I am a triathlete, up until last year I was focused on Middle/Long Distance. This season I have moved to sprints and Olympic, some of which are draft legal so doing crits and shorter TT’s as C races are actually beneficial to my bigger training goals. Training is MUCH MORE FUN!
Since listening to the podcast I have a desire to have a go at some MTB, the area I live in is generally good for trails so it would seem to make sense, however I am wondering:
will I get benefits from MTB? - skills/mental release/enjoyment but will it make me a faster triathlete?
and will i even have time to do it?
I wont be able to lump MTB rides on top of what i do now in my build phase ( total roughly 800TSS a week across the 3 sports) and into specialty - so would be a substitute for a weekend outside ride on a rest week or whatever
I might have more time in the autumn and winter but this typically is when i am running XC and riding CX (i have found that CX has been really good for winter focus and skills)
Be careful! I was all in triathlon eventually raced kona 2012. After a bit of burn out and a little running injury I picked up xc bike and haven’t looked back. So fun! Will it help tri?
Mentally yes but it’s probably not physically going to help. Better to sbr more. I keep saying that I will get back into the pool or run but then I go ride or race xc instead… Buy one… Super fun.
Hahaha this is true - On reflection I think I am slightly burnt out from Ironman and 70.3 hence the switch up this year.
What bike would you advise? I did have a 29er - Specialized Carve HT it was ok, but didn’t blow me away, I found it quite hard to climb rocky stuff that was a bit pitchy.
I picked up a Rocky Mountain Element. Been a great bike.
I’d go with 29, dropper and ability to lock out the rear at the handle bars.
Skill wise mountain bikes can be a little cruel to older athletes getting started. I took a lot of falls/crashes the first couple yrs but it’s really fun learning and gaining the skills. Or you could stare at the power meter for another’s 4-5hr road ride… Do it! Go buy a bike.
I think mentally it’ll be a positive addition. I ride mine autumn through to spring, particularly when the weather is crappy in South Wales, or I am sick of the turbo, or just want a social ride.
Physically, it’s definitely different. More punchy than steady state. Not necessarily a bad thing when you’re out of tri season.
Get a full sus. Far more capable and enjoyable on the steeper/more technical stuff.
MTB won’t really help with triathalon training. But it sure is a ton of fun, and is a very mentally engaging form of riding which helps keep things interesting. As you improve, it opens up more possibilities on what you can ride, and there’s a lot of epic MTB rides out there.
Admittedly I am enjoying my training strictly on the bike at 6-8hrs a week more than I usually enjoy the long distance tri training at 12+ hrs with two a days. Still, Kona is a dream, and this bike focus is intended to help with that… I’m trying not to lose focus on that while having fun with the crits and road events this year. Haven’t touched the TT rig since 70.3 in September!
My eyeballs have strayed towards MTB recently. Focus!
