I suggest to get a coach like from tripower.org or go with one of the 3 IM 8020 plans.

Do you need someone to report to or can you stay disciplined and do the workouts by yourself?

Thanks, I can stay disciplined...that has never been a problem.

You can buy the 8020 book for about $15 and get all the plans from there. Their website has garmin fit files to put on your watch/computer if you want them.

You can buy the plan on training peaks and it'll put them in order for as many weeks as the plan is, and then you can re-use it whenever you want.

You can also just wing it and do the workouts as they come each day.

I'm sure someone else will suggest many of the other good plans available as well.

I am starting my second year of 80/20 and really felt that it suited me well as it was just hard enough that I could recover and build but not so hard that I dreaded any workouts. In the past I've done trainer road which I think is awesome for building bike power but so hard to continue during IM season as recovery becomes such an issue for me (age 48).

I just did IMFL so I didn't have a huge drop in fitness so I jumped into the maintenance 80/20 3-4 weeks after IM which will transition into IM/HIM hybrid plan in Feb (for Chat/Florida). FYI, the maintenance plan is not meant to build up bike FTP (per a prior email exchange with David Warden) so if you are looking for that in the offseason, do something else for 13 weeks then jump into the IM plan. One other thing, I think people might think the 80% easy part is too easy but personally I felt the 80% part hit a nice balance allowing me to build IM duration/intensity while keeping me from overdoing it and having to spend time healing/recovering. The 20% stays Mostly in zone 3 and 4 type stuff which was good for me as I'm always worried about injuring myself. It took me forever to internalize that consistency in training rather than a super high FTP is my best weapon on race day and the plans allow me to do this. I hit approximately 85-87% of the planned workouts (missed ones were mainly d/t COVID - swimming)

Objective improvement:
Swimming: I didn't do their swims unless I needed some structure. Otherwise I swam 3/week.
Bike FTP didn't improve a whole lot during the 24 weeks (from about 265-275 at 72kg, 5'9") but the consistency which led to a lack of injury really helped me improve in the run where I've been able to improve my z2 runs by about 25 sec (never ran all that much) over the past yr.

I am your same age. My background is a bit different, and I am still shooting for sub 11 hours. However, the principles are very similar.

I have done 29 Ironman races and I’ve never had a coach or any sort of formal training program. I’ve done it all myself. You really need to be very honest with yourself as to what you need. Do you need discipline, accountability, just a template, the science, or something else? You figure that out and then you determine which direction to go.

Of course, we need to stick together and keep it going strong :-). Please feel free to let me know if I can help you in anyway.

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David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

Thank you David. You have a very impressive triathlon history. I've dreamed of going to Kona when I started to the sport in 1987 but am just not fast enough....not to mention completing 29 IM's...also enjoyed your blog.

Thanks again for the advice!

I think you are off to a solid start, and really, if you are self-motivated and can make your life work around gradually increasing your training load over the next months, and you can train consistently, you are probably going to get to the finish line NOT on a stretcher.

I'm just under 60, and was late to the party as well, defin. not one of the "swim-club-kids" and have been doing all distance of tri, since 1990. 13 IMs and 1 (so far) ultra. I think there LOTS to be learned in those super long events.

Although most years, I am self-coached, getting training advice from my peers and folks from here, there are years that I also hire a coach. There is defin. something about having to be accountable to as well as doing more highly structured workouts. It's also nice to have someone to brag to when things are going well and to complain to ... when they are not. I don't want to bore my friends and family with tales of FTP and V02 max stuff.

Anyway, I also do coaching up here in Canada, if you think you could use some extra eyes, feel free to contract me.

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http://www.fitspeek.com the Fraser Valley's fitness, wellness, and endurance sports podcast

I’ll just throw in some reading and a story for you.

Two by Joe Friel
Fast after 50
Going Long - With Gordo Byrn

I think listening to your body and adjusting rather than simply going off a plan is also best. I’ll give you an example from the last 3 weeks. My program is basically 2 weeks on and 1 week recover/test. The 1 week is half the volume of the 2nd week of on. So if it’s 10 hours my one week off is 5 hours. What i didn’t account for this early into it was the last week of December. It felt easy because our son was home for the first part of the week. As soon as he left I went out for a 6 hour ride and then ran 90 minutes two days later. Well that put me in a hole and now at the end of my first two week block of 2021 I can feel fatigue in my body. Today and tomorrow will just be feel. If I get out there and I feel like dirt I’ll cut it off. If I get out there and feel good I’ll continue on. I know next week is the off but it’s also January so starting the off two days early seems smarter if that’s what my body is telling me.

