Beginner Full Ironman Plan Group (Page 3)

Welcome to BT! IM Switzerland - how exciting! Have you looked at the Full Ironman plan yet? If not, got back to the first post in the this thread and follow the link.
I used to live in Tampa but I am not very familiar with Bradenton training groups. How often do you head up to St. Pete? The Mad Dogs are one of the biggest triathlon clubs in the US.

thanks jessica for the response. yes i did look at the 20 week training plan here..  bu t i am wondering what events i could do until the IM in july. ie. half ironman, half marathon , marathon etc.  i realize the benefits of a coach but  the closest ones are 30 -45 minutes away. perhaps finding local running and cycling clubs would yield answers.. online coach?? thanks jessica for you time.. sid

vnewberry -

I thought about Steelhead too but it is pretty close to IMOO and might interfere with some of the prime training weeks. It can be done but something in June/July is better. I'm probably doing Racine or Door county (leaning towards Door since I did it last year)

Still trying to work out my training plan for next year. Working out a BT hybrid with last years training plan.

Hello all

I'm thinking of using the 20 Week Beginner Ironman plan for Ironman Wales Sept 11th 2011. I've also got the UK HIM June 19th. So what I'd like to know is it worth doing the Beginner to Half Ironman and then moving into this plan to finish off? 

About 10 posts back, I asked the same question and received a positive reply with some advice.  With a couple months of steady training to dial in the schedule, I'll move into the 20 week Half plan in December and transition into the 20 week Full plan leading up to IM Wis on 9/11/11 -  I also will have a HIM between both plans.  

I'm definitely thinking this plan is the way to go. I am planning on HIM next August (Boulder) and then IMAZ in November...assuming I can get registered....I hear that one sells out very fast. Assuming I get signed up for IMAZ, I'll be using the BT full iron plan.  I'm a little overwhelmed with what to do until I can start though. I still have over a year to go, but I'm such a beginner that I really need a lot of improvement in all areas.

Hello Everyone,

I am signed up for IMOO 2011. Plan to run a marathon in April 2011, 1/2 ironman in early May then Racine in mid July. With a few more olys and sprints mixed in. My question is, I am currently Running 7 miles 5-6 days a week,swimming 3 days and will be riding bike on trainer( when I buy one),over the Winter. Am I setting myself up for Burnout? I am In my 5th year of Triathlon. I am unemployed, so I have the time to train. no kids at home, but I do have a loveing wife of 28 years. very excited about the Ironman.

Kurt

It's ok to not do any racing while you are training for an IM. Some coaches would say it is ideal, in that you never have to deal with the after-effects of racing (needing down-time, soreness, travel,etc) and can focus 100% on your training for your big race. However, that isn't realistic for most people, as racing helps break up the training a bit and can give you a boost in confidence as you prepare for your first IM. Depending on your current fitness level, you may not have enough time to do a HIM since your big race is in July.
You will be starting your IM plan in March. If your fitness is already at about what a HIM plan calls for at it's peak, then you may have room in your training for a HIM in one of your earlier build phases in the IM plan ( give yourself at last 2 months between the HIM and the IM). If your fitness is not that good, it's ok to not do a HIM before. You could do a half marathon when your running volume gets high, though. I don't think you should do a marathon unless you start training for it now and can find a race in February. Then you will have time to rest and recover before your IM training starts.
Hope that makes sense!

Yes, I think that makes sense. If you are a silver member, you can use the 12 week Half Ironman to Ironman Bridge plan as well, which would fit in with your race schedule pretty well!

How exciting! I have done IMAZ three times and I LOVE that race! The biggest thing to watch out for is burnout. Lots of people sign up for their first IM and start training too soon because they are so afraid of the distance, and then burn out on the training and go into the race under-prepared. Is your HIM in early August or late August? You can start training for that race in March, so spend the winter getting yourself ready for that first week of training. Try not to be TOO glued to a training plan until that point. Swim, run, and bike when you feel like it with perhaps a focus on your weakest sport.

Hi Kurt! You have a VERY full race calendar! I am especially concerned about the 2 HIM distance races before IMMoo. Perhaps you can spend some time thinking about what your goals are for next season and whether your current race schedule is properly designed to help you reach your goals. If your goal is to race as much as possible and have fun, then you are ok. But if your goal is to have the very best race you can have at IM Wisconsin, then your race calendar might have to be adjusted.
You know yourself best, so it's up to you to decide whether all this racing (and training) before your BIG even in September is going to work well for you or leave you feeling drained and SICK of triathlon.
Either way, I think you have room to lower the training volume now so that you are mentally ready for it when you NEED to do it later in the year.

Thank you Jessica for your reply. So you think the two 1/2 iron races are pushing it too much? I know a lot of people that are doing Madison . Also do Racine. I was thinking of doing a race down in Kentucky. A lot hillier than Racine, but also 2 months ahead. so that might not work into the training schedule. I certainly do not want to make myself sick of triathlon. Just want to be as prepared as I can for a good race in September.

