Beginner 1/2 Ironman Plan Group (Page 145)

nbecker06....you can go to Kansas Triathlon Club on Facebook.  They are out of Lawrence and do a lot of group runs, rides and swims.  Lawrence isn't that far from you so may be worth the drive to do group rides.  They could also give you a lot of advice on the Kansas 70.3.

That HIM will be my first as well.  I live in Hutchinson, so those group rides are out for me.

Thanks for the heads up.  I live in Olathe, on the west side of KC, so that might work out just fine to head up to Lawrence for some group training.  I really want to try to get to know the course a little bit before race day.  Good luck on your first HIM, let me know how the training goes.

-Nick

that makes a lot of sense!

Hi there,

Just wanted to leave a msg here. I've just started (read: havent started yet) with triathlon specifik training but diddnt know exakt where to start.Im used to working out 15hours a week, but havent been training serious for the last 2 month.

could the Beginner 1/2 ironman 20 weeks be a good place to start? my thoughts are that i would do 30days of pre-20weeks basic workput in order to get my body ready for the 20 weeks, and do alot of swimming (which ive basicly never done). i dont think run and bike will be a problem at this point. would you say that its fair going for the 1/2 in 20+4 weeks in this setup?

Im not sure if it would be appropiate for me to share my goal and motivation at this point but what the heck, i want to do the Norsemen. im thinking 1/2 ironman this year along with multiple olympics and then multiple ironmans 2014 and then norsemen in 2015. would that be a good plan?

thanks for what seems as a great forum and looking forward sharing and hearing your input

regards

Thomas Nielsen

I am in the exact same situation, with my first HIM, in June.  I think as long as your already used to the long training hours and have followed some sort of training plan/program before, adjusting to this plan won't be a problem...at least thats what I'm telling myself!

The most important part is understanding what each phase of the training plan (base, build, taper etc..) is trying to accomplish to prepare you for your race. 

Welcome to BT Thomas.  The BT beginner plan assumes that you can consistently swim 40 minutes, run 60 minutes, and ride 90 minutes.  All of those will be tested the first week of the plan.  I'd use the next 4 weeks to get as close to those durations if that is possible and assess if you are ready to dive in at that point.

If you struggle the first week, adjust your paces accordingly as the second week is pretty much more of the same.  If you have a weak area maybe put a little focus there.  With not having done any swimming in the past, I'd strongly encourage you to get a lesson or two as soon as possible.  It makes all the difference in the world to start developing proper form from day one.

Good luck with your training and goals.

Hi everyone! First-time HIM participant here. I used the sprint and oly-distance plans last year (my first year doing tri) so I trust this one will do the job as well.

As ambitious as it may sound, I hope to do not one, but 2 HIMs this year: Kansas and Boulder. That in addition to the two sprints and Olympic distances that I did last year.

I just started today, got in my 40 minute relaxed run and had a good swim. First time doing a 'full' warmup with pulls and kicks, but I did it! Well, mostly... I hate kicking and could only do 100 of the suggested 200. I'll work up to 200 in no time, I'm sure. 

After 1 year I'm still relatively new but have completely embraced the sport and lifestyle. If anyone has any suggestions or advice, please feel free to share it. Thanks!

-Jeff

Hi,

thank you for the answer - im still trying to figure out how to train pre-1/2IMplan in order for me to get ready. I couldnt quite figure it out and i felt uncomfortable in the situationen, think i was stressed because of the tight deadline.

I have changed my deadline (found another 1/2 IM) the 31 of august which means ill begin my 20 weeks training monday the 15 of april. That will give me 10-11weeks for me to get in shape.

If i understood the plan (and you) correctly the assumes that i can do:

- 40min swimming (without break?) and which should be around how many meters? if i can do 1500m swim without rest, is that enough?

- run 60min (avr. speed 10-12 km/h is enough or should i aim higher?)

