I think the development has been fairly even over the last 6 months, I have gradually gained capacity in every discipline without any major leaps or fallbacks (at least that's my sense of it). The biggest change in my training has definitely been the overall volume, since January I have averaged 25.5h per week in total training (~12h on the bike, 90k running, just over 20k in the pool and ~2h in the gym every week). Being able to focus on recovery between the sessions as well as being really diligent when it comes to fueling are probably additional aspects that have played a big role in how the body has been able to respons to the training.

Cheers,
Rasmus

Thanks for sharing!

I got the impression last year that you had specific FTP targets etc. where you sort of back calculated. FTP of X would give Y watts in a 70.3. Have you set up similar targets for 2020 and could you share your thoughts (and your coach) on this.

Also it would be intersting to hear if you had any specific competition goal in 2020 (before Covid-19 hit). Did you focus on qualifying for Kona or do you consider this as another year of moving a step ahead with goal to do Kona 2021?

Finally, once you would be ready to qualify for Kona - how would you change your training to prepare? As the heat makes the speeds in the running go down quite significantly.

Best regards,
Anders

No problem!

Yes it is correct that I attempted to base my race pacing on FTP last year and that I from those algorithms calculated what my FTP "needed to be" in order to push x watts in a 70.3 or an IM and used that as a target. Last season (when I was self coached) I had a very pronounced "reversed periodized" approach to training, mainly because I didn't have time to do plenty of volume as I was still studying at this time. So during winter and early spring I focused very much on high intensity training, which brought me up to a decent level of fitness (had a FTP between 370-380w at that time), and this was also reflected in my best race performance during 2019 at IM70.3 Marbella where I finished 6th with a good bike and a strong 1h13mins half marathon. Following Marbella 70.3 I lost very much of my fitness due to several upper respiratory tract infections, and I never managed to regain the fitness I had in the spring during the 2019 season (maybe the type of fitness I had build up from very much high intensity training was fairly "vulnerable"?). David also seems to base some of the race pacing on FTP and at first we targeted a FTP of around 400w as this would probably mean that I could have a competitive bike. This we managed to reach quite quickly after having focused strongly on lowering my VlaMax and as of now, my threshold is probably in the 410w range segment. Critical power is for sure important for IM performance but it is probably not the whole truth. David has also worked plenty on my neuromuscular "resilience" by doing cadence work as well as long endurance rides on the trainer.

I planned on racing IM70.3 Oceanside, IM St. George, IM70.3 Kraichgau and IM Frankfurt before the Corona pandemic hit us all. As I was steadily making better and better progress in training, qualifying for Kona did seem more and more like a fairly realistic (but of course still extremely tough) goal and I wouldn't for sure have declined the possibility to race there. :-) I had an enormously positive experience racing Kona as an age grouper and I have been longing for to come back there ever since.

This I have not actually given any thought yet (still 100 % focused on qualifying ;-)), maybe David has a better answer? I will trust him either way... What I did do before racing Kona 2018 was to travel there well in advance to get well acclimatized and this is probably a big factor to why I managed to perform so well there despite being my first time. I will definitely have the same strategy in regards to this for next time I race there.

Thanks Anders for raising the thread,
Rasmus

Dear Anders,

With any pro I have worked with or do work with the "success premise" is 'What does it take to win a race?'. From that basic premise we can work back and see the developmental needs and the lifecycle of bridging that gap. With this over-arching process goal in mind typically everything flows out from there with time (podium, win, KQ etc.....).

Regards,

David

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David T-D
http://www.tilburydavis.com

I really hope she does well. She's a bit of a local hero.

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Long Chile was a silly place.

Here is a video from the solo IM race last Sunday. :-)

https://www.youtube.com/...amp;feature=youtu.be

What you did solo is incredibly impressive.

Just wanted to chime in and say how inspirational that video was! Your "finish-line" cheer was epic!

And I'm very jealous of that lake you swam in too.

Big thank you guys! :-) :-)

I have the same bike and watch, so I obviously had to subscribe. That is where the similarities end. I have to make sure I finish before the watch runs out of battery, a bit below 10 hours. You had some time to spare for that ;)

That's awesome! Jumping the fence as part of transition from swim to bike is fantastic!!