I'm trying to decide if I should follow the Don Fink intermediate 30 week plan or combine the 20 beginner HIM plan with the silver 12 week HIM to ironman plan. The difficulty I have is without upgrading my memberships I can't see the number of hours a week the 12 week plan has. I'm not looking for the entire plan but does anyone have the detail on the max hours per week. This way I can compare approximately if they fall inline or close to the Don Fink plan.

I totally understand about being as prepared as possible. This is just MY opinion, but I think the best way to be prepared is to follow a training plan as closely as possible. Racing WILL help you learn how your body handles nutrition at race pace and help you understand pacing, but racing too much can have a negative impact on what's REALLY important leading up to an IM: your training plan.
One HIM is plenty. You WILL need time to recover afterward. Not giving yourself enough recovery after a race like that can lead to injury, ruining your BIG race of the year.
You WILL be well prepared for your IM if you do the training.

The max volume for the Bridge plan is 16 hours, with most weeks between 11-15 hours.

Hi and thanks for the response.  The HIM I am signed up for is Boulder. It's on 8/7/2011. Good advice on burnout. I'm definitely one who needs to take that seriously. The distance of the full does scare me at this point. While I'm not good at any of the three, the bike is my weakest. I was thinking of doing whatever until around may and then beginning a full 20 week plan. I think that way I'll be well on my way to the full but still be able to complete the HIM although probably with a less than ideal time. What do you think?

Edited by syscrash 2010-10-06 6:18 PM

That sounds about right! I would recommend you work on your biking until then to give yourself time to get that up to speed (literally).
The distance SHOULD scare you! It's great motivation to train! But you will be able to do it if you follow the plan!

Hi Folks!

My goal is to do IM St. George in May. I start building my base next week and will start my 20 week plan the end of November. I have only completed one off road race and it was a blast. Hopefully by the end of November I can pick up a road bike. Until then my lovely mountain bike will have to suffice.

Looking for support and advice as I am doing it on my own mostly. I did join a tri club here in St. George and so far the only time that I can meet up with these guys is the OWS on Wed. Which is great! Hopefully after I get a road bike I can join them for road rides as well.

I would say my strongest is the bike, weakest will be run and swim. I am nervous about the bike change. I have not ridden skinny tires since I was a little girl. Skinny tires scare me. I would rather come flying down the mountain on my fat tires over rocks and ledges then ride skinny tires on the road with crazy drivers out to get me.

Any advice you would like to give on purchasing a bike would be greatly appreciated. I will be doing my research in the next couple weeks and keeping my eyes and ears open for a good deal.

Chere'

Welcome to BT! How exciting that you are doing your first road triathlon as an Ironman! You have some guts! If you want to save some money on your bike, buy a used one. Once you have narrowed down what you are looking for to about 3 bikes, start watching Ebay and Craigslist and see what they are going for. If you start this process now, you will have lots of good data for when you are ready to buy. Are you buying a road bike or a triathlon bike?
You will get the hang of those skinny tires!

I already planned to buy used. We have another great source for used bikes out here in Utah and that is KSL.com classified. Tri bikes are more specialized type of bike so I was thinking probably just a road bike. But I also don't know anything about a tri bike so I will compare first. I know it is a bit crazy to start off with an IM but looking at what I will be doing after August of next year it is now or never for and IM. I have the time now to commit each week for the training after August I will not.

Go with a road bike - the course sounds really technical so you'll want something that handles well. =)

Good luck!

Edited by dhopman 2010-10-08 5:16 PM

When you say sounds technical... exactly what do you mean? My idea of technical comes from riding off road.

Technical on the road would mean hills, sharp descents and turns.  I think a road bike is best as well. That's a very hilly course. Plus it will be easier to find a road bike that fits your needs in the used market.

Well for what it is worth I love hills, love to climb to come back down again. However I will need to practice the sharp turns on skinny tires. That makes me nervous, not as much tire to grab a corner like I have with my fat tires. And I am pretty cautious on downhill turns on my mtn bike anyway.

I just located the bike map profile. Kinda of trying to compare this route in my mind to the hills I have climbed on my mtn bike. Thing is I gain the same elevation on a mtn bike in shorter period of time. 10 miles vs 30+ and of course only one time and I see that you get to do this hill twice... at least the scenery is amazing right through Snow Canyon! This is good, I think I will like this once I get my road bike.  I know I have a lot of work ahead of me and I am excited... just hope that lasts the entire 25 weeks I have until the race.

The run on the other hand... sigh. That is the one I am worried the most about. I am pretty sure I will not be able to run 26.2 miles continuous. Plan on doing a run/walk scenario, leopard8996 said he did 3run/1walk for and that worked well so I think I will do the same for training and the race.

So I have been reading some of the reports on this IM. I really have been trying to understand how this race is technical and relate it to what I have been doing. Not that I didn't think this was going to be a hard challenge... but I am starting to see that it is going to be a HARD challenge. Either the gps on my phone is wrong about elevation or I am reading things wrong because it seems like this route after reading a few reports you gain more elevation. So I will have to read up on this understand better.

When I was reading the map directions I though it went through Snow Canyon but it appears to go clear up by Veyo. I guess in next week sometime the kids and I will go on a car ride. Figure this out.