First IM - training question

Your list of questions is EXACTLY why I enlisted the aid of a USAT certified coach.

I'm doing IMWI as well and can only chime in with respect on one question. Nutrition wise, I've adopted Hammer products (perpetuem/Sustained Energy) as prescribed by the "Hammer Nutrition Handbook" for all of my long bikes and I plan to use the stuff on race day as it's worked well in training.

I am currently training for the Wisconsin IM this September. As this is my first race of this distance, I was hoping somebody could dispense some useful training advice training.

Swimming: What is the typically distance/duration/frequency of swims? I have done a couple of 2.5 mile swims so far (including this weekend) and felt pretty solid afterwards. I didn’t know if hitting this distance regularly was necessary or useful. When training for IMAZ, most of my weeks of race-specific training (Dec-Apr) I swam 5x/week, generally between 12k-15k meters per week. Long swims were 4500-6500.

Biking: Where does one peak (distance) on a bike prior to the race? I’ve been sneaking up on the century ride for awhile now and want to know how far I should be pushing myself. One worry I have is that I don’t feel too sprightly after such rides, definitely not enough to run a marathon afterwards. The second worry I have is that I have a hard time finding 5+ hour periods in my week to carve out for a single ride. Long distance bricks are a pretty important part of IM training. You don't need to do a lot of them, but you need to get somewhat acquainted with the feeling of running after 4.5-5+hrs on the bike. My biggest brick was 5h45/45 - I also did MANY (i.e. at least 8) rides of 4.5+hrs. Unless you are an incredibly strong cyclist who has no problem clicking off century rides, your weekly long bike is crucial.

Also, what is a sensible target speed (mph/kph)? I’ve been shooting for 18-20 mph (~30 kph); should I be slowing this down to better save my legs for running? Whatever speed will get you off the bike before the cutoffs. I was around 18.5 mph or so, which was like 6h30 on the bike.

Running: I know that typical marathon training peaks at or around 20 miles. For Ironman training, does this hold true as well? How should my training (both frequency and intensity) compare to that of a pure marathon? I'm assuming you mean your biggest single run is 20 miles, not biggest week. My biggest run week was 51 miles, with a 19.5 mile long run. I generally ran 4x/week or so, with the long run being 2-2.5 hours about 80% of the time. As for a comparison to straight up marathon training, I have no knowledge.

Nutrition: How do people typically nourish themselves during the race? I get so damn hungry when I train and those Clif bars just don’t cut it. My strategy on the bike was 1 bottle GE every 1h15, 1 bottle H20 every 1.5hrs, and I alternated 1 Hammer Gel / .5 Clif Bar every 45 minutes. I think I took in about 1 whole banana as well. I knew I needed about 300 calories per hour on the bike, and that plan worked out perfectly. On the run I took in GE at every aid station, water every other, and whatever food sounded good. Thankfully, I didn't have any GI issues at all.

I've used Hammer Gels for a long time, and they agree really well with me, so I was pretty sure I'd keep them as part of my IMAZ nutrition plan. I tried Perpetuum once, and absolutely hated it.

After a couple of long rides only using Gatorade/GE and gels, I noticed I was feeling on the weak side near the end, and not really ready to run. So I started mixing in Clif Bars. At first I was going 1 gel / 1 bar switching on the hour, but that didn't work. So trial and error I got it down to switching gels and 1/2 a bar on the 45 minute mark.

Mainly I decided to go with some solid food since I really hated the feeling I got from not taking in any solid calories. I didn't feel like a bad bonk was coming on, but my stomach hurt like I was hungry if I didn't have anything solid.

Swimming:

1-2x per week swim a main-set of at least one hour in duration. Intervals of 100-500 on short (5-15 seconds) rest. If doing this once a week, add a second session that has a main set of at least 30 minutes of similar intervals.

I would try to swim at least 3x per week, preferably 4-5. Once you get the two key endurance sessions in, these others can focus on technique and/or speed.

Long continuous swims do little other then build confidence. Not that that's a bad thing.

