Training Plan Review-Gale Bernhardt (LONG)

Gale Bernhardt’s
13-Weeks to a 13-Hour Ironman…my take

About the plan:  This plan is written for experienced Sprint-and Olympic-distance triathletes who want to move into a full distance (140.6 mile) triathlon.  It says that the athlete is currently training 8-10 hours a week, and estimates he/she can complete the event in the following maximum times:  1:25 swim, 7:30 bike, 5:00 run.  It goes on to say that training hours are limited during the week, but are more available on weekends.  It’s for the athlete who wants to finish the race between 13:00:00 and 13:59:59 (there’s another plan for those who want to finish in under 13:00:00, this isn’t that plan).  This more or less sounded applicable to me, and I wanted a plan that wasn’t the equivalent of a part-time job for 20 weeks, so I tried it.  I had no intention of Kona qualifying or even AG podium-ing… my goals were a) primarily to finish upright, b) secondarily to finish in under 14 hrs., and c) finish in under 13 hrs. as a really big “stretch” goal.  This is not a new plan by any means, but its criteria seemed to meet my needs the best, so I chose it.

About me:  I am not an experienced triathlete, having done only one Olympic triathlon (Escape to
Miami) in Sept. 2012 where I finished in the MOP in my AG.  No, really…I was almost exactly the middle guy across the line.  That was it for triathlons for me.  I do, however, have a good
endurance cycling history (7+ years), competing in Ultracyling events up 760 miles, so I’m somewhat familiar w/ the mental aspect of endurance sports.  I was never a competitive swimmer, but I was
a lifeguard for years and grew up on the water, so I’m comfortable in that environment.  I was not a fan of running until I started training for the Olympic tri. Having lost 50 lbs. in the six months before that helped buoy my tolerance I suppose.  I did go on to win my AG in a local 5K in Nov. 2012, but these two events are a far cry from doing a 26.2 mile run after swimming and biking all day, so for me the run was going to be the biggest challenge.  I started regularly training 8-10 SBR hrs./wk. in October, 2012, and I “officially” started the training plan on Monday, December 24, 2012.

Following the plan:  The plan calls for a total of 34.3 hrs. swimming, 51.8 hrs. biking, and 34.4 hrs. running for a total of 120.4 hrs. training over 13 weeks.  I ended up with 30.9 hrs. swimming (10% less), 59.7 hrs. biking (15% more) and 35.1 hrs. running (2% more), for a total of 125.7 hrs. (4% more than what the plan called for).  The plan also calls for three weeks of building volume, followed by a week of reduced training, gradually increasing volumes each four-week cycle.  Week-by week, I pretty much followed the plan, but had to shift workouts here and there to accommodate for work, family, travel, etc.  I was careful not to get too crazy about “stacking” workouts to make up for missed ones, which is also mentioned in the plan as something to avoid.  Most weeks I was pretty close to what was called for, looking back on my Excel spreadsheets I maintained during training.  One MAJOR diversion from the plan was that I did not use a HR monitor.  I relied on RPE for swimming (as called for), but in biking and running I manually took my HR at staggered intervals, as well used RPE.  This is also how I established my Lactic Threshold Heart Rate Zones that were called for in the plan.  Old-school for sure, but that’s what I did.

The race:  My race was the HITS Triathlon in Ocala, FL on March 23, 2013, with approximately 70 140.6-mile participants and about 300 70.3 folks, all starting at the same time.  Not a hugely attended 140.6-mile event compared to others, but since most of my training sessions were (and heck, my long-distance cycling events often are) solitary endeavors, I wasn’t put off by the prospect of potentially spending most of the day by myself.  The day of the race, the weather was overcast and temperate, but windy.  Coursewise, the roads were good with only a little climbing and the water was smooth and 65F.  I did get run off the road by a car and thrown off the bike, but that only cost me maybe 5 min. total checking things out and adjusting a pushed-over shifter.

The Results:  13:38

So yes, I did fall right in the middle of where Gayle’s plan said I would and I met my two main goals (I knew sub-13 was going to be a stretch!).  Swim-1:15h, T1-6:51m, Bike-6:20h, T2-6:38m, Run-5:50.  Swim and Bike were exactly where I thought they’d be.  I was expecting a 5:00-5:30h run and was 0:20m slower, which was mildly disappointing until I had time to reflect on it.  I either a) went too fast on the bike and/or b) just was too inexperienced a runner.  Probably a combination of both, but mostly (b) as I had never run more than 7 miles in one go before starting this plan.  My 3 hour training run during the plan was 19.5 miles, which really isn’t that slow, but I think my overall running volume base just needs time to build.

Would I Recommend
This Plan?

Absolutely!  It did what it promised to do and I finished upright and smiling.  Felt pretty good the next day and was back to training after two rest days, so it definitely wasn’t a “survival-only”
plan.  I really want sub-13, but my legs just need run volume.  If you have a busy job, a family and limited time, you should seriously consider this program