[mkayler1670]

Hi there – Does when you complete a workout for a specific discipline make a meaningful difference on race day? The last couple TRI plans I have completed, I have tried to get run & bike workouts done in the morning and swims in the afternoon or evening.

Lately, I have switched the swims with the bike workouts as I feel stronger on the bike & better able to accomplish workouts in the late afternoon instead of first thing in the morning?

Is there a benefit to either approach at the end of the day or some sort of muscle memory for completing a bike first thing in the morning? Or would the difference be negligible?

[leyla@8020endurance.com]

Great question. Generally speaking it is better to swim before biking and running unless the swim is a recovery swim. This is because the swimming requires a lot more full body strength, along with ankle and foot flexibility, that can lend to cramps and sluggish performance if done after hard or long bike and run sessions. We also swim first in triathlon so this is race specific.
Running off the bike is also a race specific skills to prepare you for the feeling of running after cycling. These “brick” sessions don’t need to be long to start with – 10-20mins only just to practice that element of the transition. Other than you should have some recovery time between cycling to ensure that you are getting quality runs in without carrying bike fatigue in all of them.

Hopefully that answers your query on workout order for triathletes.

Cheers
Leyla

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