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Dave Jewell
Free Run Speed

I’m similar to, although not as talented as David. I’ve done 15 IMs through the years. My best was 11:19. I’m 63 with bad knees and racing my final IM at Kona this year with David. (Vaccine willing!)

I’ve been mostly self coached as well (I had Peter Reid as a coach in 2007). At this point, here are my principles:

-I place heavy emphasis on the bike. I find I get the biggest benefit from this and I enjoy it the most (the later is super important to me, more important than being fast!)
-I “invert” my bike periodization: I go more shorter and harder up through May (building FTP) and then focus on endurance up through my target race. From May on, I ride 250-350 miles/week including one ride around 1/2 IM distance and the second I quickly build to 100+ miles. Once at 100+ plus, I keep trying to up my pace each long ride (about 75% successful) until I can go sub 5 hours for 100 with all training gear (helmet, wheels, tires, clothes, etc.)
-for swimming, I start seriously in Feb and mostly focus on frequency: ideally 4-5 times/week, but mostly less than 3000 yards...these are pool sessions. I flip to open water in May and generally, mostly focus on long continuous swims (with shorter interval sections to stay sharp). I shoot for 1-2 IM distance swims/week and will go as high as 6,000 yard swims. Again, I really enjoy long swims much more than pool sessions so what I sacrifice in speed I gain in enjoyment. I’m doing 10k+ yds/week over the summer.
-as for the run, my knee needs to be replaced soon, so I’ll mostly hike, run/walk, elliptical, eliptigo until about 4 months out and I try to build to 25mpw and a long run of 13-15 miles. It’s not ideal and my run sucks, but it’s all I can handle.

My basic approach from May on is long distances, mostly in high Z1 or low Z2. I’ll frequently have 5-10 hour days. By the time I get to the race, it’s pretty similar to the training I’ve been doing all summer!

It’s not ideal, but it works good enough and I really enjoy the exercise. I’m going to miss it when my knee gets done!

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Randy Christofferson(http://www.rcmioga.blogspot.com

Insert Doubt. Erase Hope. Crush Dreams.

With a goal to finish, there is no need to beat yourself up during the training to reach IM status again, especially at your age. Continue to work on a base for the next 25 weeks. Eight to ten hours a week, or 1-1 1/2 hours a day is sufficient. Mix the training up with various swim/bike/run workouts to keep the motivation going. Suggest you put in some weight training for muscle mass replacement that a normal 60-year-old body experiences. No speed need, only consistency and commitment. At 12 weeks out, around the 4th of July, enter a 2-3 week build cycle followed by a recovery week and continue upwards thru Labor Day Weekend that signifies peak distance. After Labor Day, enter a taper phase onward to race day where you will need to put in a full daylight effort of endurance. No need to boost speed unless you want to drop your IM PR. A little speed in late August into mid-Sept will help make the race pace feel more tolerable without stressing the 61-year-old body. That's optional. Your call. The Muncie course does not require extensive prep for hill climbing on either bike or run. There's a few rollers for those who train on level ground but for those who train with even mild hills, it's best described as a flat course. The swim is in a reservoir so no waves and clean. Definitely will be a wetsuit swim in early October. Temps will be cool to start but not be too hot or humid come midday to finish. May actually be a bit cool if wrapping up after the sunsets. I covered a lot of training miles in the area having grown up about 15 miles south of the park. Send me a PM if you are interested in a free, personalized 52 week set of workouts to help you prepare.

https://www.palmtreesahead.com/
https://www.palmtreesahead.com/coconut-workout-guide

Everyone is in a different situation and a training plan should, when possible, adapt to that.
Your special situation seems that you did not train regularly as a triathlete, you basically started in November from scratch and want to finish an Ironman this year which is already a challenge.
You wrote you dreamt of Kona but you think you're not fast enough for that. However, I think you never trained enough and regularly to be able to say you have talent or not.

Anyway, you finished an IM from scratch when you were 50 but do not forget you're 60 now and you're at the least not less injury-prone now.
So the most important point in a training plan is probably to not get injured during your road to your IM.

Wish you good luck! Can you swim? Where I live the pools are closed due to Corona.