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2015-11-26 9:24 PM


65
2525
, Tennessee
Subject: what does a typical week look like for an Iron athlete?
I am not even close to ready to race an Iron distance and don't plan to any time soon so this question is mainly out of curiosity. I have done a couple of sprints and am focusing on the olympic distance this coming season. In 2017 I may consider a HIM or IM.
I currently swim 2500 yards 3x a week, bike 16-45 miles 3x a week, and run 6-10 miles 3x a week. I am just curious as to HOW people fit it all in. I feel pretty busy with my current training. What does a typical week for you look like during Full Iron training? What is your daily routine concerning not only training but work, family, home duties, social life, ect.?


2015-11-27 4:56 PM
in reply to: #5153909

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239
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Subject: RE: what does a typical week look like for an Iron athlete?
Training probably looks different for all types of athletes, but I can share my training schedule during IM training:

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Morning (430am-6am)TrainerRoad ride (60 minutes, 30min Brick), Evening (830pm - 10pm) ~3,000m swim: structured sets
Wednesday: No morning, 5-10 mile run. Builds as weeks go by.
Thursday: Same as Tuesday
Friday: Evening ~2,500m swim.
Saturday: Morning (5am-10am) Long ride, 30min Brick. This starts out as a 2 hour ride and increases to 5 hours.
Sunday: Morning (6am - 9am) Long Run. Starts out as 7miles, increases to 3 hours, Afternoon (usually before dinner) 4,000m swim.

To let you know, I have 3 kids (6, 3.5, 4 weeks), married, work full-time. For me, efficiency is key to all of my training. I do all of my rides on my trainer and all of my weekday runs on the treadmill. I live in Michigan, so I am basically inside for the next 5 months anyway.

My first IM was Cozumel last year, 2nd this year at Muskoka, and 3rd is scheduled for Cabo 2016.

Hope this helps. IM training is all about managing your time. I don't really drink anymore, and at 36, my friends realize I am at a different point in my life that I am not really interested in going to the bar or watching football on a Saturday/Sunday.

Good luck.
2015-11-27 9:12 PM
in reply to: turnip13

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Scottsdale, AZ
Subject: RE: what does a typical week look like for an Iron athlete?
Just did my first IM a couple weeks ago (IMAZ)…here's what my weeks looked like:
keep in mind that my part time job is a spin instructor and I volunteer a lot at my kids school, but don't work full time. 2 kids. House work was done in bits and pieces during the week, as was laundry. Food prep and cooking 4-5 nights a week and social life - what's that? lol! I started to realize why most IM triathletes hang out together, because our training IS our social life. I always used Sunday as a rest day so if I did go out, I went out Saturday night.

Typical week towards the end so volume was a LOT!

Monday - Z2/Z3 run early am (5am) / spin class mid morning + strength training
Tuesday- 5:15am cycle class / mid morning swim (3000-3500 yds)
Wednesday - Early am run (5am)
Thursday - 5:15am cycle class / mid morning swim (4000+ yds)
Friday - 4am - LONG run - I didn't get higher than 15 miles but had to be home by 6:45am to get the kids to school.
Saturday - 3:30am-4am - LONG ride - longest I rode was 122 miles and was typical to leave my house by 4am - sometimes earlier, so I was home by 11.
Sunday - DAY OFF - but sometimes I had OWS practice in the afternoon.

My schedule is definitely not typical because I can train mid morning after I got the kids to school. But I can't train in the evenings due to kid activities, dinner, etc, so it worked out.
All of my riding was done inside except for my long rides on the weekends.
You can definitely do it as long as you schedule things in advance and talk with your family about your needs. Its a lot of give and take.
The training wasn't really what got tough, but the fatigue that builds up. So I would be done with my long ride by 11am, but was so wiped out that I felt I really didn't do anything productive the rest of the day. The last month is tough, but the rest of the training was very doable IMO. Good luck!
2015-11-29 10:35 AM
in reply to: turnip13

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Veteran
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The Woodlands, TX
Subject: RE: what does a typical week look like for an Iron athlete?
You'll get a better feel if you look at typical IM training plans and focus on the total time per week. BUT....actual training time and time required are a little different. If I'm going to swim for an hour, it'll usually tie up at least 90 minutes by the time I get to the pool and back. Same with running and cycling. During the 12 weeks before an IM, I'm usually spending 15-20 hours on training activities. Rest of the training cycle would be more like 10-15 hours.

A big part of IM training is time management and figuring out how to manage all your various activities.

When I'm not following an IM plan, I usually get in 6 to 10 hours a week of running / cycling, sometimes more and sometimes less depending on work & family commitments..
2015-11-29 2:18 PM
in reply to: Jeff B


52
2525
Subject: RE: what does a typical week look like for an Iron athlete?
I did my first full IM in September and am signed up for the same one next year.

My coach had me on a beginner plan as not only was it my first full IM but the goal was to get me to the start healthy and simply finish. I am working with the same coach for next year's race so the main goal now is to get faster (obviously the #1 goal is still to get me to the start healthy).

