IM Improvement in One Year: Triathlon Forum: Slowtwitch Forums

Bike Shops Coaches Fitters Race Calendar Running Stores Store Stack & Reach Training Log Triathlon Clubs We Noticed
		MAIN INDEX	RULES & LEGEND	LOG IN

Slowtwitch Forums: Triathlon Forum:
IM Improvement in One Year

Recall

May 10, 07 17:53

Post #1 of 13 (2327 views)

IM Improvement in One Year	Quote \| Reply

What are everyone's thoughts on the potential gain in one full year of training for an IM: I'm thinking mostly for the bubble people who have already trained to be maybe an hour off qualifying for Kona. Doable with another year of commitment? Could this close be within the limits of your actual, let's call it "genetic top end" and not lack of hard, smart effort/training? (I know another impossible to asnwer question...)

I personally think it's definitely possible but I am probably the least educated person on this forum.

Edit: Spelling

---------------------------------------------
Of course it hurts. The trick is not minding it hurts.

(This post was edited by Recall on May 10, 07 17:55)

AMC

May 10, 07 18:04

Post #2 of 13 (2307 views)

Re: IM Improvement in One Year [Recall] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

You can improve you IM by an hour in one year.

However, if your trying to get kona and need a 9:30ish but are at 10:30 thats another story.

And yes, this is impossible to answer
-------
Anders

Learn

May 10, 07 18:05

Post #3 of 13 (2303 views)

Re: IM Improvement in One Year [Recall] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Depends on how your trainiing for the previous year was. If you had perfect scheduele discipline and trained super-smart and used training tools and other things to improve yourself (maybe power meter or power cranks or heart-rate training) and if you can't think of any way to improve your training in the next year, you may not be able to make many gains.

The nice thing about where I am now is that I can look on the year before the last IM and see so many ways - some hard, some easy - to make improvements.
--
Matt Braynard
Braynard WebDev, Inc.
http://www.braynardwebdev.com
If You Can Imagine It, We Can Do It.

IzzyG

May 10, 07 18:08

Post #4 of 13 (2291 views)

Re: IM Improvement in One Year [Recall] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

I think VERY VERY VERY few people EVER EVER get close to their genetic limit. When I see an older man carrying his adult son through event after event(Holt story), it kinda makes me feel that any able bodied adult could the very least keep up with him. Too many people use the genetic excuse to explain why someone else can do what they can't.

As Ghandi said, "You can have anything in life. You just got to to give everything else up."

I'm pretty sure it was Ghandi.....

rroof

May 10, 07 18:14

Post #5 of 13 (2284 views)

Re: IM Improvement in One Year [Recall] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Definitely possible to shed an hour in a year. I shed over an hour in 8 months at age 37. Initial time wasn't slow (but certainly not fast either) at sub 12, then sub 11 easily, then ... Part of it is just knowing how to "race" an Ironman rather than just going out for a long training day or surviving the event like 80% out there are doing. Training is the rest as that 5 mins off the swim, 20 off the bike and 40 or more on the run start to add up!
____________________________________
Fatigue is biochemical, not biomechanical.
- Andrew Coggan, PhD

Ultra-tri-guy

May 10, 07 18:14

Post #6 of 13 (2284 views)

Re: IM Improvement in One Year [IzzyG] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

You are so right.I get that all the time from people who say stupid things like "it's in your genetics" or "but you are an anomoly" to explain how I do what I do.Meanwhile they train for half the time at half the intensity and pretend that the hour spent at the coffee shop after their rides actually counts as training.The people who do the hard work get the results!

In Reply To:

Too many people use the genetic excuse to explain why someone else can do what they can't.

vo2maxed

May 11, 07 4:18

Post #7 of 13 (2111 views)

Re: IM Improvement in One Year [Recall] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

I gained 34 minutes from 99'-00' and then over an hour from 00' - 01' so I definitely think it's doable...

