Am I crazy planning to do Ironman with no plan or coach?

Triathlon Forum
1

I guess it’s not really fair to say I have no plan. I just don’t have a written plan, and the plan that I do have doesn’t really have specifics, it’s more generalities. And I haven’t gotten a coach, haven’t even seriously considered it either.

To be fair, my goal is only to finish within the time limit. I have no delusions of placing, even in my age group. And qualifying for Kona would be totally lost on me. This is just a bucket list, “one and done” thing I’ve always wanted to do.

So generally speaking, I’ve had days where I swam 1.5-2 miles. I’ve had one day in which I actually rode a full 112 miles. But I have yet to finish a full marathon distance run. Longest I’ve had since I started training was a 13.1 in December at the Indian Wells 70.3.

I’m signed up for IMAZ this November and I feel pretty confident I can at least complete it. I already know I’m not going to be competitive, but I believe I’m physically fit enough to finish. I believe my biggest challenge will simply be maintaining hydration and nutrition for the 15-17 hours it takes me to finish.

Am I delusional?

2

I really wouldn’t recommend running a full marathon distance in training anyway. Sounds like you’re doing fine IMO. Wouldn’t really recommend getting a coach as someone who is just trying to finish, only place it really makes sense would be for working on some swimming.

3

You’re not delusional. I think it was Dev who posted on another thread about just doing x number of hours of each sport. I’m sure he’ll jump in here and lay it out for you. You’ll be more than capable of finishing within the time limit.

4

No not delusional. Follow Dr. Alex Harrison’s guide about fueling. Practice it on a few long bricks maybe 3 hour bike and 2 hour run a few times.

If all you are looking to do is finish you could literally stop every half hour on the bike and make sure you have good fueling and get on your way again. Nothing fancy.

Your weekly mileage in biking and running is more important than your longest run etc. If you can bike a seven hour 112 miles = 16 miles an hour you have seven hours plus to “finish” the run. That’s like four miles an hour.

5

Just be consistent, do the swim distance a couple times before just to know in your head you can do it, and focus most all of your effort and time on the bike. Make sure you. have a comfortable fit and know what kind of pace you can do…

Forget about long runs and most run training really. You are not going to run in the race, just a fact of how it goes for most, and certainly those just looking to finish at cutoffs. What would be really helpful is to devise a strategy of a little running, then speed walking. That’s what you want to really practice, getting your walking pace down, and then see how many minutes you can run in-between and still keep going. Maybe like 2 minute jog, then 5 minute walk, something like that. It will seem the walking is too long at first, but go do that for 4+ hours one day and see how it works out towards the end. It is also a time to get in your nutrition without bouncing around, so practice with what you will be using in the race too…

There are pros that have used this strategy in the past, but running between aid stations, then walking the length of them, and then run again, so 26 blocs of walking and still doing around 3 hour marathons…Guessing you will be shooting for 6 to 7 hours, so just adjust the times you do each that you can do for that long…

Most of all, have fun while going after your goals…

6

You don’t need a coach and yes you can finish an Ironman without “a plan”.

For you,it is about spending a long day in the sun exercising while feeding yourself. It is actually very simple,you just need to get your body used to biking for 7-8 hours and run/walking for 6hrs while consuming enough calories to keep you going.

Don’t overthink it and don’t let people freak you out with complicated training plans.

7

I think anyone who does an Ironman is a bit crazy.

You might be super crazy if you plan it out. Winging it? Sounds pretty normal.

8

Yeah what Monty and Thailand Ultra said. Think about it if you ran 2 min at a ten min per mile pace alternating with 2 min per mile walking at 20 min per mile pace (slowish walking). You would string together 5 miles an hour which is faster than you need to go.

9

Just be consistent, do the swim distance a couple times before just to know in your head you can do it, and focus most all of your effort and time on the bike. Make sure you. have a comfortable fit and know what kind of pace you can do…

Forget about long runs and most run training really. You are not going to run in the race, just a fact of how it goes for most, and certainly those just looking to finish at cutoffs. What would be really helpful is to devise a strategy of a little running, then speed walking. That’s what you want to really practice, getting your walking pace down, and then see how many minutes you can run in-between and still keep going. Maybe like 2 minute jog, then 5 minute walk, something like that. It will seem the walking is too long at first, but go do that for 4+ hours one day and see how it works out towards the end. It is also a time to get in your nutrition without bouncing around, so practice with what you will be using in the race too…

There are pros that have used this strategy in the past, but running between aid stations, then walking the length of them, and then run again, so 26 blocs of walking and still doing around 3 hour marathons…Guessing you will be shooting for 6 to 7 hours, so just adjust the times you do each that you can do for that long…

Most of all, have fun while going after your goals…I’m pretty comfortable with the swim. I’ve never done the full 2.4 miles, but like I said, I actually swim 1.5-2 miles kind of regularly. I’m not fast, but I am pretty consistent. I believe I can hold about a 2:30/100m for the entire distance. If I’m right, that gives me a swim time of approximately 90 minutes. That’s a long time, but I can do that. And that, in theory, should get me through T1 and onto the bike by 9:30am.

Also like I said, I did the 112 mile bike ride earlier this year. I actually have a course mapped out around my town that very closely mimics the bike route for IMAZ, to include elevation. My target is to finish that ride in <7 hours, and that includes stopping at each turn around for about 5 minutes for hydration and nutrition. When I did the ride earlier this year, I finished it in about 6:45, and that was even with a couple of stops in excess of 15 minutes. Also, that was on my Shiv. I have discovered I can hold a faster pace longer on the P2 I picked up a couple months ago.

