Tibbs,

Is there a team in training chapter around you? They can help you with your training schedule and more importantly you will have a group to train with on the weekends and help hold you accountable. And more importantly, it's for a great cause.

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http://timeoutdoors.blogspot.com/
Photo Blog - App Trail Thru Hike March - Sept 2009

Tibbs-

Don't listen to volleycs. You don't need Team in Training. All you need is TSR and Slowtwitch. We got your back.

BTW, my key brick pre-half is 44m bike/18m run. Those are just convenient distances for me, but overdistance running is very important. Usually do it for six weeks, alternating weeks (three times total) leading up to race, with the last brick two weeks out. After that pick up the speed (I like mile repeats on dirt).

Whatever you do, don't forsake TSR.

i think during the build phase you want to be riding three times a week with a recovery ride, a 90 spin with intervals increasing from 30 min to 45 min in total and from 3 mins in duration to 10 min in duration going from AeT + 5 to AeT + 10 and a long ride alternating from 3 hours to 4 hours. long runs are 1.5 hours on the 4 hour long ride weeks and 2.0 hours on the 3 hour long ride weeks. additionally add a transition run (post long ride) starting at 30 minutes and going to 60 minutes. thus your biggest weekend is 1.5 hour run, 4 hour ride, 1 hour transition run (run at race tempo). the final build week i throw in a race sim 56 mile ride / 6 mile run. one brick a week. that's all you need in my opinion. a.m. splits are good as well.

once your tempo transition runs get over 60 minutes they hinder your recovery. my over distance rides are 75 miles in length.

i would not worry about planning your taper until after build 1. see where you are at and design accordingly. i use gordo's tapering formula and my peaks have been pretty strong.

if you don't have a long history of training and you do "lots of hours for 8 months" you might have a tough time sustaining high intensity for 8 months + 12 weeks of training at intensity + a taper/peak. 6 months of total training to your peak with an additional month of pre-season seems to be optimal for me.

half ironman training? it sucks. too long to be digestible. too fast to be comfortable. the worst race to train for, IMO.

Depending on your level of self-discipline you could try some online/written, coaching plans as opposed to local coaches or TNT. (I believe in the value of a good coach to assist in planning and program development) I used a plan from Multisports for my first half and it worked very well for me. I think overall it was an 8 week program. If it is your first attempt at a longer distance they require a large level of commitment but is completely "do-able" even with a full time job and family commitments. The most important aspect for the longer distances is nutrition, practice, practice, practice. poor nutrition can really kill a workout or race.

8 months preparation prior to a 12 week "training" program is a long time to remain focused. Try not to take the 8 prior months too hard work on how you body responds to nutrition.

The 8 week program I used had long runs and rides on the weekends: Weekly Sat Bricks for the full 8 weeks with longest ride week 3 of build phase 4.5-5.5 hrs followed by 40-50 min tRun @ HR lvls 1-2. Sun long runs up to 2.25 hrs in week 3 of build phase. I have heard mixed recommendations on the "killer" weekend programs but they are workable. Read "Going Long" the book contained tons of useful information about planning, nutrition and training. Most work during the weekdays was close to the 1-1.5 hr duration with key Swims on Wednesdays.

Taper was 2 weeks duration and "recommended" keeping HR in 1-2.

Hope this was useful.

You could at least spell training correctly in the title of your post. You are getting worse and worse. A strong half begins with care and discipline.

I'll start at the end of your question. Don't worry about the taper for now. Just do "lots of hours for 8 months," then you'll be ready for a 12 week program that includes taper, and you'll be well prepared for a 1/2.

From a MOPer, I think long rides that reach 50-60 miles (3-4 hours) and long runs that are around 11-14 miles are plenty for a strong half. Of course you have to define strong. If strong is under 5, then I'm way short. But if strong is under 6 or 7, then, what I say will work. Remember, there are some studs and . . . well, fast females . . . on this forum and they'll intimidate you with the miles they log.

Most important. Ramp up your hours slowly. Be patient or you will be injured (unless you are 20 years old).

hh

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It doesn't really matter what Phil is saying, the music of his voice is the appropriate soundtrack for a bicycle race. HTupolev

Mr. Tibbs,

Having failed to do well at halfs I feel I am uniquely qualified to address your question. Personally I've never done the over training. I feel this is/was my biggest mistake. I'm planning on topping out at 75 mile rides and 15 mile runs for my next one. The other area I plan doing more training is nutrition. By that I mean eating what I think my pre race meal is, waiting until the start (2 hours) then doing the training with the same fluids, gels etc I plan on using.

John

Team 3rd hand racing still

Francois is really wild about the 6h-2h brick, so I recommend several of those.

Actually, depending on where you are starting from, I think this might be a very difficult question to answer. Just to give you some perspective, I was pretty dormant for a few years, got up to 230 lbs, and had zero muscle tone. It took a couple years just to get the weight down and the muscle back, and another couple years to build my endurance to the point where I think I am ready for a strong 1/2 - though my definition of "strong" may be different from yours.

Maybe SAC or Francois can help you out a bit...

