As he acknowledges, this is a single data point and not everyone could pull out a sub 9hr performance on his training week.

Also, it seems like he doesn't swim very much except for a few "easy swims" on his sample schedule. Does he have a history as a swimmer that he could swim a 62min split on such little training?

people who really *train* for 12 hours a week consistently are a lot higher volume than your average IM finisher I bet.

like you log your actual times swimming/running/biking and it adds up to 12, you do that consistently you will get pretty good.

if you log the time between leaving for the pool or leaving for your bike ride and forget to delete all the stopping and coffee and talking in the lanes...well then 12 hours is no good =)

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

Thanks for the link. I think your question about previous volume is really valid -- I get away with lots of minimal training but have years of volume behind me. Also, I am assuming his body composition is pretty solid as well...excess weight of any form (fat or muscle) can hold you back from a sub-10 performance, much less a sub-9. Interested to see if we get any further information here....

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Patrick McCrann
Endurance Nation Camps

Some people are genetically gifted. I don't know how much he weighs but his ~1hr power is in Cat 1/domestic pro cyclist range and higher than a lot of Pro triathletes.

I'm also guessing, as another poster alluded too, he has a swimming background. Swimming is definitely the biggest time suck for most triathletes. One Swim a week makes it fairly easy to hit 12 solid hours of training per week.

That's is not taking anything away from his accomplishments. He's a monster and could probably be pro (probably already qualified but didn't take the card) if he wanted to quit his high paying job at his own company and live in the back of a van. I'm not guessing that is a viable option though. ;)

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Heath Dotson
HD Coaching:Website |Twitter: 140 Characters or Less|Facebook:Follow us on Facebook

my thoughts were "hell yes! This looks great" then "either he's a freak of nature or he had a youth rife of training in all3sports." I didnt start to swim until I was 38 and I weigh over 200lbs so 12 hours a week, a great coach and software program, and a 12k$ bike aint going to get me sub 9." but well done to him for smartly using what he has to his advantage

Yeah the way people log training hours is highly variable. Sami seems to be on the low side, but he is still at 13-14 hours per week and it seems like very little swimming, so quite a bit of cycling and running. Plus he says that he was 1-2 hours down from the previous year so he has a pretty strong background.

Most guys that 'log" 20 hours per week likely he that very seldom. I wouldn't be surprised if Sami and the his peers at the front aren't very much different in training volume in reality.

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Styrrell

I think the only things we can draw from are:

1. Training should be individualized - based on background, etc. That methodology works great for him.

2. He's very, very talented, and it's pretty much impossible to say what he's capable of if he followed more conventional methods. If he previously trained higher volume, and now backed off this season - you can't discount all the work he's already put in. If this is the most volume or most consistent training he had, it's impossible to say that training more wouldn't help him go even faster (assuming he built up gradually to it).

Basically it sounds like he nailed his training this season. Sometimes finding the right ratio of volume and intensity works out like that. Improving performance from there though is the tricky part.

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___________________
Twitter | Kancman | Blog

Love this:

"Age group world champion runner up at Ironman World Championships (Hawaii) with a sub 9hr finish time"

In other words, came in 2nd.

I know that many here and elsewhere will be mystified by this - they' say the guys is incredibly gifted and talented and all that. We don't know what his back-ground is, but his name sounds Scandinavian, so I am guessing from a young age he was active and involved with some form of endurance sports training or activity.

Given a decent base of training( a number of years), I would agree with his philosophy and his training. N=1 In fact, I came close to breaking 9 hrs at IM myself on about the same amount of training 10 - 12 hrs week average through the key training season. Many will scoff at this and say, "impossible" - but I think that many people are not really tuned in or realize what the training is really like. As Jack says, that's 10 - 12 hrs of real training. There are no coffee stops on those hard and fast 100K rides! 3 hours, bang, and you are done!

It's also an adoption and an embracing of the training - it's something that you want to do and you make a priority, every day, week in week out, year round for years. Also, there is no "off-season" - the success of summer is built in the winter!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I agree with most everything you've said, but especially the part in bold. The consistency every day of the year is key!

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"One Line Robert"

Some of it sounds good, but by the time I got halfway through, it reads like an internet get rich scam.

also I think any "I went this fast on this odd training regime" should be prefaced with some data on how fast they are untrained. You know, me, if I get off the couch prior to any training I run a 30 minute 5k

the guys I know that are faster than me, their untrained 5k is like 18 minutes

guys who do endurance running in the olmypics often have stories of running the mile in grade school and "oh I did it under 5 minutes? is that good?"

hehe

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

The Kona runner-ups were Pete Jacobs and Mirinda Carfrae.

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The Triathlon Squad

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how many hours do they do, and how vegan are they?

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

Thanks for the clarification....

Age Group runner up.

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https://twitter.com/mungub

That's as impressive as "practice squad QB."

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The Triathlon Squad

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I dont doubt that it can be done on 12 hours a week, but like you said he has to come from an endurance background. I would love to know if he previously tried the high volume weeks, or if this is the most volume he has put in.

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https://twitter.com/mungub

Clarifying that he was an age grouper, valid point. That said, would it kill you to say the guy had a good season and Kona performance? Yes, he was an age grouper and not a pro. But, that list of results is consistently solid, regardless of his training hour/style/philosophy . . .

Pretty much every pro I've coached throughout the years would have been dominating his/her age-group on very little training. So forgive me if I am not impressed whenever a top age-grouper comes up and shares the secret to his/her success.

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The Triathlon Squad

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It's still impressive to achieve those results while balancing life and work. Looks like that "practice team QB" came within 10 minutes of an athlete that trains full time on THE triathlon squad... How is that not impressive?

**I'm a big fan of that athlete, and am impressed by his performance as well.

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https://twitter.com/mungub

That's as impressive as "practice squad QB."[/quote]
OUCH!!

You seem not to be familiar with the differences between age-group racing and pro racing. Very simply put, it's not the same race.

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The Triathlon Squad

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But he was still only ten minutes off.

The larger question is, could you make him faster?

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"One Line Robert"

Jealous much.