Is it all about the numbers ? TRAINING PERCENTAGES

I injured myself 10 weeks before outlaw and had next to no running during that time.  However, I had been coming into decent running form prior to the injury and I think I had relied on that. 

I think that the comments above which distinguish between a competitive and a 'just get round' finish are well founded.  You could get round on little running providing you are a decent enough swimmer and your bike is strong. 

I didn't have a great outlaw by the standards I had set myself before injury struck, but I did enough on the swim and bike to allow me to get through the run without too much stress.

VT'd , got to take what you can get out of the training year. You only have to look at the athletes in London to see 4 years of work ending in DNS/DNF or Helen Jenkins coming 5th , at least we get to come back in 12 months and try again , and you had fun right?

we should start an injury thread, even at my lowly completion level I got injured training despite going to great lengths not to !

citizen 146 wrote (see)

o.range cannon/ ironcat 5 , 50% bike would seem to be a good minimum.

I think so. I would have liked to had a greater bike base, but it was not possible. In previous years I may have cycled ~200 miles in a year. At Outlaw I'd hit over 2000 miles. I find long training rides quite dull.

citizen 146 wrote (see)

There must be a good runner out there who owns a 10 speed and just wanders around the park with the kids?

Possible, but I think unlikely. They'd miss the run cut-off.

ironcat5, I find long training rides very difficult, but manage about 100 miles a week commuting to work in conjunction with a gym bike at work on occasion. For my long rides I did a few sportives were it is easy to get motivated to  do 90 plus miles with a few hundred others.

I don't know, you are all getting way too techincal.  Whatever happened to swim a bit, bike a bit and run a bit... and if you've got some spare time bike a bit more....

psc , mostly I do just make it up as I go along, I have a plan but it does'nt often come off.  My attempts to up the swimming percentage have survived a year of training !

• 101 hrs of running (51%)
• 68 hrs of biking (34%)
• 29 hrs of swimming (15%)

But did train for marathon in April and then did some biking before 100 mile walk 4-weeks before Outlaw). So Outlaw was C race for the year.

Probably did a bit more than that but that is all I have recorded for the period up to the Outlaw. If Garmin isn't charged it doesn;t get recorded. If I forget to log the swim it doesn't get recorded. But forgotten sessions likely to be equal for all.

Went 12:50 vs 12:20 at Regensburg last year. Swim & Bike both PBs by minutes, times were 1:13 and 5:57 respectively. With Transitions I was out onto the run in just under 7:30.

I am old school and write it all down, my phone only does phone calls!  We have matching swim times,but that's were it ends. I must go back through my pile of note books and work out how many miles I do in a year on the bike, in the end the overall time is less important to me than finishing, that said , I would like to go a bit faster in Outlaw 2013 by improving on 6 25 for the run , maybe this is not possible given that I don't run outside of races.

this is prompting me to dig out my training logs (which are on line)...  I did much more biking for Copenhagen (I think I did 5 x 100 milers as opposed to 1 pre Switzerland).. and needless to say I was much quicker at Copenhagen.  Which incidentally was exactly 1 year ago... this years event has just started.  I also did less swimming (mostly 1 hour/week) and my time didn't change more than a few minutes.  

times may not change year to year due to all sorts of reasons not least the weather, but we can all enjoy tinkering with our numbers , and the same time a year older is a sucess in my book!

Hello all could do with some advise and seems like a good crowd

18 marathons/ultras over the last 4 years including comrades but fed up with picking up injurys. Swim when injured and can easy do a mile in the pool. Bikes well dont have one and never been a big fan 

decided its  maybe time to give a tri a go and if I am then a IM . Been thinking Outlaw as I live in Lincolnshire. With my running background what sort of % would people suggest? Also what the lowest I should go for a bike?

Thanks in advance

Martin , by the sound of it you need the RIGHT bike. There is loads of good advice out there, about 700 can get you a nice road bike , but crucially you should let several shops size you up or better still pay for a bike fit. This would be money well spent as you can tell exactly what you want to do with it ( I told the staff in up and running that I was doing the outlaw with no run training and they were very helpful in getting me the right shoes and loads of advice). You need to make the cut off in order for that formidable run pedigree to shine,  so you want to go 9 hours for 112 as comfortably as possible. More upright positioning? , no punctures , the right bike for you..?.   Build up to 75% of that and you will be fine on the day , the course is great and very hill averse friendly

Thanks for the answer. Been to local bike shop today who were very helpful but confused me talking about "Aluminum" and carbon frames. Different gear shifts etc. £700 was the best price they came up with plus £100 to be fitted. Then I need shoes/ clips. Its starting to add up!!!

They have agreed to let me have a go on a turbo trainer next week so will take it from there.

My rough calcualtion for a finish of 16 hours???? 2 hours swim 9 bike and 5 marathon (pb 3.48) Bike looks like best place to bank some time?

bike is where it is at for time saving, I went 1 13 swim ( always my best discipline) off 1 24 best in the pool , 6 45 bike ( its flatter than you think) and a predictable 6 25PB ( I don't run as it causes swollen knees, its a long story) . The numbers may be odd but I was delighted to go under 15 hours. IM is all about finishing for most people , you will be fine if can get the bike down. Most tris have a cut off for the start of the run at 10.5 hours ( to allow people like me to crawl home).

Don't buy anything in Alulminum as without the extra i its cheap knock off , same with carbon fiber. Try a few bike shops to get a feel for it , happy hunting...

thx. Chap in shop was talking about the swim (although never done a tri) said he is a surfer so used to wet suit. He suggested one without arms as the arms make swimming difficult? How many times did you do the 2.4 in the pool. I think the swim would be a strength for me. Even done close to the distance years ago as a sponser! I know my technic could be better but a mile takes about 40 mins at the moment. Front crawl with breath every 5 strokes

If you go for a wetsuit without arms you will perhaps limit the amount of times you will be able to use it due to water temerature
A surfing wetsuit is different to a tri wetsuit which has a differnt thickness neoprene on the arms to allow for a greater degree of movement

6 months before Outlaw my training percentages were

Swim 17%
Bike 51%
Run 32%

+1 for meldy.  A tri swim wetsuit has thin neoprene on the arms so you can swim in it..

Have a look around at the end of season deals..... wiggle, triuk, TFN etc etc.  Ideally go somewhere and have someone help you with fit... apporx £100 - £300

We did a thread on how much a IM costs for a novice...... its a lot as you need entry, wetsuit, bike, shoes, helmet,. pump, training gear..... stuff wears out etc etc

ebay can be your friend

Martin ,end of season sales at wiggle etc and ebay are good. Breathing every 5 strokes is quality, I can do it in the pool for about 50m then out of breath, tried every third can go further but again only really in the pool. The fact that bilateral breathing is possible makes it very easy  to mix it up if it gets choppy or you get someone very close on your breathing side! I always start events confident about the swim which if you can do that is a big plus for nerves and generally getting psyched up for the bike. what the guys said re wetsuits plus it is much easier for anyone other than real pro's to swim in a wetsuit rather thatn without one.

F.oggy, your numbers are bang on for most people on this forum , maybe a bit high on the swim, do you seriously do no other training or are these numbers just for the 3 disciplines? 

ps I know I am weird doing zero running (races excepted) on a runners world albeit triathlon leaning web area!