Below was my typical week during peak training. My situation is a little different in that I bike commuted 4 days a week, which added roughly 18-28 miles a day. Also, I'm a really strong runner so we didn't really focus so much on running. My longest training run was 20 miles, but I only did that once. The focus was on cycling and swimming (I'm weakest in the swim):

Monday: weights and/or rest day
Tuesday: bike commute, evening run (5-8 miles)
Wednesday: open water swim (about 3000 yards), bike commute
Thursday: bike commute, add 30-60 minutes on the bike in the evening or early morning
Friday: pool swim (3000-5000 yards)/short run (brick), bike commute
Saturday: long bike ride (100+ miles), sometimes a short run after
Sunday: long run (followed marathon training plan)

I'm single but work full time (I do have a dog). During peak training my house was a mess, laundry and grocery shopping were done on Friday nights, and normally I was in bed by 9pm. The last 6-8 weeks were the hardest in terms of trying to balance everything. There were several days where I would have to get up at 4:00am, get a workout in, work all day, then do an evening workout. There were times that I had to miss a couple of social engagements but people understood my goal and what I was trying to do. Honestly, the hardest thing for me wasn't the workouts or trying to balance everything, it was the nutrition. I eat very healthy but exercising so much burns a lot of calories and I was always hungry and having to plan my meals and making sure I ate enough calories.

My coach had me on a 3 week build, followed by a 1 week rest. This helped in that I really looked forward to the rest week and was able to plan for things ahead of time.
2015-11-29 3:32 PM
in reply to: turnip13

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Alpharetta, Georgia
Bronze member
Subject: RE: what does a typical week look like for an Iron athlete?

For me, the weekday routine is not much different between Ironman and non-Ironman training periods. Short and medium length workouts 4-5 nights out of the week. It was more the long rides and long runs on the weekends that took huge chunks of my life and is the differentiator during IM training.



2015-11-29 4:14 PM
in reply to: Jeff B

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Regular
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Pueblo, Colorado
Subject: RE: what does a typical week look like for an Iron athlete?
Originally posted by Jeff B

Training probably looks different for all types of athletes . . .



It will definitely vary depending on your goals for an IM and how you respond to different levels of training. I was probably on the lower end of things in terms of weekly training time. I averaged about 10-12 hours a week and peaked at about 20 hours. This was over the course of 8 months.

The "longer" training sessions, usually on weekends are definitely the biggest difference. Just be prepared for the fact that some of those will last anywhere from 4-8 hours depending on where you are in training.

You mentioned a possible HIM first. I would definitely recommend doing a couple of these first. It will make the jump to IM training seem a lot more manageable. Enjoy!
2015-12-01 8:40 AM
in reply to: tedjohn


65
2525
, Tennessee
Subject: RE: what does a typical week look like for an Iron athlete?
Thanks for the responses, this is all very helpful. Like I said in my original post, I am NOT planning on doing a full anytime soon. Maybe in a couple of years at the earliest. I am focusing on Oly's this year, and maybe doing a HIM next year. I am a homeschooling mom of 3 so it will be a lot easier to fit in the training when my kids are a little older.
2015-12-01 11:25 AM
in reply to: turnip13

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1731
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Denver, Colorado
Subject: RE: what does a typical week look like for an Iron athlete?
Yea, when I read those responses I feel I will never do IM haha
I am working full time and raising two kids myself. I think I will be able to train for HIM/IM once they are older. Which is still cool :0 especially since I enjoy Sprint/Oly trainings.
Mary
2015-12-01 11:32 AM
in reply to: turnip13

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Expert
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Subject: RE: what does a typical week look like for an Iron athlete?
When I was IM training my week went something like this This was from 5 or 6 weeks before race day. I was recovering from a calf tear about a month earlier so my running was a little lighter.

Monday - 1 hr bike, 1 hr swim
Tuesday - 45 minute run
Wednesday - 1 hr bike (Hills)
Thursday - 45 minute run, 1:30 bike
Friday - 4K swim
Saturday - 160 km bike
Sunday - 1 hr bike/25 km run

The difference between IM and half IM training in my opinion is the weekends.

I did two IMs before having my son. I can't imagine training for one now as I wouldn't get to spend any time with him. My husband is in school part time so before, he would spend the time I was working out on the weekend studying. Now on the weekends, I take the majority of the parenting duties so that he can get in some study time.
2015-12-01 12:02 PM
in reply to: Daffodil

Regular
194
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Corona
Subject: RE: what does a typical week look like for an Iron athlete?
I think it's all about maximizing your time management skills. My mantra was to take time away from me and not take time away from my kids. I have a full time + job with a hour commute each way and 2 highly active kids (4 & 2). I ran/rode at lunch, swam before I got home and would long ride/run early AM on weekends. Sometimes I would run or ride and have my wife meet me with the kids at a park or the beach and then hang out and play all day with the kids. I would often run with my wife and I'd push the stroller with the kids (great hill training). I peaked at 18 hrs about 4-5 weeks out and I would communicate the plan with my wife before the week. I followed the Beginner IM RPE plan here on BT. I didn't set any records but I finished my first IM at Arizona without the religious experience and had a very fun race. It's all about consistency and finding the time. I also wanted to do this while I was still "young". Now that my kids are getting into "stuff" I understand my time is now limited beyond what I can realistically train for an IM.


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