- ride 90min (avr. 25 km/h or even higher like lets say 90?)

and does the plan assume i should be able to do the three thing above together in one big tri-brick workout? (do alla things after on another?) or does it assume that i can do one thing per training session?

Iv'e took your suggestion about a swim coach and have a meeting with one tomorrow - cheers!

Im not sure how to develop my schedule for the next 10-11 weeks, but i guess i have these 2 requirements:

- my weakness is the swimming and, therefor, wants to have focus on it

- i can manage around 5 maybe 6 sessions a week

Do you have any ideer how to put the plan together?

my thought are doing: 3 swim(S) workouts (1 long, 1 short, 1 drill) and 2 ride(Ri) (1 long and 1 short the same day as run short) and 2 run(Ru) (1 long and 1 short) which gives something like this

-monday: Swim Long

-Tuesday: Run short + Ride short

-Wednesday: Ride Long

-Thursday: Swim drills (or take it as an extra REST day)

-Friday: Run Long

Saturday: Ride Long

Sunday: REST

What do you think about this? seems okey?

thankss once again for your insight, i really appreciate it especially now when im a beginner and havent figured it all out.

By the way: I just ordered The Triathlete's Training Bible (Joe Friel) and Breakthrough Triathlon Training (Brad Kearns), so i will be busy with those and try and learn as much as possible.

cheers

The only comments I'd make on your pre-training schedule would be to incorporate some drill work as a part of each swim session.  You could do it as a part of your warmup.  I also am not a huge fan of long steady swims.  I think you get more out of long sets like 4 x 500 as opposed to 2,000 steady.  If you are doing three swims a week, I'd do one long sets, another short sets for speed like 10 x 100, and another that mixes it up a bit.  I like doing ladders like (300, 200, 100) x 3.  You can look at the swim workouts in the plan to get other ideas.

Hi chad,

I just recently got into triathlon myself (have a background as alpine climber and has been training for 25-30hurs/week for around 2 years to prepare for an expedition to the southpole - www.antarcticchallenge.net), but i have alot of experience with nutrition in regards to endurance sports. I work as a nutrition coach in Gothenburg, Sweden, and focus my energy on endurance sport (even though their time to time is some klients which are involved in athletic fitness or something like that. I've coached triathletes/cyclists, ultra marathon runners and footballers.

Alot of research has been done around the subject intra-performance nutrition and some of the things to consider is, as you also said, electrolytes, the quality and ratios of carbohydrates and proteins. Timing is crusial along with knowledge around how your own body reacts on certain things.

If you want help putting together a nutrition program i need some more info - send me an e-mail to [email protected] or we could even do it through Skype - let me know, i'll be glad to help.

Good luck with your training for Galveston, im training for an HIM in august - starting the 20-week plan in about 6-7 weeks.

/Thomas Nielsen

I've had the same kinds of concerns. I'm just wondering what one does if they have gi issues. How to cope with something like that and still finish. 

what exactly do you mean by GI issues? what have you tried earlier?

The best thing to do is get a general gameplan around nutrition and hydration and make it a part of your training.  Everyone has different levels of tolerance as to what and when they can fuel/hydrate.  By incorporporating this into your workouts and knowing what is best for you will lessen the risk of having GI issues on race day.

I hydrate at regular intervals (every 15 minutes) on all my trainer sessions which is where all my riding is done now.  On runs over an hour, I bring gel and liquid.  Just get into the habit of treating long workouts like race simulation for nutrition/hydration.  It will become second nature and hopefully no surprises on race day.

If it does happen (there's no guarantees), try to relax.  It is a good idea to know the layout of the course and know where bathrooms are.  This is a major reason some people prefer to race in a tri top and shorts as opposed to a one piece trisuit.  I am at greater risk if I consume too much as opposed to not enough so I tend to be a little on the light side of my intake.  I tolerate water better than sport drink as it can make me feel bloaty.  I still take in sport drink for the electolytes but if I start to feel any quesiness I switch to just water.  All this is very, very personalized so not a bad thing if you experience GI issues in practice because sometimes it is just as important to learn what doesn't work as what does. 

