8 Month IM program

If you google "Super-Simple Ironman Plan," you will find one for free. The training load is enough to get you to the finish sh line. If you are trying to be competitive, I would find an experienced coach and pay them a few hundred dollars a month.

Also, if you have TrainerRoad, they have plans which lay out all 3 disciplines. Only $10/month.

Good luck.

Thanks for the reply.

I came across that 20-week Program which is just over the 4-month mark. is this the program you were saying?

http://www.gctri.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Super-Simple-Ironma...

just two questions From what I see the biggest run you do is 18 Miles for marathons alone they want you to have at least two 20milers under your belt.
for the bike the program has 100miles the biggest ride, would you recommend having at least one or two full distance 112 - 120-mile bike rides done?

before starting the training I was thinking of doing a 16-week marathon training program with short 80 - 90 km cycles in the weekend with 1hr cycles during the weekdays skip the swims till I start the Ironman program,

this should give you a 4-month baseline, of strong running




Edited by davidfoley 2017-05-22 8:18 AM

Don Fink's Be Iron Fit is a 30 week program. The book comes with 3 different levels - Just finish, Intermediate and competitive.
I did the competitive program this year and really liked it.

--
Dave

Keep in mind that an IM plan should by the very nature of the race be very different from a standalone marathon plan. One of the biggest challenges of racing an IM is getting to the starting line without major injuries. You will be stressing your body during training and can't afford downtime due to strains or stress injury.

I think you would be better off by starting with a HIM plan rather than Marathon and focus on getting your base strong. Then add the IM focused on getting you to the start as healthy as possible, not necessarily with the most or fastest miles.

Marathon training is good but before you run in a full IM you need to bike 112 miles and that in itself requires a significant amount of training.

To answer your question, you don't have to run 2 20 milers before you start tapering down but it's good mental prep. I have the same answer for the bike distances you mentioned. You're going to have to take into account how much time you'll need to recover from such training sessions though.

I did a 125 bike rike alone and it helped me mentally prepare for what ended up being a really rough first Ironman race for me (feel free to read my race report).

The free beginner ironman that's offered here is a good training program to consider as well.

In all honesty, I don't think you HAVE to run a marathon nor bike 112 miles prior to completing an IM. I agree with the other poster, trying to incorporate a marathon training plan prior to a structured IM plan could lead to burnout, or worse yet, injury. I followed the Super Simple plan for all 3 of my IMs, and while I wasn't on the podium, or punching my Kona ticket, I did finish with some pride (12-14 hour finishes) and stayed out of the medical tenet afterwards.

One thing the Super Simple plan doesn't discuss is your nutrition. During your long rides/runs, Experiment with different nutrition and see what your stomach can handle. I am a GU an EFS guy. It works for me. Others, not so much.

I would encourage you to try and run after a 4+ hour ride and see how you feel. As much run fitness as you are trying to establish, I think you will find you may not be "running" the bulk of your marathon.

Have fun.

Thanks for the tip.

Do you have an excel sheet of the Intermediate Training Program ?

I do not. I did put the competitive plan in spreadsheet. If you get the book you could adapt the workouts accordingly.