I found a cool swimming video from Ironman Hawaii 2006 that shows awesome underwater shots. Makes you feel like swimming (and that's rare for me!)
Of course, it can be that I gambled over the bike sometimes, but on the whole my heart rate values stayed about the same, so it couldn't just have been because of that. In the meantime I've been able to make this observation with others and even with some professionals it is evident and in interviews they often even tell it directly. The most prominent example was Peter Reid (3-time Hawaii winner), who has developed from a strong cyclist to a strong runner in his career. That today it is necessary to be a strong runner in order to land at the front is undeniable. Very rarely does someone get enough of a head start on the bike to be in the lead at the end of the day as a weak runner.
Nevertheless, I am amazed that higher running volume goes hand in hand with weaker bike performance. The reverse does not seem to be the case, so cycling a lot does not harm running! My personal observation was as follows; When I increased my running quota from around 50km to 70km a week, my cycling performance deteriorated noticeably. According to my observation, the motor running movement itself does not seem to be compatible with the motor movement on the bike. Why that is ... I recently spoke to a sports scientist about this. It probably has to do with the different forces applied. Some studies show that the application of force while running is not suitable for maintaining or even building muscle mass. While this is more likely to be the case with cycling. Since power is more important than weight when cycling (it's a bit different when running), it makes sense to me.
Anyone who has read further studies on the subject or has saved them somewhere would be of great interest to me!
Last season I also let my weight training in the gym slip a bit in order to get more time for running. In hindsight, a mistake. These units in the fitness studio were more valuable for my cycling performance than some “senseless” 2-hour cucumber at the comfort pace.
For me, next season I will try to change this development again for the better. In addition to the regular strength units in the studio, I will also increasingly incorporate "duathlon units" into my plan, ie running before and after cycling in order to get the muscles used to both movements within a short period of time. I'll give it a try and report later on whether something has improved or not.
This morning I was doing an MRI because my knee is still causing me problems (although I haven't trained for 2 ½ weeks) and I'm starting to get scared that it is something "serious". Apparently it's nothing serious, apparently still the old cysts. I want to keep my fingers crossed that it will get better soon. I still have a break 😉
regards
krelli