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Ironman Training Plan Reality Check
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 2014-06-26 8:53 AM |
 1502   Katy, Texas |  Subject: Ironman Training Plan Reality CheckHi All, I'm training for my first IM although it's 10 months away, I am new to triathlon training, so I'm starting way early and wanted to get a general idea if my game plan makes sense. I based my training on the 6-month IM training plan of the IM website. The entire training plan was based upon time, so I translated it to distances using 9 MM run, a 18 mph bike and a 1:40/100 meter swim, which are my "cruising" speeds right now. I'm totally new to biking and although I haven't swam in forever, I was a pretty stand out swimmer in high school so it came back pretty quick. I've been running for years. I took the first month of the six month plan and am doing that right now as my "base" then I plan to follow the plan starting 6 months out as it increases. some of the higher end workout weeks at the peak seem pretty steep and I'd like to get an idea if this is overkill or am I on the right track. My conservative goal for the IM is to get under 12 hours with an internal hope that I can get close to 10. Currently I'm doing 4,500 meter/wk swim, 19 miles/week running and 72 miles/week cycling. I am currently working up to 92 miles biking, as that is what my planned base is to maintain for the next four months. Here is how it is broken out currently (with the paces I did last week for refernce): Sunday - 40 mile bike (to be increased to 60 over the next couple of weeks) @ 18mph Monday - 8 mile run @ 9MM Tuesday - 3,000meter swim @ 1:40 100 meter pace Wednesday - OFF Thursday - 20 mile bike @ 20 mph ave Friday - 8 mil run @ 9MM Saturday - 1,500 meter swim @ 1:35 100 meter pace / 12 mile bike @ 21 mph / 3 mile run at 7:45 MM I will eventually build to a max week of 9,500 meters swimming, 200 miles biking and 33 miles running. That seems pretty intense to me. Please let me know if this looks like a reasonable plan. As I mentioned, I'm totally new to the bike and although the swimming is a bit high now, it's my strongest of the three, so I'm favoring it a bit. Thanks in advance, Omar |
| 2014-06-26 10:18 AM in reply to: 3mar |
Champion 19812   MA | Subject: RE: Ironman Training Plan Reality Check I think you should be running more days not so far each day. Most IM triathletes do two workouts a day most days. You are doing single workouts 5 days a week, rest day and a 3 workout day. You also have a lot of longer workouts without the day to day workouts. Running 4-6x a week now will help you much more than doing two longish runs a week plus a short run. You should be working on your weakness right now not on your strength. Ride more. Overall I'd suggest you move to 4 runs a week, progressing to 5 in after a few weeks. Take the 19 miles a week you are running, divide them up into 3, 5, 5, 6 or something along those lines. Add no more than 10% mileage a week. Ride more often, and ride hard, ride hills, and improve your cycling. Swimming, maintain, but don't let it get in the way of your cycling and running build. Look around at other training plans and compare them. I don't know anyone that has used a training plan on the IM website. Plenty of top quality free or nearly free plans out there that are proven. Enjoy the journey and have fun training!
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| 2014-06-26 10:30 AM in reply to: 3mar |
Member 36 Danville | Subject: RE: Ironman Training Plan Reality Check Be very careful about burn out. 10 months out is a long way to go, fitting in all the workouts over that long a period of time can wear you down, not just physically but mental burn out. Personally I'm not in favour of turning the plan from time based to mileage based. Hitting the mile targets for each workouts might sound appealing mentally but doesn't work out well when you are sometimes having a good day or bad day or just tired. And planning your weekly schedule is much easier when you know you have a 2 hour ride - it takes 2 hours. if you say it in miles, it make take 1,5, 2, or 2.5 hours and other things you plan around it have to get moved or missed. With Ironman distance, miles are less important, time in the saddle is really important. Ride, Ride, Ride. |
| 2014-06-26 10:41 AM in reply to: 3mar |
| 1502 Katy, Texas | Subject: RE: Ironman Training Plan Reality Check Thanks both of you for the reply. I do agree with the time vs distance training. I live in Key Largo and we are in the tropical jungle heat stage of the year and in doing 8 miles the other day, I felt absolutely rugged. If I cap it at an hour, I think that would suit me better right now. I'm not too concerned about burning out at this level of training as it is pretty close to the time/energy I was putting in just running (with some cross training on the paddle board) prior to this. I wouldn't want to reduce much more than this. I consider this my base and just used the first week of the IM training plan to gauge what a baseline should be. I'll be doing various distance tris between now and then. I will have to consider the logistics of adding in some more dual workouts throughout the week and maybe adding in more, but shorter runs. Again, with the heat as it is right now, I would be better suited to this until the summer ends. As far as hills go, if you've ever been to the Keys, it's the flattest place on earth. We do have some bridges that I incorporate into my longer bikes. The biggest is a 65' climb. That's unfortunately the best I can do. Thanks again for your input. You've both given me some items to think about. |
