Proper 70.3 To Full IM Separation

Thank you for the reply.  The HIM that I was looking at is 5 weeks before IMFL so I'll probably look for one a little further out.  I did Augusta last year in 5:43 and I have continued my training over the winter and into this year.  I am in better shape now (and lighter by 12 lbs) than when I did Augusta, but I will still look for one around 7 weeks prior since this will be my first year for full distance.  Branson is 6 weeks prior and not too bad of a drive for me...

Edit: I'm not sure about genetics, but I'm 34 years old.

I did Augusta last year before IMFL and plan on doing it again.  What is that like 5 weeks I think. 

enjoy,

Duane

What is your reasoning?  I am not trying to dispute what you are saying, but can you elaborate?  I would like to hear both sides of this.  That's exactly why I started this thread!  The last thing I want to do is hinder my IMFL performance in ANY way.

2 HIMs and a full IM (plus some other shorter races) is a big season.  With only one HIM under your belt, I would be careful about planning such a season without much knowledge about how you will recover from those efforts.  An HIM 'lead-up' is unnecessary for completeing an IM.  Contrary to how many people think about a pre-IM race, an HIM is not particularly good as 'practice'.  It can be useful to give you something to train for before you start focusing on the IM (and with a late season IM like FL, having an 'intermediate' goal like that is probably a very good thing). 

I'd recommend training well for your July HIM.  Do a full taper and race it as hard as you can.  Take a week or two to recover fully (train lightly as you feel) and then start ramping back up for IMFL.  Use the shorter races along the way as higher intensity workouts.  That will do more for your IM than another HIM, while also being less 'disruptive' to your IM-specific training. 

Personally, I think *ideal* timing for most first-time IMers is probably in the 10-12 week out range.  That allows for a short recovery and then a final block of IM-specific training (the really long bike rides, swims, etc.) without the training disruption that an HIM can cause in terms of tapering & recovery.  Of course, not everyone is the same and responds to things differently (physically & mentally).  So there's a pretty wide range of what people do in practice.  And as you gain more experience, you'll get a better feel for what may work best for you overall.

I second what JohnnyKay is saying.  In 2010 I did 2 HIM's prior to my first IM and in hindsight I think it was too much.  During that 2nd HIM I was worried about getting a little rest in prior to the race, then recoverying when I would have been better served nailing my peak weeks.   

This year I'm doing an early season HIM which is 11 weeks before my IM.  I may do some sprints for fun but that's it.  

Thank you for your detailed response.  You do make some very good points.  I do have more of an endurance background than my original post lets on so that could factor in too, I'm sure.  I am new to triathlon (Augusta was my first and only at any distance), but I have been endurance mountain bike racing for a couple of years now, too.  These are typically 6-8 hour MTB races and I can average a HR of about 160 during that period.  I have raced 3-4 of these a year.  Also, in terms of schedule, I ran the Flying Pig Marathon in May (my first, 3:46) and I have some mountain bike races coming up, too.

Thanks for the input, DB. 

I think that I may be just excited about this new venture of mine called "triathlon" so in my mind I'm trying to figure out a way to do more and more, but more isn't necessarily better as you guys have stated.

Edit: Fixed typo.