# First duathlon



## srj10 (31 Aug 2015)

Sun 6th sept. 5krun-20kcycle-5krun what sort of preparation do you recommend for the last week,up until now I have been cycling 80km/week and running 20km/week.


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## LocalLad (31 Aug 2015)

Relax and eat some carbs. Maybe a short run mid week and a short slow leg spin towards the end of the week.


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## srj10 (1 Sep 2015)

Thanks,planning a slow cycle today and short runs thurs and friday,will maybe skip friday.


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## Truth (18 Nov 2015)

I know its a while ago now but how did you get on?


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## Garry A (21 Jan 2016)

Just signed on for my first duathlon on March 27th. In Stirling and doing sprint distance 5/20/5. Cant wait :-)


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## fimm (21 Jan 2016)

Oh, thank you for posting that! I've been meaning to enter Stirling, but kept forgetting to check if it was open.


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## AlexRoy (22 Jan 2016)

I've just made a last minute decision to go and do my first duathlon (Dorney - Sprint - 5k-20k-5k) on Sunday. Says they do entry on the day so I'm just going to turn up with my gear and hope for the best. 

I've done no specific training whatsoever but I'm either on my bike or running pretty much every day. My logic is that I can use it as a training exercise and get some practice at transitions etc, so if I want to take it more seriously I'll sort of know what I'm doing next time. I'll run at a comfortable pace and ride at around 10% below FTP in the hope that my lack of endurance doesn't catch up with me, so to speak. 

Any advice? Am I a bit mental for doing this on a whim?


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## Garry A (22 Jan 2016)

I have fully accepted that I am not going to win as some of the competitors are absolute machines so I plan to do my best and just enjoy the event.


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## Chris432626 (22 Jan 2016)

Brick sessions. Get used to running straight after a cycle.
Usually takes a km to get the blood flowing.


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## LocalLad (22 Jan 2016)

Definitely try a brick session. Spin The legs before you get off the bike.

And elastic shoe laces


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## AlexRoy (23 Jan 2016)

Cheers guys. Have had a really hard week on the bike so yesterday and today are recovery days; bit late for any further training at this stage! Basically my plan was to use this as my first brick, then I'm going to start training properly (bricks say once a week) and have a proper go at it in March. 

What's the best strategy in terms of spinning at the end? If it takes me say half an hour on the bike at what point do you think about spinning? After 25 mins or so? My natural cadence is 95-100 so I'm thinking up it to 110 and drop the power slightly. 

Another idea I had was to use my MTB rather than my road shoes. I don't lose any bike speed with MTB shoes unless sprinting really so I just don't see the point in wearing my road shoes. The MTBs are so much easier to get on and they're okay to jog in for 10-20 seconds. In terms of transition I can switch into them really quickly and then run with the bike. That's the plan anyway


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## LocalLad (23 Jan 2016)

Good plan, and I just spin the last minute or so


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## AlexRoy (24 Jan 2016)

Really enjoyed it, though I pulled up 30 seconds into the final stint due to bad cramp in my calf. Served as a great first training session and felt like I gained valuable experience. 

After the first mile of the run I was probably in the back third or even quarter of the race. Seemed like virtually everyone had gotten carried away at the start - lots of people blowing hard as I passed them in the second half. 

Transition was good, MTB shoes helped massively. Was absolutely flying past people on the bike - managed it in just over 30 mins, think it was the 3rd fastest time of the day which I was really pleased with. Not bad going given that I chilled at high cadence for the last mile. 305 watts average power.

Time for some proper training now and will go again in March. Need to address this cramp issue as it's not the first time. I didn't have a drink, so am going to blame it on that for now.


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## fimm (25 Jan 2016)

Well done for giving it a go.

The latest theories I've heard on cramp is that it isn't to do with salt/fluid - why do you get it in only one place if that's the reason? - but is to do with using that muscle in some way it isn't used to or is in some way causing it to tighten. Which makes sense with you running off the bike for the first time. So see what you learn from doing some bricks in training.


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## Dogtrousers (25 Jan 2016)

A friend of mine does duathlons (and is quite good), and he rides in his running shoes, using toeclips. He doesn't think he loses much if anything on the bike and gains a lot in transition. He's primarily a cyclist rather than a runner btw.

Don't ask me questions as I don't know anything about the sport, this is just from chatting to him. (And it's always possible I've got things mixed up, but I don't think so).


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## Garry A (25 Jan 2016)

Think I'll go with changing shoes with elastic laces. Prefer cycling with spd's.


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## Garry A (28 Mar 2016)

Did my first sprint duathlon yesterday, loved it. Could have been quicker in the transitions but it was my first so a learning experience.


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## fimm (28 Mar 2016)

I was going to post and ask how you got on - I'm glad you enjoyed it.

I was racing the Standard and didn't have a good race - 1st run was fine, bike started slow and then I had a mechanical at about 10km in and <edits out long tale of woe> so hammered the 2nd run. That run course was very muddy by the time those of us at the back of the Standard field got on to it - I'm not entirely joking when I say I wished I'd had my trail shoes!


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## Garry A (28 Mar 2016)

Woman from our running club had a slip in that mucky section and got absolutely caked :-)


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## fimm (28 Mar 2016)

Garry A said:


> Woman from our running club had a slip in that mucky section and got absolutely caked :-)


Sprint or Standard? I was chatting to a woman in the changing room afterwards who'd been down and got very muddy. I've raced on that course before and don't remember it getting cut up like that - I guess we were just unlucky with the weather. Ironically I did a cross-country race elsewhere on the campus earlier in the year, when it had been very dry and there was hardly any mud at all!


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## Garry A (28 Mar 2016)

She did the sprint. She also managed to crash her bike last Sat doing the Wee Tri at Fort William. Seems like poor route planning to me.


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## fimm (29 Mar 2016)

Garry A said:


> She did the sprint. She also managed to crash her bike last Sat doing the Wee Tri at Fort William. Seems like poor route planning to me.


Poor route planning by your clubmate or the organisers? As I say, I've raced there before - they've been doing events with the same run route for many years there, so I do think it was just one of those things...


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