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Blog: http://262toboylstonstreet.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/NateThomasTri
Coaching: https://bybtricoaching.com/ - accepting athletes for 2023

I almost forgot about that part! I say my favourite part was still his raw reaction at the end... a very random finish line location with the best celebration ever!

Thanks for the response Rasmus!

Saw you had a great performance in the open water swim yesterday. My understanding is that the swimmers in the competition are of very high level (e.g., better than front pack in a regular IM swim), hope the good swim continues and you can hang on the a front or second pack depending on level of competition in a major IM. With your bike and an improving run you will be able to contend!

I havent scrolled through this thread, but will say Sam Long. He's already won some races but IMO is still an up and coming athlete.

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Inside The Big Ring: Podcast & Coaching

Bumping this thread with some, as always, pretty impressive numbers on training. Lets hope we get to see Rasmus race in the next few months to see if he can deliver the numbers in competition!

https://www.strava.com/athletes/41096774


Yesterday he did the following:
- 1500 m TT LC at 19.10
- 88k at the Windy island of Fuerteventura with an average power of 363W
- 7k run off the bike at 3.20/k pace

If he can pull together a good swim coupled with an expected awesome bike and keeping it together on the run he should make a big move this season!

Hey,

Thanks again for your interest. Yesterday was a bit of a test session before Dubai 70.3, which I am targeting as my next race (on March 12). Got a good "status check", a big pb on the swim, a really solid bike and a decent run. Yesterday, it would have been difficult to hold the same pace for an additional 14k on the run though, so that will be the final piece of the puzzle that I must solve until Dubai. :-) I am incredibly hungry to race, even though it "only" is a half distance race (have been focusing almost exclusively on full distance racing in my training during the build up to this season as that is my main goal). But it seems like it's not too difficult to add some speed when you got a solid endurance base! :-)

My goal/target for Dubai is to be able to pull off the following splits (assuming correctly measured distances):
Swim: sub 24mins.
Bike: 360w avg (should be fairly fast...)
Run: 1:10 (1:12 = "pass")

Thanks Rasmus,

It is definately interesting to follow you as you both share all your data and also train harder than most! If you can reach the times and watts you are targeting you should be at the podium - lets hope you get there first and then can execute!

Will you race 70.3 WC in St. George if you qualify?

Best regards,
Anders

Thanks Anders! I'm really happy to hear you enjoy my approach. Athletes who have been very transparent and passionate have inspired me a lot and hence, I would like to act in a similar way. :-)

To be honest, I have not given 70.3 WC in St. George much thoughts. My main goal is to qualify for Kona, and if I get there I will have that race as my number one priority. My true passion is long distance and the IMWC, and basically all focus is directed towards that. :-)

After Dubai, I hope to be able to head over to the states for IMTX and subsequently IM Tulsa.


All the best!
Rasmus

Bumping the thread as Rasmus performance at IM Austria where the had almost 350w NP bike followed up by a 2.45 marathon.

With the power produced and his decent swim he should be able to get out of the water with Cam Wurf and hold the wheel (depending on the surges from Cam). Will be interesting to see a race where Rasmus has a partner to share the pulling with.

Monster race by Laura Phillip yesterday in : 8.35, including a 2.44 well measured marathon. This girl is definitely a threat to LCB, Haug and Ryf...in fact, if Lucy is racing I predict LCB, Haug and Philip for podium, not in that specific order...nobody even close (see how Daniella unfolds in the coming months and Kate Mathews is another piece in the puzzle)...

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Spaniard. Sorry for my english for the sensitive ones :P

Thank you, I had by far the best IM performance to date and is super happy with the performance. Also, have never emptied myself in a race as much as I did yesterday. Really left it all out there on the course.

I’m also excited to get to race with a few other strong riders and see what we can achieve together. However, I would like to say that Arnaud Guilloux definitely should be considered as one of the strongest riders on the circuit. He rode insanely strong yesterday and in Lake Placid as well.

I’m hoping to close my season with IM California in October, rumour is that it will be a very strong start field there… But first, some very well needed days of recovery! 😅

The guy who won Norseman this year, Jon Sæverås Breivold could be one to watch. His win in brutal conditions has been described by serial winner and Ironman pro Allan Hovda as "the best Norseman performance ever".

He's a recent ish convert from pro cycling, and was extremely strong there, his run was also very impressive. Think he was 10-15mins down from the swim, which may be symbolic of issues there, but to win in the time he did in the conditions he did was seriously impressive.