higher cadence/ slightly easier gear just prior to the transition.

More on the HRM
 

I suspect the main thing is to just get use to the transition. So, don't worry about your heart rate, as long as its not real high, just let your self run after the bike, even if its means a low heart rate like 125. The key thing is to allow your legs to get use to the transition. Another thought is that I have often biked in the morning and run in the evening or the reverse. That is easy and I have found it has made the transition to doing bricks on weekends pretty easy. Nevertheless, in my first Olympic length Tri I found the transition to the run was tough - it took me half the run before my legs felt good.

Hope these thoughts are worth something, as its worked for me.

I wish it were bike-bike-bike. I don't like swimming. Well it's ok, I am just not very good at it.