2nd Triathlon Completed- Advice for What to Work On

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Ride more. Do some group rides with folks faster than you, but don't neglect the slow, easy recovery rides after hard efforts. Do at least one workout a week with intervals. If you're not riding at least 3 times a week for at least an hour to an hour and a half, you won't see much in terms of gains.

Run more. If you're new to triathlon and from a sedentary background, don't worry too much about speed work and hill training. Get some mileage in. You need a base and you need to get your body used to the pounding that running puts on your legs/joints. Plus, running more (and riding more) will help you lose weight, which will make you faster.

Lose weight. I don't say that to be mean. You'd be surprised how much faster you will be running (and riding) when you lose weight. I dropped 35 pounds between Sept. 2005 (my first sprint tri) and June 2006 (my third sprint tri). Both had relatively flat runs, and I went from 9:30 per mile to 7:15 per mile. Undoubtedly some of that was due to better/more run training, but no doubt some was due to the fact that I was hauling around less weight.

Don't neglect the occasional brick. Running off the bike is different than running with no preceding bike leg. Doing bricks won't make you faster, but it will help you with the mental aspects of getting used to running off the bike.

Most importantly, find a plan that you're comfortable with and stick to it. If you can't ride 4 times a week, don't choose a plan requiring you to ride 4 times a week.

I think your run is probably your best sport, judging by your improved fitness from your first stand alone race. Had you been stronger on the bike Im sure your run time would have been that much better. Your last race had a slight incline for 13 miles and slight descent for 13, not really a hill. Looking at your bike workouts they are all around the same pace, I would do some faster tempo,fast group, longer rides and if future races that have hills then add in some hill work to add speed and power to your biking. Great job loosing the weight, that will help with biking and running also. Do another 5k and you will demolish the time you set in April. Your making great progress!

Thanks for the responses guys.  All good stuff.  Anyone else care to chime in?