| 2014-06-26 11:00 PM in reply to: 3mar |
| Master 5557 , California | Subject: RE: Ironman Training Plan Reality Check Adding to what Kathy said, if you start doing 2 workouts on certain days, try not to sacrifice your sleep. Believe me, you need it. Get everything else in your life as organized as possible and plan ahead. Things like grocery shopping, making meals, all your little chores you need to keep up with. Plan them out and get into a routine so you waste as little time as possible. It's easy to sacrifice an hour of sleep here and there... at first. But it will catch up with you later on and you don't want that when you're hitting your peak training. Good luck! |
| 2014-06-27 9:44 AM in reply to: 3mar |
| 1502 Katy, Texas | Subject: RE: Ironman Training Plan Reality Check Thanks everyone for you input. I have taken a second look at my training plan and made the suggested changes, as well as a couple of other small changes (like better splitting up my running/bike days with swimming and off days to give my legs the most rest possible). So here is where it stands as of now: Sunday: Bike 2.5 hrs (approx 45 miles) to be built up to 3.5 hrs over time Monday: Run 1 hr (approx 7 miles) Tuesday: OFF Wednesday: Bike 1 hour + Run 25 minutes (approx 20 mile bike and 3 mile run) Thursday: Run 1 hour (approx 7 miles) Friday: Swim 45 minutes (approx 3,000 meters) Saturday: Swim 25 minutes + Bike 35 minutes + Run 25 minutes (Approx 1,500m, 12 miles, 3 miles respectively) If I consider any day that I either run or bike a "leg" workout day, this will allow me to have 3 days legs followed by an off day then 2 days on legs again followed by a swim day to rest legs, then back to the beginning again. I think that will work better for me. I ran this morning on time rather than distance and mentally and physically it helped a lot. I wasn't thinking about pace, just running comfotably and that made a big difference in the heat and humidity. When I forced myself to do the 8 miles, it was a totally different story. Thanks again. |
| 2014-06-29 3:25 AM in reply to: 3mar |
Member 242 Co Louth, Ireland | Subject: RE: Ironman Training Plan Reality Check The first week of my IM training looked like this and the structure pretty much stayed the same throughout: Mon - R 45mins, S 30mins Tue - R 45, B 60 Wed - S30 Th - R 90 Fri - S 30, B 45 Sat - Off Sun - B 90 Everything was based on time which made life a lot easier. Majority of sessions were at Z2 pace - I was more concerned with doing the distance than a fast time. By the end of the plan I was really confident in my swim, slightly aprehensive about the bike and knew I'd struggle through the run! Looking back only thing I'd do differently would to to try to bike a little more - maybe add in another bike focused week at about week 12 or 13, or focus more on the bike in the lead up to give a better base. Good luck with your training! |
| 2014-07-03 10:24 AM in reply to: 3mar |
| 297 Arden, North Carolina | Subject: RE: Ironman Training Plan Reality Check Originally posted by 3mar Thanks everyone for you input. I have taken a second look at my training plan and made the suggested changes, as well as a couple of other small changes (like better splitting up my running/bike days with swimming and off days to give my legs the most rest possible). So here is where it stands as of now: Sunday: Bike 2.5 hrs (approx 45 miles) to be built up to 3.5 hrs over time Monday: Run 1 hr (approx 7 miles) Tuesday: OFF Wednesday: Bike 1 hour + Run 25 minutes (approx 20 mile bike and 3 mile run) Thursday: Run 1 hour (approx 7 miles) Friday: Swim 45 minutes (approx 3,000 meters) Saturday: Swim 25 minutes + Bike 35 minutes + Run 25 minutes (Approx 1,500m, 12 miles, 3 miles respectively) If I consider any day that I either run or bike a "leg" workout day, this will allow me to have 3 days legs followed by an off day then 2 days on legs again followed by a swim day to rest legs, then back to the beginning again. I think that will work better for me. I ran this morning on time rather than distance and mentally and physically it helped a lot. I wasn't thinking about pace, just running comfotably and that made a big difference in the heat and humidity. When I forced myself to do the 8 miles, it was a totally different story. Thanks again. I don't understand the weekly triathlon on saturdays. I've never seen that in a training plan. Granted, I haven't looked at everyone out there, but that's just not something I'm used to seeing, nor do I understand the point of it. I'm following the BeIronFit Intermediate training plan and it's basic structure is as follows, I've modified it so I can long run before long ride. Mon: Off Tues: 1 hr swim, 1 hour run Wed: 1 hr swim, 1 hour bike Thurs: 1 hour run Fri: 1 hour swim, 1 hour bike Sat: long run(right now i'm at 2:15) Sun: Long ride(right now 5 hours) Most of my swims are in the 3000 yard range(give or take a couple hundred) It doesn't seem like a lot, and i'm sure many people will say I should run more, but I have a tough time fitting in