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Triathlon Training: Where am I in the
pack?
August 9, 2005 By: Jon Finegold
Earlier this summer I was out for a long training ride - the weather was stunning, Lancemania was ruling the Tour De France and triathlon season was in full swing. No surprise that anyone who owned a bike, whether the latest carbon time trial bike or an old Schwinn, was out on the roads. As I got into my rhythm I passed one rider, and then another but just as I was feeling confident, a third rider burst my ego blowing past me as if I were standing still. This trend continued throughout the ride. I would pass a few and would then be passed by another. The long ride got me thinking. Where do I stand among other riders, runners and swimmers? Do I put in enough hours? Is my pace fast, slow or somewhere in between?
Fortunately, I had the opportunity to get some answers. ontri.com, the online triathlon training community that I founded in 2004 as a way for triathletes to access training programs, log workouts and connect with other triathletes, has grown to over 10,000 members with thousands of workouts logged each month. Looking at this data in aggregate I could see what the average ontri member puts in each month for hours, miles and pace across the three disciplines. I got more and more intrigued as the math major in me took over and I pedaled home to study the numbers.
The study looked at workouts logged in June 2005 and so only considered ontri members who registered on or before June 1, 2005. I decided the comparison should only include those members who logged 10 or more workouts in June or at least 2 workouts per week, focusing on consistent trainers. Finally, the data only included those members who logged workouts in at least 2 disciplines. There are many ontri members who are training for marathons or century rides and are focused on just one event, putting in many miles and hours on the run or the bike but nothing else. For the purpose of this analysis I wanted to focus on multi-sport athletes who demonstrated a consistent commitment to exercise for an entire month. Here's what I found:
Swimming
Cycling
Running
Totals
I've seen a variety of reactions from the people I've share these results with. Many are pleased with their pace, others recognize that they need to be more consistent and most agree that more swim time is needed. For me, I was not surprised where I landed with my pace for the 3 disciplines but did learn that I put it a lot more hours than most and my average pace is not reflected in a manner that is proportional to the amount of time I put in. I guess that means I need to train smarter, not longer!
The good news is that at an average of 4 hours and 31 minutes of exercise a week, we are all way ahead of the pack.
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