Biking:

For the first time IMer, building bike endurance should be the key focus of training. A 5-6 hour ride should be "just another bike ride" by the time you get to two weeks out from your race. Do as many as these as your schedule allows. Don't worry too much about speed. Focus on staying in zones 1&2.

I don't think bricks need to be a big part of IM training, other then the time management benefit. However, getting some short runs off the bike during the last 6-8 week specific prep phase is a good idea. 20-30 minutes running is fine for most of these. 3-4 weeks out you might want to do a run up to an hour off your long bike.

IM Wisconsin is rolling hills, so be sure to include some in your long rides. Alternating focused hill workouts with LT workouts every other week for 1.5-2.5 hours are a good idea.

Try to ride at least 3x per week. 4-5 is better.

Running:

Run steady, and run regularly. Add some rolling hills into your long runs. I would try to get a steady dose of 2 to 2.5 hour long runs in, with maybe 1-2 going over 2.5 hours.


In general you need to be consistent in your training. Doing "epic" workouts/weeks that leave you fried for days afterwards do you no good. You need to build endurance, get comfortable with your pacing, and practice your nutrition strategy.

I prefer a mostly liquid nutrition strategy. I've used carbo-pro and e-gels in the past, but this year I'm sticking to gatorade and e-gels. I'll have a powerbar with me on the bike if I feel like something solid.

Some people do real well with solid foods, but I know of plenty of people who had a nutrition strategy that included solid food and come race day they couldn't digest anything solid. Be prepared.

The key to the race is patience, pacing, and persistence.

Have fun!

scott

Thanks for the responses. I had a follow up question regarding bricks:

My strategy has been to do very balanced bricks (I've done 2 full 1/2 ironman distance training sessions) without too much difficulty. I've endeavored to layer in increasingly long single sport distances on their own (usually because I'm wiped out afterwards).

It sounds like it is unnecessary and somewhat counter-productive to approach training this way.
Any thoughts?

"My strategy has been to do very balanced bricks (I've done 2 full 1/2 ironman distance training sessions) without too much difficulty. I've endeavored to layer in increasingly long single sport distances on their own (usually because I'm wiped out afterwards)."

"It sounds like it is unnecessary and somewhat counter-productive to approach training this way.
Any thoughts?"


>>My opinion, which is worth what you're paying for it, is that you need to maximize the physiological benefits of your training. While doing bricks prepares you for the feeling of running off the bike, they don't provide any true physiological response. I think you get the best bang for your buck if your fresh for your sessions.

Personally I like to split my long runs and long rides up by 2-3 days. I know some people don't have that option, and others feel it's important to run when tired. I just think you increase the potential for injury and/or burnout when trying to do a key run session (which all long runs are) when tired.

scott

I just finished IM CDA and felt AMAZING the entire time.

You can check out my logs which are totally current for training info but I basically swam the distance 1 time in the pool and just under the distance 1 time in the OW. All other swims were between 2000-3500 yds and I tried to swim 2x per week and once I got to the 1st of May I did 1 OWS per week in my wetsuit.

Cycling - I did many 3-5 hour rides always followed by a 2-3 mile run. I also did 1 90 mile, 1 100 mile and 1 117 mile ride (this was the actual course 1 month prior to race day).

Running - I have had some knee issues so my longest run was 15.8 miles but I trained exactly how I planned to do the race. 3 min run/1 min walk on all my long runs which were between 10-15 miles each week plus 1-2 other shorter runs.

For food, ask anyone I eat crazy stuff but I trained with it, I love it, I craved it and I had ZERO GI issues on the course.

Peeps
Uncrustables
Cheetos
Tortilla Chips
Mike & Ikes
Chocolate Cinnamon Bears
IM Cocktail (2 scoops Carbo Pro, 1 scoop GU20, 1 pkt Crystal Light Lemonade, 1 pkt Crystal Light Electrolyte mix, 1 pkt SweetnLow, 600mg salt)

As I said I was slowish (16:22) but I finished feeling awesome, I had fun the whole day and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Plan your race and then race your plan, it works!