General Discussion Triathlon Talk » IM Training while bike racing Rss Feed  
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2014-12-15 8:37 PM

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Subject: IM Training while bike racing
Has anyone actively road raced while prepping for an IM?

I'm signed up for IM-TX in May. It'll be IM #6 for me and the fourth time at IM-TX. I'll pace the bike leg off of HR, but expect to ride in the 5:30 - 5:45 range, depending on the heat and winds. I live right along the IM-TX course, so I ride roads almost every weekend and pretty much know what to expect on race day. I started doing some USAC cycling races the last year or so and found I really enjoy the suffering, the feeling like your hearts pounding so hard it's about to pop out of your chest, and getting my a$$ handed to me. I'm usually in the 35+ 4/5 races, and tend to finish with the pack, unless I've done something stupid and gotten dropped. Top finish in 2014 was eleventh. My goal for 2015 is a few top-10 finishes, which I think is realistic. I've got the fitness to ride well, and am getting a better feel for how to ride with the pack and stay in contention. I rode about 5000 miles in 2014, and expect to be 6000+ in 2015.

This year I'm thinking that I should be able to ride 4 or 5 times a week. I've been thinking about riding the tri bike twice a week, with one ride long (80 mile range) and one shorter, higher intensity ride (20-30 miles). My tri bike position is very relaxed and comfort based, so it really doesn't take much time on the bike to stay acclimated. That'd leave me with two or three rides a week on the roadie. One of those would be a 3 hour fast paced ride with the local race team. The other one or two would be solo rides done at lunch......usually 18-22 miles at a decent pace with a few intervals thrown in. That'd shift with daylight savings time, when we have two evening hammerfest group rides during the week.

I don't expect splitting my bike time to be optimum for either activity, but I'm hoping to do okay at both. I was thinking about one or two cycling races a month between now and the IM. Most of the races for my Cat are short (<50-miles), with the exception of one Roubaix style race I've been thinking about for March.

Have you tried to juggle road races and IM training? Comments or suggestions?


2014-12-16 12:12 PM
in reply to: g_shotts

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Subject: RE: IM Training while bike racing

Well, your post is focused on the bike, but what's really going to affect you is the running buildup to marathon distance.  If you do enough running volume to be prepared for the IM, it will probably impact some of your riding.  You may not get all the quality rides that you'd like because you're on tired legs.

If your bike races are on weekends, then you may need to figure out a way to do your longer runs mid-week.  That way your legs will have a couple days with less training load before you race.  Probably wouldn't hurt to talk to a coach and figure out how to schedule your workouts and IM build.

2015-01-23 3:59 PM
in reply to: g_shotts


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Subject: RE: IM Training while bike racing
You have a pretty good plan already, so I only have a few thoughts.

I usually road race and train for Ironman at the same time, but the road season is in the spring before I focus on Ironman Wisconsin in September during summer. I'm a Cat 3 and do some non-USAC races. Unfortunately, we have mostly crits around here, so I usually find road races (safer and more fun).

Adding in swimming won't be an issue, but running might be depending on how you train and what/how you race. I would run right after cycling races (3-5 miles) just to give your body a jolt. Use the weekends (if you race twice in the month) you don't race to ride short and get in a good long run and one as a recovery weekend. For months you race once, throw in a medium/medium-long ride and run (~60-70 bike and ~15 mile run). Use Fridays to rest for race weekends with an easy swim and use Mondays to recover with an easy longer swim.
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