Triathlon Results for: Ward Moya [/url]
EVENT RESULTS[/url] Place Event Date Total Swim Bike Run
214 Ironman Florida Nov 08, 2003 10:10:14 01:10:02 04:53:06 03:59:17
1783 Ironman Florida Nov 09, 2002 DNF 01:08:03 05:08:25
190 Ironman Florida Nov 10, 2001 10:20:58 01:07:54 05:05:36 04:00:23
456 Ironman Florida Nov 04, 2000 11:22:34 01:06:08 05:42:01 04:29:04
847 Ironman USA Lake Placid Jul 30, 2000 12:57:54 01:00:23 06:03:38 05:41:44
787 Ironman Florida Nov 06, 1999 11:56:39 01:02:21 05:38:48 05:04:23
http://wardmoya.blogspot.com/

(This post was edited by vo2maxed on May 11, 07 4:20)

Fleck

May 11, 07 5:35

Post #8 of 13 (2072 views)

Re: IM Improvement in One Year [Recall] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Too often people put the training they do each year in a silo. They forget what they did the year before and the year before that. When it comes to real success in racing at the IM distance, I have come to the conclusion that it's the steady and consistant training that you do over multiple years, say 3 - 4 years, and how it all adds up that really matters.

Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog | EventsOnline | Bibnumbers.com

Ultra-tri-guy

May 11, 07 6:19

Post #9 of 13 (2022 views)

Re: IM Improvement in One Year [Fleck] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

That's very true Steve and I think that is why a lot of AG's(male) times stall at around 10 -10:30Hrs as they continue with the training mindset that they used to get into the 10 hr range.If you want to improve from there you will need to find it in you to push harder and risk more in your day to day training rather than continue with the same old training plan.That's where it all becomes very interesting and either a creative and experienced coach or some very fast training partners are needed.As you know doubt know ,the faster you are the harder the improvements are to achieve.

sentania

May 11, 07 6:21

Post #10 of 13 (2018 views)

Re: IM Improvement in One Year [Recall] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Half IM 2005 - 4:40 (although 10 minutes should get tacked on due to a super short swim)
IMWI 2005 - 12:05

Half IM 2006 - 4:28
IMWI 2006 - 10:25

IMAZ 2007 - 9:46

I'll echo what fleck said - as long as you aren't taking massive breaks between each season the training you do has a huge snowball effect. As long as you are training smart and training consistantly massive time drops are possible and will most likely happen until you start to approach insane fast - then the time drops become smaller.

Team RACC | Emery's Third Coast Tri Shop | scottbowe.com

"no matt...your FTP is never high enough, there is always room for improvement." - jonnyo

johnnygofaster

May 11, 07 6:24

Post #11 of 13 (2007 views)

Re: IM Improvement in One Year [Ultra-tri-guy] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

I stumbled upon some research (can't find it now) that demonstrated elite athletes were, at their core, not physiologically superior than most. It was primarily about drive coupled with work ethic.

The research must have been limited to endurance-type sports because, despite his work ethic, Lance will never play in the NBA and I'll never be an NFL center at 5'10, 168lbs.

Fleck

May 11, 07 6:26

Post #12 of 13 (2002 views)

Re: IM Improvement in One Year [Ultra-tri-guy] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Nick,

That's true. My comments where more directed at the 11 - 13 hour folk who are relativly new and can't get their head around getting under 11 hours, when it might just mean putting in 2 - 3 years of training at the same level. To often they are thinking that their is some magic or secret set of workouts that they can do NOW that will get them under 11:00 in a couple of months or this year. The biggest jump up I see with people is when they have been training at a steady and consistant level for 3 - 5 years. That's when the WHOLE of the training starts to really set in and you are mentally and physically ready to take it to the next level.

Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog | EventsOnline | Bibnumbers.com

sentania

May 11, 07 6:27

Post #13 of 13 (2001 views)

Re: IM Improvement in One Year [Ultra-tri-guy] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

I kind of like that:

"Improvement stalls, because training got stale!"

Team RACC | Emery's Third Coast Tri Shop | scottbowe.com

"no matt...your FTP is never high enough, there is always room for improvement." - jonnyo