Bike-to-run transition questions
 

I've started training for a duathalon (run/bike/run) in April so I decided to do some brick training yesterday. The first run went well and the bike felt good since my legs were all warmed up. The second run however was a disaster. My legs never felt so stiff. I think that I quit after a quarter mile.

Any suggestions for making this second run easier (both during training and the race)? Should I spent some time stretching during the race transition?

By the way, my new clip on aero bars worked great. Initially, I almost crashed at five mph, but I soon got the hang of it. It seemed to add about 1 to 1.5 mph (at the same effort point). I bought these.

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/...tegory_ID=5255

They seem like a pretty good deal.

Stretching during transition will no doubt make the second run easier but it's going to eat away at your time. The best antidote to leg stiffness on the bike-run transition is to do more brick training. Am I assuming that yesterday was the first time you've done a brick? It gets easier the more you do it. I used to feel the same way. When I first started doing brick workouts, my calves felt like they were made of cement when I tried to run and I usually ended up walking after 5 minutes of hobbling.

Wednesday night is my weekly brick session. I use my stationary trainer and do this workout: Train 20 minutes (easy), Run 2 miles (easy), Train 20 minutes (hard), Run 2 miles (hard), Train 20 minutes (easy cooldown). This workout has really helped me to make the bike-run transitions so much easier.

I have read a few interviews in Triathlete magazine, and the pros usually say they only do 15 - 20 easy minutes of running after their rides to get their legs ready. I have thought about doing something along the lines of what Sprocket Man is doing for this season. After a few bricks and a duathlon, I really didnt even notice any leg stiffness when I transitioned. Either I got used to it or I wasn't biking hard enough!

I would suggest just practice running 5 minutes after one of your rides a week until you build up to 20, then maybe try something more detailed.

I agree with rplong

The hardest part is the first mile out of the transition, as your legs adjust to running. Therefore, if your good running shape, and you just want to focus on just the transition, do an easy run for 15-20 minutes.

I do mine at RACE PACE because I want to mimic the actual transition conditions. I usually do my typical tempo ride for an hour or more on the bike, and then immediately (and I mean immediately) run for 20 minutes.

During the season, I'll do a full ride/ run brick, meaning that I will ride for 40-50 minutes, then run for 40-50 minutes. However, I can only do these about once a week, or once every 10 days, as these really burn out my legs.

This early in the season, I would treat that April duathlon as a B race. I wouldnt go crazy on the bricks just yet. Bigger and Better races are a ways down the road, and if you go nuts now, you risk injury and all sorts of nasty things this early in the year. Running off a a brick really stresses your running form, and increases the chance you'll suffer a stupid injury because of bad form. Ease it into it.....

All this training is great, though I have found that I still get stiff running for about the first 2km, which really slows you up.

For the last 2-3km, I up my cadence by about 10. This will help flush out alot of the lactates that cramp you up. So you hit the run, well running.

Thanks!!! You guys are great. I guess that I just need to repeat the bike/run transition a few times. I'm hoping that yesterday's disaster was a combination of never doing it before and of really pushing the bike portion hard.

Cliff

I do an early season off-road duathlon in this region at the end of March. Going into it last year, I hadnt done one brick workout. I suffered greatly. By mid-summer, I had regained my form and I could "drop the hammer" right out of the transition into the run, but it took a while for me to get there with alot of brick workouts.

There's also an equipment answer. Sounds like you're riding on a road bike with clip ons. This leads to a more accute angle at your hips. A true triathlon bike with more upright geometry, makes you slightly less folded, and supposedly eases the bike/run transition. You can try to mimic this on a road bike with a forward tilting seatpost.

That being said, brick training for the bike/run transition, as outlined above, is more important than the equipment.

Merlin brought up a point that I completely forgot about - tri bike geometry. It probably explains why I had such a hard time transitioning off my mountain bike in the off-road du I did (early season race with no prior brick workouts dont help either)

Honestly you will shake it off pretty quickly just do a few bricks and you can barely feel it.