A Hypothetical Distance Indicator for 70.3 (Page 2)

Agree with this.

my answer would be
2-3 swims of 2000-3000 yds minimum (so 6k-9k a week is a starting point)
running 3-4 x a week, long run max of 10 miles is fine, avg weekly miles 25-30 (minimum)
cycling, 1 long ride of 3 hrs, routine weekend rides of 2-2.5 hrs, total weekly miles ~ 100 (minimum)

to have a comfortable first HIM.

You can train less or you can train more. if you can envision working up to those distances prior to your HIM then you should complete it no problem.

When you say "total weekly miles, minimum" do you mean average? For how many weeks? Or working up to that as a longest week?

I'm not sure when I will ever be able to average 100 miles per week cycling.

If I add all that up, your "minimums" would give me a total of about 13-15 hours training per week... is that what people expect to average for a half-iron?

(I'm asking because I'd like to work up to the half-iron distance next year, but the bike is sort of scaring me.)

Edited by jennifer_runs 2014-12-04 7:47 PM

Longest week of training if you are mapping out a "trajectory" of training. If that all takes you 13-15 hours, that's probabaly too much ... unless your lifestyle allows you that much time with enough lead time to lead up to that.

There are so many variables. I said "complete an HIM comfortably" meaning that you cross the finish line close to your potential with a smile on your face. Close to your potential to me means that your fatigue factor (how much you slow down as distance increases) is in teh 5-10% neighborhood with doubling of distance.

100 miles weekly on bike? 30-40 miles on a weekend and 2 weekday of 15-20 miles. 3 x 15 miles (1 hour) and 1 55 mi (3 hours) on a weekend. = 5 hours for bike. If you're slower than 15 mph, then I'd just substitute those time durations.

Running long run 10 miles, (1.5 -2 hrs) 2-3 weekday runs of 3-5 miles (45 min) ~ 4. 5 hrs

Swimming 2k-3k yards ~ 1 hour or 1.25 hrs 3x week ~ 3 hours. that's 12 hours, not including travel time to the pool.

THat's totally just one example. If your paces are slower, it will take you longer to finish...but i fyou can do the durations above you should be able to finish the race no problem. If you do less than that time duration, you'll just finish slower. If you're much faster, you can get more distance in during the same time.

For a first HIM for a skilled oly distance athlete, I think a 12 hour week with the above guidelines is entirely reasonable.

However...if the ahtlete only has 8 hours to train, scaling back could be long run 8 miles, run 3x week, long bike 2.5 hours, bike 3x/week, long swim 3x, swim 3x / week. It may simply be less comfortable.

You never know...until you go...

Training volume/duratoin is only one set of constraints for an athlete...how you recove,r what your other responsibilities are...so may other considerations. There's no right answer.

Those are about my speeds- I was counting 30 miles of running in 5 hours and 6k of swimming in 3 hours to get 13 hours- 9k would take me longer and I rounded up to 15 hours.

I think planning for a minimum peak of about 12 hours in a week is reasonable. When people say things like "100 miles per week" it confuses me because I think "per week" means multiple weeks. But maybe it should.

Yes, based on what the question was.
"...what weekly target distances would you consider suitable for completely a 70.3?"

My answer did specify weekly volume.

Sounds like you like working out, so YES, do the 70.3. Get a training plan and follow it. Be sure to go easy most of the time, and hard about 20% of the time. Don't over-think, and be sure to listen to your body. It's not very complicated.

One issue with the 70.3 would be hydration and nutrition, you'll need to get this dialed in well.

Have fun!

This is why I often find discussions of "weekly" mileage frustrating-- people often exaggerate "weekly" and what they really mean is "what I was able to do in my longest week." You say the same thing in running.

I realize that the original question was really about maximum distance, but that's not what many people were answering.

I think of approaching that "weekly" volume as being your pathway. If you can do the "weekly" just once...you can do the race. The mroe easily you can do the "weekly" target, the easier your race will go or your race will be faster.

When I say something like "target 100 miles of weekly bike volume", I'm envisioning that if someone is at 30 miles now then they need a plan to get from 30 to 100...at that point add some rest and they are ready to go.

For a more experienced triathlete then may hit the "weekly" volume earlier in the plan because the are currently closer to it. Then you can build some thing from there, either intensity or volume if you have the time, or cycling through multiple training blocks.

infinite variations!

I did only shorter more intense rides on my first HIM. My legs and lungs were fine on the ride, but my back cramped really bad. Some of it was bike fit, but I learned that the longer rides prepared the rest of my body to sit on a bike that long.