It’s time I started looking for a new challenge and I’ve settled on the idea of duathlons (run-bike-run). I haven’t done any running consistently for a number of years now and no idea if I’ll even enjoy it anymore but I’m going to give it a go and see what happens.
I’m after training advice please. I’ve looked through the plans and only see triathlon plans… I don’t do swimming!
I’m also confused by some of the things I see on the running aspect of those plans… RTP?? RTHR?? I’m thinking the first has something to do with pace? The second to do with heart rate? Where do I start with working those things out (whatever they are) when it comes to running?
I could probably work something out from the triathlon plans but, left to my own devices, it’ll probably go horribly wrong so any help is appreciated.
At the beginning of my triathlon plans I was confused about the terminology as well. You should read this SUF articles about running. Especially „understanding running workouts“. Everything will be explained.
If any questions remain, feel free to ask.
The need for specific duathlon plans was already discussed right in this thread. Since I already stated my opinion there and am too lazy to type up or copy another reply, forgive me if I just link to it.
My quick idea: Have a read through the linked article. Do a triathlon prep week to figure out your running „numbers“. Do a 12 week tri plan and sub swimming for strength. If you like it, do a custom plan or continue this road until proper duathlon arrives.
I always ran with a gamin watch and preloaded the workouts onto the device. It took some time creating the workouts initially, but after the first plan only short modifications to the existing data sets were needed. Worked like a charm.
@Pierre Thank you for all the info, links, suggestions etc. It was all really useful to get my head around the terms… and the fact a higher percentage of RTP is actually slower. That one took a couple of coffees to get my brain around although it’s a really straight forward concept (coffee to strong perhaps?!)
I’ve definitely got some playing around with my pace etc to do. I’ve got the garmin watch already but I’ve just used as a bit of a toy until now. I’ve gone into more of what can be done on connect as well and think it shouldn’t be too bad to get set up and find a whole new world of suffering! Nothing by me is flat so this could get messy!
Hey all! Good news- Duathlon training plans are in the works!
Question for you all- which race distance(s) do you prefer or most commonly participate in? Here in the USA, Standard/Olympic distance is 10k run, 39.6k bike, 5.4k run and Sprint distance is 5k run, 20k bike, 2.9k run.
Are these the most common distances internationally as well?
Are there similar/same distance events internationally, or different?
I know long distance duathlon exists (10 km run, 150 km bike, 30 km run), but how common/popular is it?
Do we need training plans for all 3 distances?
Please respond and tell me what you want/need so we can get it to you ASAP!
In addition to the Mixterra format that I wrote about in the other thread, I’d definitely be most interested in the long distance duathlon training plan. Thanks!
I do not race duathlons but I do enjoy mixing it up during the week, specially hitting the trails running and as many others using the app I use the training plans as guidance to how mix things up to improve without burning out. It is too easy to go all out on each run/ride and then again; how to mix it up with strength training. Running + Intermediate Level 3 - 6 of SUF got my legs heavy for weeks!
I myself do not race duathlon. But I would really like the option to mix up my cycling training with some occasional runs. So I really would like to have some kind of “introducing running to cyclists” option of a plan. One that would prevent me from overdoing it and bring me to a state from where I could consider a proper duathlon plan or just add some occasional runs to cycling plans.
As I said in another thread already: having the option to add “running” to any cycling plan just like I can with yoga would be the ideal scenario for me. But I understand that this would be a completely different feature than a duathlon plan. But for the time being maybe an additional “transition” plan would do it for me already if it included (outdoor) running.
I also don’t do duathlons and am more focused on individual discipline events, howerver these might be quite close to each other. Say for example I could run a half marathon event on a certain date, and then hit a 180km sportive a few weeks later, or viceversa.
It would be really really nice to have something to build both kind of fitness up leading to the events and then maybe have some more specific things a few weeks before hand?
Hope this makes sense.
I would be very interested in duathlon plans that are also well divided, i.e. recovery day, alternating a day of cycling and running, of course also bricks, but more as a weekend unit, if you could combine the whole thing with strength training and yoga, that would be great .
Sprint or Olympic would be sufficient for me, when can you expect these plans?
I would start a new attempt with Systm, at Sufferfest I couldn’t do much with the triathlon plans and skipping swimming, so I actually switched to TrainerRoad.
I would be very interested in long distances duathlon plans. Maybe the easiest way to meet the needs of everybody would be to be able to plan running and cycling separately (as it’s already the case for strength training). So one could choose a specific mountainbiking plan and combine it with a semi marathon running plan for example.
Thanks for all the input!
We’re doing the best we can, but it’s going to take another month or two to get all of the Duathlon plans done and probably a little longer for running “add-ons.” Creating “add-on” running plans isn’t easy, since all of the cycling plans are so different, it’s impossible to create a running plan that would work seamlessly with any cycling plan. It’s going to take some careful consideration on how to do this, as well as some big disclaimers about pairing running plans with certain cycling (and strength) plans.
We value all the input and thank you for your patience!
They are in the works. The running workouts are not as user-friendly as we would like at the moment so we won’t be releasing running-only plans for a while. However, if the interest is there we will release the duathlon plans sooner if users are okay with the running workouts showing up as they currently exist in the SYSTM app.
I’d be happy with an early release of what you have. It is better than nothing I’ve already some experience with “converting” the textual description into proper stryd workouts.
Are you planning to convert the running workouts to be based on power later?
The interest is there! I run when traveling, and I travel a lot. When either the weather or a given hotel’s location are sub-optimal, I hit the treadmill in the hotel gym.
I’m very willing to help with testing any running workouts the team creates. I have a Stryd on my Christmas list, but right now I’m wearing a watch that does a pretty good job of sending my speed, pace, cadence, & heart rate to Zwift when I select “Virtual Run.” Obviously, this the same kind of data SYSTM captures from my KICKR + HRM for its cycling workouts. Why not start small, and figure out how to turn this capability on for existing treadmill (vid & no vid) workouts? Obviously, we aren’t talking about controlling - only reporting.
Building from there, you could start using the data. Because treadmills are more dangerous than bike trainers, I’d be wary of a #FF equivalent on the former. However, SYSTM could put me through a 6k test run (.5k warmup, 5k hard run, .5k cooldown) to gauge my baseline running fitness. When running, say, Steamroller on a treadmill, SYSTM could derive speed targets from that baseline, then capture my watch’s data to show me how I’m doing relative to the targets. This would be preferable to RPE, which I tend to underestimate and which leads to overtraining.
We have quite a few plans for running in 2022! Including an update to the Workout Player that will support run workouts using pace and/or power targets (in addition to HR and RPE).
I’ve already some experience with “converting” the textual description into proper stryd workouts.