all the workouts as is, but the restuls have been remarkable for me. I just did the race course this past weekend, so even with my "limited" time on the bike, I did 114 miles in 6:12, which I was very happy with, and I felt that I had a lot more in the tank, so I"m very satisfied with my current bike fitness. I'm not a fast runner, you're far faster, but my hour runs are taking me right around 6 miles, depending on the weather, and my longer runs are even slower. But all in all, this plan is working really well for me, both fitness and time wise. I really think you'd be better off using saturday for a longer run, instead of a triathlon. I'd move that saturday swim to thursday. Keep the saturday bike if you wanted and then do your long run off the bike. I'm not a coach by any means, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night  |
| 2014-07-03 11:18 AM in reply to: TriDadinAsheville |
| 1502 Katy, Texas | Subject: RE: Ironman Training Plan Reality Check Thanks for the reply. I'm assuming that you're much closer to your IM than me based upon your training load. I'm just trying to build some triathlon base right now since I'm new to the sport. That brings up your question on the Saturday triathlon. That is something that I haven't seen in any training plans either and I'm a bit confused as to why quite frankly. For me personally, the hardest part so far has been getting my body to adjust from one exercise to another. At the begining I found this extremely difficult. Even though I'm a very experienced runner, I found the run the hardest part (at least for the first mile or two) just because of the transition between the two exercises. That goes for the swim to the bike as well, although I'm new on the bike, so I can't attribute it all to that, but it was definitely difficult. That is why I started doing these mini tris each week, just to get my body used to it. After doing so for 5 weeks now, it's a piece of cake. It's actually the workout I look forward to the most. So I guess this is a question for you, or anyone else out there with more experience than me (which would be everyone pretty much) is why isn't a three sport workout incorporated into training? I mean, we're training for a sport in which we perform three sports...so wouldn't logic dictate that we would train in that manner? I mean; you run to train for a running race, you cycle to train for a cycling race, and you swim to train for a swimming race, so why wouldn't you swim then bike then run to train for a race that you swim then bike then run? |
| 2014-07-03 1:09 PM in reply to: 3mar |
| 1159 | Subject: RE: Ironman Training Plan Reality Check if you ask most of the people here, it seems like doing all 3 in one day really isn't a beneficial training method - rather, do something like, come off your bike and then do a short transition run (2-3 miles) to get your legs used to that transition; the swim to bike isn't really an issue i've found |
| 2014-07-03 4:04 PM in reply to: 3mar |
Extreme Veteran 442 | Subject: RE: Ironman Training Plan Reality Check I have also been looking at that plan and it seems that it is light on run frequency. Adding a moderate length run to the swim only days makes more sense to me. Three months out • Monday – DAY OFF • Tuesday – 1.5 hour cycle/70 min. run • Wednesday – 1 hour swim increasing distance at session (add 45 minute run) • Thursday – 2 hour cycle • Friday – 1 hour swim (add 45 minute run) • Saturday – 4 to 5 hour cycle/20 min run off the bike • Sunday – 45 min ocean swim/1.45 run Originally from: http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/news/articles/2013/05/six-months-t... Also, this far out from your IM, you might want to consider 6 wk training blocks for the run and bike. I intend to start with a run focus block for 6 wks then a bike focus block. |
| 2014-07-05 9:00 AM in reply to: bhc |
| 1502 Katy, Texas | Subject: RE: Ironman Training Plan Reality Check Originally posted by bhc I have also been looking at that plan and it seems that it is light on run frequency. Adding a moderate length run to the swim only days makes more sense to me. Three months out • Monday – DAY OFF • Tuesday – 1.5 hour cycle/70 min. run • Wednesday – 1 hour swim increasing distance at session (add 45 minute run) • Thursday – 2 hour cycle • Friday – 1 hour swim (add 45 minute run) • Saturday – 4 to 5 hour cycle/20 min run off the bike • Sunday – 45 min ocean swim/1.45 run Originally from: http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/news/articles/2013/05/six-months-t... Also, this far out from your IM, you might want to consider 6 wk training blocks for the run and bike. I intend to start with a run focus block for 6 wks then a bike focus block. I like that idea of doing six week training blocks. That would definitely help break it up a bit. I really think I need to focus on biking the most, so if any, that should be the first one. We're using the same base plan. |
| 2014-07-06 9:05 AM in reply to: 3mar |
Extreme Veteran 1986 Cypress, TX | Subject: RE: Ironman Training Plan Reality Check You shouldn't really worry about specifically training for a race 10 months away. That type of training is unsustainable. You will burnout. Focus on more short term goals until about 16 weeks out and then pick up the the specific IM training. |
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