Biathlon (Run/Bike)

[echurch66]

I'm doing my first race with a bike. I used to race a lot with running (5K/Half Marathons). It is a 5 mile run followed by a 15 mile ride. Anyone know of any training plans. I can only find ones for tris and duathlons.

[Owlie]

Welcome to TE! I can't get you anything specific (since I'm only an embryonic runner...), but a duathlon training plan is exactly what you need. (Biathlon is really cross-country skiing and target shooting. People mix them up all the time, which is why Google looks up duathlon training plans instead. )

When's your race? Can you already do the target distance on the bike? If you can do a half-marathon, I think you can do this without too much trouble. What they call "brick" workouts (bike and run back-to-back) will be your friend. Incorporate that into your training, and work up to something close to the distances of your race. There are plenty of existing training plans out there--find one that works for you and tweak it if you need to.

[OakLeaf]

I've never done a du either and hopefully some of the duathletes on here will chime in ... but +1 to what Owlie said.

AFAIK you're right it's unusual to run first (unless it's a du run in conjunction with a tri, where your first leg is a run while the others are swimming, but then your last leg is a run too). I always thought the order of the legs in duathlon and triathlon was for safety reasons. But if that's the way your race is structured, I'd make sure you do your bricks in the same order of your race - the idea of a brick is to get your body used to the changes it will have to make when shifting from one sport to the next. So the cookie cutter training plans will probably call for you to bike first, but if I were you I'd do the run first in your bricks if that's what you'll do in your race.

[zoom-zoom]

For a 2-leg du it is less common to do the run first, but WAY easier! Going from run to bike is NBD...the reverse is where bricks are SUPER important to train your legs to feel less jello-like.

As long as you can comfortably do a training run with 2/3 of the race distances you'll be just fine. So 3 miles followed by 10 on the bike will have you adequately trained to finish. For a faster race do some longer runs, rides, and speed work and you'll be good to go!

Have fun. I love dus. They're my most favorite sorts of races, since I'm a mediocre runner and cyclist. We Jack-of-all-trades types often do better than those who are super strong at one sport or the other, but relatively weak in one.

[Bones8]

I will be new to duathlons this year as well. I have perused several training plans but really am doing my own for now.

Right now I am in base training mode, where I am working on each component separately (I have started throwing in a short brick once a week though and I really like it). I am working my running up to 10k and my cycling up to 30 miles. My planned second phase is to maintain my endurance and build speed, and my planned third phase is to integrate more training that simulates the actual races. My first race is not until June so I have time. My races I have signed up for this year are 1.5/10/3.1 miles and 2/19.5/3.3 miles.

Your race sounds pretty fun and optimal for someone like me. I am worried about running after biking! When is your race? What are your goals for the race?