Thanks.  I was also going to post a bit more on general nutrition/hydration when I get a few minutes but I'd definately take Thomas up on his offer to provide you with some more detailed information.  He sounds like a great resource.

I try to keep it as simple as possible.  Figure that your body can only absorb 200-300 calories per hour depending on weight, fitness, weather, exertion, etc.  I figure about 250 for myself at 165 lbs. and I figure about 20 ounces of fluid per hour.  More if it’s a warm weather race.

The harder you are exerting the less your body can absorb because blood flow is diverted from the stomach to extremities as needed.  Because of that I wait about 15 minutes into the bike before I start with my gels to give my heart rate a chance to settle down a bit.  Gels are really easy for me to track my intake and they sit well in my stomach.  I carry two five ounce flasks in my back pockets that are mixed 3 parts gel, two parts water.  By diluting them they are way easier to squeeze out.  An ounce of gel is about 90 calories so 270 calories per flask.  I round out my calories with sport drink from the aid stations.  I used to use two cages and used one for water and one for sport drink.  If the sport drink started to make me feel burpy or bloaty I’d switch to water.  Now, given that I know I can only tolerate a small amount of sport drink, I only carry one cage and will carry just water which I take on at each aid station.  For the sport drink, I’ll pick one up at the aid station and take a few good drinks and discard at the last garbage drop zone.  I drink every 15 minutes or so and try to parse that out between the aid stations.

On the run, a pick up two more gel flasks in T2 and follow pretty much the same strategy as on the bike.  Since, I don’t drink much sport drink on the run, I’ve been taking a few electrolyte tablets on the run.  Another thing I started taking on was coke towards the end of the race.  I had always thought that was disgusting but it seemed to give me a little extra energy when I needed it most.  With aid stations every mile, I try to take a few sips of water at every one.

Nutrition, hydration, electrolytes needs and tolerances are very unique to the individual.  What works for one person may not work for another.  The above is just what has worked for me and you need to try different things to see what works for you.  One other thing with practicing these things in training is that your tolerances will be different at various levels of exertion so it’s important to get some race pace testing in during your training.

Hi all - starting the HIM plan tomorrow to prep for Lake Stevens, WA HIM on July 21st.  I have a few questions on the plan.

What do these mean:

wk20 Monday - (alternate 1 x 1000)

wk19 Monday - 20 second strides

wk19 Friday - descend 1-5 and 5-10

thanks

Just means if you are not comfortable with 1500 yards do 1000.

Strides are not quite a sprint but a good strong effort

Descending sets mean your time goes down with each rep.  Descend first 5, then repeat the pattern.

Last year I used the free beginner HIM training plan and it did get me across the finish line. I would like to hear from those who stepped it up and purchased a BT training plan.  I am leaning towards using the same plan unless I am really missing out on the Bronze or Silver plans.  Thanks. 

I'm not sure what the Bronze or Silver plans have to offer but I don't see any reason why you can't take this plan if it worked for you last year and modify it.  I think the basic concepts and shell of this plan are very effective and can be used to take it up a notch.  If you been doing this all for a year or two you have a pretty good idea where your strengths and weaknesses are and where you might want some additional focus.

My second time through the plan I penciled out the changes that I wanted to make and then consulted with a local tri coach.  He suggested a few changes for several key workouts while leaving most of it the same.

This year I'm continueing to add more run focus as that is my weekness.

I'm just starting week (17) which is the fourth week in and it is going very, very well.

I agree with pops.  I've used this plan for my races last year and ended up finishing faster than 50% of my age group.  I'm working more on my running this year so I'm just changing some of the shorter runs from a 40min out and back to track workouts/intervals that allow me to work on speed.