The key to riding an IM fast and getting off without being shelled is to ride at the intensity you expect to ride at for your IM. I get emails all the time from people who are asking why their bike times and run splits were the same.

If you do all your training rides at 17mph then race the IM at 20 your asking for a disaster on the run.

Specificity.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Don't be afraid to throw in some sprints, olys, and or half IMs every now and then to complement your intensity work. For me, this is an easier way to get in the speedwork without it feeling much like an actual training session.

-matt

Depends totally on your time available to train. The more time you have per week to train, the better you will do with long, slow training. If you have 10 hours or less, you'd better be going pretty hard from the moment you get warmed up until you begin your cool-down. The biggest problem with having little time to train and then doing the BIG distance is pacing and experience. You really need to do enough long rides (75 miles plus) SUCCESSFULLY in conditions similar to your race, in order to truly know what effort level you can sustain and still be able to run a marathon. In fact, a couple of non-successful long rides may teach you what you need to know...which is: the ride is just a warm-up for a long, long run, and you really can't hide if you screw it up. No amount of "toughing it out" matters when you have no energy, no way of digesting the gut-bomb sitting in your stomach, and 13 miles to go on the marathon. The IM is a different beast, that's for certain. Hope you have a good one!

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Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)

First a qualifier: I am neither a professional nor a coach. The following is strictly my opinion based on personal experience and advice from successful IM athletes.

I competed in my first season of tri's this past year, including 2 sprints, 2 olympics, and Ironman Florida. I toyed with intensity (intervals, etc.) ONLY during the very early part of the season during the sprints (early to mid summer). I had already built a significant base period on which to add speedwork at this point. After the sprints I began my IM beginners program (Gale Bernhardts "13 week to a sub-13 hour IM") and raced the oly's as part of my training. After I began specific IM training, I did EVERY WORKOUT below lactate threshold / tempo pace AS DIRECTED. Unless you are an experienced triathlete with a huge base and are comfortable with long endurance events (adventure racing, century rides, ultramarathons) I would stick to aerobic training exclusively. Zones 1, 2 and 3. These are the zones that you will be racing in during the IM, and maximizing your efficiency and depth of aerobic base can only bring good results.

As I said, EVERY WORKOUT that I did between August and IMFL was aerobic, and I had a very successful first-time Ironman experience with a better than expected 11:15 finish.

I would also suggest that your focus be on Quality, not necessarily Intensity. Form, efficiency and economy are the keys to improvement, not just going hard.

Check out Gordo's website for training tips, nutritional advice, etc. Most of my information came directly from him. www.gordoworld.com

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The devil made me do it the first time, second time I done it on my own - W

No. The key to run fast is to build up your endurance with long slow trainingrides and good quality work right below or at your LT (still aerobic). The first is slower than your IM race pace and the latter is faster than your race pace. Forget all the thing in middle.

I avg. 10h training each week this year with training like that and did a 9.29 IM Hawaii race after a 3.17 run.