I wonder how TriOprah preps for her A races?

yes, I recommend at least 3 x 6h-2h bricks per week for 20 weeks.
That's a minimum for a half Ironman.
and no messin' around Tibbs, it's 25mph on the bike and 6'/mi for the run, or faster.
Also, to lose body fat, I recommend to do the bike ride before breakfast, just on water.

;-)

LOL.

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kiwipat

per ardua ad astra

If you have 8 months of built work on your legs, 12 weeks seems quite enough. I was injured for 4 months (without ANY training), then did a HIM with only 8 weeks of preparation and finished quite strong with a time of 4:31 and feeling I could been faster if I had taken the risk. The longest run I did was 1:30 at a steady pace (80% of VO2max). Also did some tempo runs of 1h15 and 1h20. As for bricks, did twice 2hr bike with some anaerobic effort plus 35' of running at race pace, and once 3 hr bike with tough hills effort and again 35' of running at race pace.

G'd luck

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Tibbs,

I hate to sound like a wet blanket, but a few days ago you posted about suffering from major shin splint pain. I think you are succumbing to a classic triathlete phenomenon: in the off season our eyes get bigger than our abilities. That's why all the new bikes come out this time of year. :-)

When you can run 13 miles in a row and you're still able to function for the rest of the day, that'll be the time to consider a half-IM. In the meantime, have you followed everyone's advice on your other thread and gone to a doctor to determine whether you have a stress fracture? Knowing that is the first step in developing the rest of your training program.

Don't let the forum feed your addictions beyond your abilities.

Lee

yeah, lsilverman is right...DO an Ironman! ;-)

This information is directly from questions I asked and answered by Joe Friel, Rich Strauss, and I think Gordo.

For a 1/2 IM these are your long workouts, do as many of these as you can:
Swim: 2k-2.5k continuous swim
Bike: 65 miles or 4.5 hours - 6 hours
Run: 2 hours - 2.5 hours
Brick: 3.5 hours

Note: long bike time/miles above does not exactly match b/c the answers came from multiple people.

Directly from Friel, I can't remember if I got this from his writings or direct from him:
Long Bike: 3.5 hrs
Med Bike: 2 hrs
Short Bike: 1 hr

Long Run: 2 hrs
Med Run: 1.5 hrs
Short Run: 0.75 hrs

the fastest HIM guys train for Olympic distance races.
so, it may be a better thing to copy the short course (non drafting) guys training.

8 months base + 3 months build is a lot of training. Many people new to long distance will not survive without injury and/or burnout and/or divorce.

I like 3 months LSD focusing on over distance then 2 months were the distances come down a little and the pace comes up. The more experienced the athlete, the bigger the change between base and build. For the first couple of years of doing 1/2 IM the base and build are very similar.

Training plans are important. But the most important thing is consistency. Regardless of volume and intensity - if you swim, cycle and run regularly you will be able to finish a Half Ironman.

The most important thing for you personally is to have a long base period to lose weight and get your body accustomed to the demands of long distance. So instead of running go for long distance hikes for a few months – lose weight and strengthen your leg muscles without all the impact. Then introduce 30 minutes running and do it frequently for few more months. Increase it slowly. You had shin splints, so being again on your couch is not a good idea.

Swimming is just your race warm-up – being fast only translates to 10s of minutes – insignificant for completing a Half Ironman. Work on technique only for the next 6 months. In my first Half I managed to find a “sweet spot” - I was not fast, but I felt like I was gliding through the water very gracefully. When I came out of the water I was ready to start racing. 2 years before when I did my first Tri ever –I felt exhausted after only 750m lake swim.

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Your training seems amazing... Runs at 80% of VO2Max... bricks with anaerobic stuff... your coach must be a really jerk... or maybe you don't know what the hell are you talking about! ;-)

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"Yeah, no one likes a smartass, but we all like stars" - Thom Yorke


smartasscoach.tri-oeiras.com

Well, I try... it's tough being here in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean between the Azores and the coast of Maryland ;-)

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"Yeah, no one likes a smartass, but we all like stars" - Thom Yorke


smartasscoach.tri-oeiras.com

BTW, I read your post before you deleted it...

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"Yeah, no one likes a smartass, but we all like stars" - Thom Yorke


smartasscoach.tri-oeiras.com

no question about he being a jerk...

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Tibbs,

Generic advice from a generic question isn't worth much. What is "lots of training"? What is a "strong" half? I think most of the posters programs are too aggressive - esp. if you are relatively new to training/racing. I'm not that fast but I think I can finish a half "strong". My first half last year was about 5:13 - last one this year about 4:50. If you have a decent base - 12 weeks is a ton of time to train for a half.

I focus on half's - did 2 last year and 3 this year. Most of the year I average about 9 hrs/week. Longest bikes 50 miles. Longest runs about 8 miles. I do a 40 mile bike-8 mile run race pace brick 2-3 weeks out to sort things out. I do little to no "speed" training. I do not think you necessarily need to do the bigger rides/runs - I think consistency beats all - and avoiding injury (obviously important for consistency). Be patient - and let your development progress slowly. Push too hard and you will burn out/get injured/frustrated.....once you can comfortably finish a half - then you can fine tune training.

Best way to train for a half - train for a full....

Best way to train for an oly - train for a half...

Dave