Duathlon, the step-child of multi-sport

Duathlon, the name brings fear to triathletes everywhere, or so it would seem. Whenever I ask one of my fellow triathletes to join me in doing one I am greeted with answers like "I hate to run". This surprised me, since for most of the triathletes I know, the barrier to the sport was swimming and NOT running. Yet it seems that once triathletes come to grips with the whole "getting in the water" thing, then running becomes the dreaded sport (to date I have found only 1 triathlete that hates the bike portion, but I concluded that's because the bike is the only leg of the race where you can rest and still make forward progress). So I began to wonder, what is it about the duathlon that strikes fear in the legs of otherwise fit multi-sport athletes?

It could be confusion, the sport used to be called the biathlon (way back in the 80s), which made sense to me, but obviously confused the powers that be in the Olympic community, since they already have a biathlon, which is comprised of skiing and shooting (really, can you confuse these two sports?).

It could be that the really good runners show up to duathlons, since (for obvious reasons) they have a better chance to excel.

It could be that the uber bikers, for a change,have less of an advantage in the duathlon, since the running portion of the race now takes up a larger percentage.

Or it could be the fact that training for a duathlon necessarily means a change in one's training program, always a tough thing of the self coached athlete.

But there are some very good reasons to make a duathlon part of your racing (or training) program:

1. As a way to get new athletes into the multi-sport arena (just think, no anxiety about drowning).


2. As a means to improve your run, use a duathlon race to focus on your running for a few weeks as a means to improve your triathlons.


3. As race pace brick training, duathlons give you two bricks and two transition practices.


4. Much less stuff to bring to your race, no wetsuits, goggles, towels, swim cap etc.

I have traditionally used the duathlon as a way to get in shape for my A-race triathlons, since the duathlon helps improve my running. This running focus 4 to 8 weeks prior to an important triathlon, has helped me feel much stronger during the run portion of the race. Give it a try, you may find that your runs improve quite a bit.

Coaching Corner

Since I have finished the bulk of my own racing for the year , I have been hanging around a lot of new triathletes. I love their enthusiasm for the sport and I try to allay whatever fears they might. I have noticed these new entrants to the sport race a lot! I understand their desire to race and improve at their new found sport. I think, however, these new athletes miss the importance of training! When you are racing constantly, there is a great need to rest, i.e. recover from the stresses of racing. With such frequent racing, new athlete's bodies may not have the opportunity to adequately recover. In addition, I have noticed a lot of "cramming", trying to squeeze in more training, since the time between races is so short. This ultimately leads to fatigue and poor race performance. I love the enthusiasm, I just wish they would temper that with some patience. Their love of the sport would increase that much more.

Race Expectations:

I often hear athletes talking about how they would like to improve in races. This is normal, often the reason people compete to begin with is to improve. One thing that strikes me is the often unrealistic gains athletes expect to make from one race to another. When I ask them how they expect to make these gains, it often comes across that they do not have any metrics to confirm (or deny) their expectations. This is why a training journal is so crucial. Your training journal will tell you what you can expect in your next race. If you plan to run 10 minute miles after riding 25 miles on your bike, then your training journal should confirm that you have done something similar (or better yet, exactly). I can't tell you how many times I have had an athlete tell me they want to run "X minutes per mile" in a race and when I ask them how many times they have done it in training they tell me zero. If you want to excel in a race you must excel in training first. Your training tells you what your race will look like, so make sure you record your training accurately so you know what to expect.

In the month of Auguts I will be hosting 3 free coaching clinics aimed at beginners. The clinics will cover the following:

1. How to use a heart rate monitor.


2. Basic bike maintenance.


3. How to use your gears.

Clinics 1 and 3 will be accompanied by a brief ride. Dates and times will be posted on Facebook in the TriUnify group and on my website http://www.clarencecycling.com .

Random Notes

I started out as a bike racer, and although I haven't done a bike race in a while, I decided to have a go at the Greenbelt park training race series. It seems I had forgotten how brutal bike races are. It was very humbling, but not without value. I got my heart rate up above anything I ever see in a triathlon, which for better or worse, was interesting, if not painful. I also got some critical power data, so if I decide to go back and race again at least I'll know what power I need to compete. Speaking of power, I just got a new PowerTap laced to a Mavic Cosmic Carbone SL. The PowerTap works great (a review is coming soon) and when paired with my Garmin Edge 500 cycling computer, makes a nice system for gathering data. The wheel does feel a bit heavy though, which may be the result of riding mostly with the Mavic Ksyrium SL wheels which are over 1/2 a pound lighter. I know it may not sound like much, but when racing uphill every gram hurts. Being able to accurately train with power on the road is worth the sacrifice however.

Keep tri-ing out there and I hope to see you on the road/track/pool.

Peace

Coach Rob