Taking a break from tri for Aquabike
TLDR: Has anyone taken a break from tri for aquabike, if so what was your experience like? Also has anyone figured out how to manage tri running with hypermobility? I am desperate for your tips!!
I started triathlon about 3 years ago now, and it's changed my life. I love it so much. I love the whole multisport aspect but I've especially fallen in love with cycling. I come from a swimming background so swimming and cycling quickly became the best parts of the sport for me.
Running has been a nightmare. In three years of this sport, I got faster within my first year then my running has been super stagnant. I did my first 70.3 after my first year of tri, and I'm doing my fourth next week. My half marathon run splits from my past races are 2:24, 2:19, 2:21, despite 2 years of consistent training. My standalone half is 1:58 so this really sucks. It's not bonking, it's just a death march. My 5k in sprints has been 25-26mins for the last 2 years, no improvement. I've recently discovered that I'm hypermobile/hEDS, which explains a lot. Everything always hurts when I run, but I'm not injured. I have DOMS after every run because muscles are stabilizing and compensating for unstable joints. I think tri is especially bad bc of the fatigue associated with running off the bike. I recently got a referral to PT for this but it'll be a few months.
I'm super demoralized by how hard it is to get faster/better at running, and how it always hurts, and I've already decided to skip my next planned 70.3 this fall so I can give my PT time to work. I might do La Quinta in December instead, or maybe just call the 2026 long course tri season early. After my next race I decided I need a break from running. I can probably still run, but I can't do the 90+ min runs I need for 70.3 training.
Since I am a fast swimmer and biker, my coach suggested I think about trying to qualify for multisport worlds in long course aquabike next year. I could focus on qualifying while I'm taking a much-needed mental break from longer-distance running. It's not something I ever thought of and it kind of excites me, but I know participation is super low which I worry will affect the vibes/morale/motivation. It doesn't feel exciting to win out of 5 people. Still, it is kind of cool to do non-IM races- the locations are definitely a bit more fun (i.e. looking at one in June Lake, CA, with swim in alpine lake!). Also think it would be fun to send the bike since there's no run after.
I will of course also look into bike events & individual swims & maybe some sprints, but it's fun to put them together as well.
My questions with this post are:
What's your experience with switching to aquabike or incorporating aquabike been like? What were your reasons, are the vibes any different from tri? Is the tiny field size at all a deterrent?
Has anyone been to multisport worlds, what was it like? Worthwhile experience or no? It's in Edmonton next year which is very travel-able for me.
Does anyone have experience running in long-course triathlon with hypermobility or ehler-danlos? If so I would appreciate if you could let me know anything anecdotal that has made the sport more approachable- ie exercises, how to structure your training. Feel free to comment or DM me.