Cycling Training Philosophy

Riding a bike in not hard. Riding a bike fast for a period of time and them attempting to run is very hard. I've learned in my various races that the bike can win you a race alone. I saw a ex-pro Mountain Biker turned triathlete win Lake Placid Ironman even though he had never run a full marathon. He had established such an enormous lead and had enough energy to get through the run and that was all he needed.

On a 57km ride in the 2004 K-Town tri I averaged an even 32km/h. Not bad although the leaders get up around 36-38km/h. I picked up a Cervelo P2K for this season which is custom fit. I'm hoping to average 33-34km/h in some sprint races this year.

A couple things I attempt when training:

Ride with Intensity - Many cyclists like to go out for 150km casual ride. That is far, don't get me wrong, but that sort of ride doesn't do much good during a 40km sprint. I try to ride shorter distance with intensity and mix in the occassional long ride when I have time.

Bike Setup - Make sure your bike is fit to you. A good aero position in a tri geometry bike will utilize more hamstring muscle and save you during the run. This is not expensive to do at a good cycling shop...it will also solve any mental crises that your stem is too high. :-)

Run Philosophy later this week.