I read some coaches recommend the 5:1 ratio of bike to run for IM Training. So in a typical peak/build week of IM training I would be looking at 15 hrs bike, 3 hrs run, and 3 hrs swim. Does this seem like hardly enough run volume for the IM? This would get me around 25-28 miles/wk.
I’m currently doing that, but it’s not by choice… I have some injuries that prevent more than about 3-4 hrs of running.
But that’s beside the point… anytime anyone makes a blanket statement like that I immediately tune them out. What a coach should recommend his highly individual and dependent on what the athlete needs, not what the coach needs to perpetuate tired narratives and publish bullshit articles.
But as a thought experiment… assuming you’re a good swimmer where 3hrs is maintenance:
Swim 1hr MWF
Run :45 MW, Run 1:30 F
Bike 3hrs T, Th and Su
Bike 6hrs Sa
total, 15hrs bike, 3hrs run, 3hrs swim. My opinion, not nearly enough run frequency to get the job done. Maybe 4x30min and 1x1hr would be better.
It all depends on the runner.
Things like previous running fitness, injury, etc will all factor in.
Depends on your strengths, but no, I would say that is not a good number. And 21 hours per week is a lot!!
Ratio should be more like 3:2:1.
9 bike, 6 run, 3 swim. If you have extra time, then more swimming. Yes, more swimming will not make you go from 1 hour IM swim to 30 min, but it will make the whole day a lot easier if you are more effecient coming out of the water rather than wasted. And it doesn’t hurt the body like cycling and running.
I agree it depends on the athlete. If you have a strong biker with years of a strong bike base you won’t have them doing mostly biking vs the run. I usually run 6x per week. I think the sweat spot run mileage wise is 35miles. After a certain amount of run mileage, the running affects your power and bike training. But 3 hrs of running is not enough…maybe 18 weeks out but I would up the run time to 4-5 hrs 8 weeks out.
I read some coaches recommend the 5:1 ratio of bike to run for IM Training. So in a typical peak/build week of IM training I would be looking at 15 hrs bike, 3 hrs run, and 3 hrs swim. Does this seem like hardly enough run volume for the IM? This would get me around 25-28 miles/wk.
I suspect that there are swimmers that can be ready on 1-2 hours swimming per week. I’m not a great swimmer but I know I could do 2.4 mi in a wetsuit, tomorrow, on 2-3x masters per week, so that’s like ~2 hours total time. As a matter or fact, I am supposed to swim in the ocean tomorrow with a friend and I doubt she’ll want to swim less than 1.5/2 mi.
I’m sure there are runners that could get by fine on 25/week. Not me.
I read an article by Matt Fitzgerald on Training Peaks that really pushes bike focus. He didn’t state a ratio but he said run long, not often and focus on the bike.
Depends on your strengths, but no, I would say that is not a good number. And 21 hours per week is a lot!!
Ratio should be more like 3:2:1.
9 bike, 6 run, 3 swim. If you have extra time, then more swimming. Yes, more swimming will not make you go from 1 hour IM swim to 30 min, but it will make the whole day a lot easier if you are more effecient coming out of the water rather than wasted. And it doesn’t hurt the body like cycling and running.
I like the sound of this. I could do a lot with 9 hours bike.
9 hours bike = 1 hour easy Tuesday, 1 hour hard intervals Wednesday, 1 hour easy Thursday, 5 hours long ride Saturday, 1 hour hard-ish with long run right after on Sunday.
Think the ratio was in regards to mileage, not hours… 40mpw of running and 200 mpw of riding seems reasonable in an im training plan.
That may or may not be right for you though. Totally depends on your history and your abilities.
Never heard about that before but that is EXACTLY what I try to shoot for during a successful week. My magic numbers are 200mi on the bike and 40mi on the run. It has worked well so far.
I think the 5:1 ratio commonly referred to is for miles, not time. Like 200 miles biking, 40 running. More like 2:1 for time. Peter
I’ve heard a few coaches go with 50 % bike… 25 and 25% for run/swim.
It would depend on your strengths though
Think the ratio was in regards to mileage, not hours… 40mpw of running and 200 mpw of riding seems reasonable in an im training plan.
That may or may not be right for you though. Totally depends on your history and your abilities.
LOL, yeah, that would make more sense!!
I’m doing IMAZ, which will be my first full. This is what I am doing currently except my long bike is about 2.5 hrs and my long run is 1:15 Will build up to 5hs on the Sat bike and 3hrs on the Sun run.
Masters M, W, F plus 45-60 min run
T,TH - commute to work on road bike 26mi each way - biked hard. Works out to just under 3hrs total
Sat 3-5 hour bike on my Tri bike
OWS 1-3 mi S or Su or both
Sun long run 1.5-3.0hrs
That’s definitely a mileage ratio; and like others have posted, so much is dependent on your personal situation (strengths, history, injuries, etc.). Some simple math of the actual IM event gives you an idea of where this comes from: 112/26.2 = about 4.3. Since you have to finish the bike strong and then start your marathon, doesn’t hurt to have a little bit of extra strength and endurance so you are not shot at the end of the bike.
Who are those “some coaches”
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As a starting point 5:3:2 as bike run swim is a classic. From there it really depends on individual strength and weakness. Work on your weaknesses, and stop worrying about specifics of training ratios.
Train smart buddy.
Miles not time makes a lot more sense. Seems close to what my training has been like over the years.
I believe you should swim/bike/run similar amounts. Biking may end up being a bit more than the other two but 15/3/3 in my humble opinion is just all wrong.
I believe you should swim/bike/run similar amounts. Biking may end up being a bit more than the other two but 15/3/3 in my humble opinion is just all wrong.
Does anybody who is not:
A Pro
Dev
A Kona regular or wannabe
really train 21 hours a week, regularly??
Agree with whomever determined the 5:1 bike/run ratio is likely mileage, not time.
That’s roughly what I ended up doing, during build segments anyway.
Shoulder- or off-season, I typically end up doing more like 2:1 or even 1:1 bike/run. I just don’t bike a whole lotta volume during that time, and most years I run quite a bit from Dec-Apr, since riding lots of volume then just ain’t happening.
YMMV.