I see a general erosion in your Run over the last 4 years from 3:3x to 4ish (44m slower), along with your IMC OA time (60 min slower...so, the bulk of the erosion is directly in the run). I guess I'd be asking what you were doing different in 2014 when you were running 3:3x.

Race 2 run times have also eroded, but OA times did not (implying bike/swim improved by ~30m)...which is interesting, but confounded by the different race/courses.

I think I'd also be looking at your bike pacing at IMC relative to your fitness each year, and I'd be asking how that race strategy was impacting your run. Without info on your SBR splits, and SBR fitness state going into each race, and pacing strategies...its hard to say much else.

Is 6.5 hrs / 6 days typical for IM run training? Seems light, since that's why I do for Oly distance.

I dunno...given your annual progression, a faster Kona run doesn't seem like a 9 week project unless there is something simple revealed by the above questions. That seems more like a bigger picture problem to solve on a annual plan basis. Not to be a debbie downer, but 9 weeks (including taper?) doesn't seem like much time, presuming that you are already pretty close to your peak fitness. my 2 cents.

Thanks Tom

a puzzle indeed !

We are the same age (and both did Louisville and Kona in 17 and 18)

I wish I could run my Louisville marathon time in Kona - I am always 8 to 10 mins slower at least , it’s definitely a heat thing for me

I am not sure where you get to in 9.5 weeks - it’s marginal at best I would suggest , I don’t see big chunks coming off in that time

Assuming the same bike and swim fitness , what does you run week look like generally ?

Cheers

Steve

Thanks for the thoughts, Steve. If we're the same age, you've probably moved AGs this season as well? I raced my first 50-54 a few weeks ago, and dudes definitely don't seem to slow down as much as I had hoped!

long run 2 - 2.5h
3 x brick .75h
1 'just punching the clock' easy .5-.75h
1 x fast(er) w/work 3 x 8' at LT pace tot 1.25-1.5h

strides in/after each, except long run.

Maybe shorten the brick runs and add a mid-week 15 miler. Running on fatigued legs is key to a faster marathon time.

Cut out the mid-week 15 miler during your taper to shed the fatigue.

obviously you know what you can fit into your schedule but if it were me I would run more frequently (not necessarily more mileage ) and do more tempo work

Build from 25 mins to 50 mins at tempo as part of your quality run - say

Off the bike I would spend the first 20 mins pushing a little harder and then jogging it in

More frequency helps with general economy which in an IRONMAN when you are knackered is a big help

that’s all I have ! Best of luck

Cheers Steve

Sorry missed the first bit , i am 49 in November and age up next year - going back to Lou in October cheers

 i guess if you cant break 10 h in 2018 at 48 its going to be hard at 49 and a 34 out of 36 chance that the weather will be less favouralbe ie your time last year was more a 10.25. ( and i dont try to be negative here)

the other thing in order to make this more valuable you should give your run times in training.
ie whats your 5k 10k half m conversion and if you dont do that maybe you need to do more shorter races .
other stuff . hills treadmil running more with others to push yourself more .

but most importantly apart from the fact that getting older makes you slower we can see nothing from the info you provide.
if it is pure speed ... doing shorter treadmil intervals once a week could be helpful or short hill reps at the same time not to crazy to not increase risk of injury to much
anyway my main point is you net to provide much more information to get a chance to get solid advise.

Slower Kona bike = Faster Kona run. That simple!

I would also agree that you won't see too much in the 9 weeks til race day, especially since you will likely have a recovery week and a taper built in.

For this year, I would go and enjoy and appreciate the fact that you have qualified to race Kona!

Then do a massive focus over the winter on your limiters that are causing the erosion of run splits. Maybe that is bike work? Maybe a massive run block? Maybe more running off the bike or on depleted legs? Too many variables to say which...

See you in Kona! ;)

A few ideas in here which might help you

https://www.samiinkinen.com/...waii-ironman-secrets

https://www.samiinkinen.com/...faster-in-four-weeks

Okay, he has a massive natural engine, but some of the ideas are definitely interesting.

6.5/hours a week is a lot of running, IMO, even for IM training (especially for someone who has been building an IM base over 25 years).

If it were me, I would spend the last 10 weeks hammering the bike with some hard intervals, >112 mile rides, and cut out some of that running. Unless you truly think your vdot really decreased that much over 5 years due to aging, you're probably not as fresh coming off the bike as you think. Do you think your open marathon time is 30 minutes slower than 2014? If not, it might be a bike fitness issue.

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Strava

You have simply gotten older. Age affects people differently. You might have to adjust your over all strategy i.e. work in gaining time on the bike as an example. There may be no more room for large improvement in your run??????

Why don't you just keep doing this??

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Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”

hmmm...

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Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”

Medium Long Runs (MLR) are a key part of the Pfitzinger Marathon plans. Maybe my language choice isn’t perfect, but it is certainly within the spirit of how Pete Pfitzinger describes the purpose of these runs.

Facing the same problem. As you mentioned absolute running speed is a limiter, could your running form (technique) be a root cause?

 

How long are your long runs?

.

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Once, I was fast. But I got over it.

Hawaii is a tough course, Michael08 said it best, slow down the bike equals a better run in Kona. The others mentioned volume, I like the idea of scraping a transition run and adding in a 15 miler, especially now leading up to Kona. Enjoy

Thanks, everyone, for the input and great feedback.

Surprised that nobody suggested "bike a lot less and run harder" as an approach. Still, there's lots of stuff to chew on in the replies above.