The “run” is the only thing that really scares me. I’m an awful runner now. Hips and knees are too old and crunchy. There was a time (25 or 30 years ago) when I could hold an 8:30/mile pace for a couple hours quite easily. Today, I’m lucky if I can maintain a 10:00/mile over a stand alone 5k. Add a run to the end of swimming and biking and my pace rapidly drops into the 15:00/mile range.

I will say this though. Prior to signing up for IMAZ, I took a drive down to Phoenix (it’s only about 300 miles from me) and rode one loop of the bike course and then ran 6.5 miles of the run course. So I at least have an idea of the course ahead of me. I do plan on a run-walk strategy, although I’m not really sure about my intervals right now. I think I’m going to mostly walk except for the down hill sections, in which case I’ll “run” (light jog pace) and just carry that momentum as far as I can.

10

Yes, you can do it without a highly structured plan. Make sure you have enough overall volume; the absolute minimum is doing the full race distance mileage as your weekly mileage in each sport (most folks will do well in excess of this, especially on the swim and bike). A standard test about four weeks out is a 100mi/10mile bike/run brick. Good luck!

11

Ya, I don’t know about that. I didn’t really think about it at the time, but I may have kind of screwed myself over with a November date. Certainly it’s far enough out. The problem is that there is no way I can train quite at that level this time of year. And by the time it begins to cool down enough to train at that level will be just about the time when I should be scaling back for my prerace recovery period.

Right now, whatever I do, aside from swimming, I need to be done by about 10am, 11am latest. It’s simply too hot otherwise, and then I’m not really training so much as battling dehydration. I’m planning on doing a BRICK tomorrow, but even that will only be about 30/4 miles because I need to be done by 10.

And it would seem mother nature has decided to be uncooperative with us this summer. After the last 7-8 summers being fairly mild by Nevada standards, we’re back into a more normal “oven of death” summer temperature range. And it doesn’t help that we’re getting a lot of smoke from the fires over in California too (thanks, y’all).

I’m hoping that this year the heat will be front loaded in the summer months and maybe September and October will be more mild. Any suggestions on what sacrifice I may offer to the triathlon gods?

12

Ya, I don’t know about that. I didn’t really think about it at the time, but I may have kind of screwed myself over with a November date. Certainly it’s far enough out. The problem is that there is no way I can train quite at that level this time of year. And by the time it begins to cool down enough to train at that level will be just about the time when I should be scaling back for my prerace recovery period.

Right now, whatever I do, aside from swimming, I need to be done by about 10am, 11am latest. It’s simply too hot otherwise, and then I’m not really training so much as battling dehydration. I’m planning on doing a BRICK tomorrow, but even that will only be about 30/4 miles because I need to be done by 10.

And it would seem mother nature has decided to be uncooperative with us this summer. After the last 7-8 summers being fairly mild by Nevada standards, we’re back into a more normal “oven of death” summer temperature range. And it doesn’t help that we’re getting a lot of smoke from the fires over in California too (thanks, y’all).

I’m hoping that this year the heat will be front loaded in the summer months and maybe September and October will be more mild. Any suggestions on what sacrifice I may offer to the triathlon gods?

You need to fill the Shiv bladder with whiskey and throw the bike in the nearest volcano (not sure if the one on the strip counts).

For the longer workout in the Vegas heat, you may want to do some indoor training. Ex. do the first 75mi outside and then zwift the final 25 before hopping on a treadmill. I’m sure other folks from the hot climes can provide pointers/alternatives. I’ve run in 108^F Vegas heat at 9:00PM, so I know how brutal it can be there.

13

Save the body by supplementing some runs with Aqua Jogging. Get an MP3 headset and a AJ belt such as THIS & as boring as it is…it will save a lot of pounding…do it right after your swim session. Save some laundry & time, and damage.

Reason I linked that belt is it has a coating & doesn’t get water logged so when you put it in your swim bag, doesn’t soak everything. I’ve had this for about 10 years & it’s been awesome. I’ve tried a half dozen brands out there too…this was the best one.

14

Ya, I don’t know about that. I didn’t really think about it at the time, but I may have kind of screwed myself over with a November date. Certainly it’s far enough out. The problem is that there is no way I can train quite at that level this time of year. And by the time it begins to cool down enough to train at that level will be just about the time when I should be scaling back for my prerace recovery period.

.
Easy solution…Train indoors.

15

The thing that you may be missing is the ‘race week/race day’ prep without a coach. Not saying you need to get a coach to get this, but as above then for a ‘finish in time and with a smile’ type goal that’s relatively straightforward if you put in the hours.

The bit that’s vital is to 1) understand that race day things will go pear shaped at some point, that’s normal, happens to everyone, and so you need to just get through that.
2) understand that the event is essentially an eating contest. With a bit of swim, bike and run around that.
3) You won’t gain or lose any fitness in the week before the race. You can however get to the start line knackered and tired if you let the stress/hype get to you. So set yourself a period of time to spend at expo/race village and then stay clear pre-race.
4) Between race registration and racking you will change your 15-17 hour goal to be sub 12. Goal inflation is very normal, very counter productive, and has run at a rate higher than any developing country for the past 20 years…
5) The most important thing of all is to be prepared for the Ironman blues after the race. You’ve had a massive year long goal. Your life has revolved around training, eating, washing sweaty kit and sleeping for the 4 months up to race and then with the physical impact post race you will get a period of blue/depression. Make sure you have a plan for that and a support network.

16

Ya, I don’t know about that. I didn’t really think about it at the time, but I may have kind of screwed myself over with a November date. Certainly it’s far enough out. The problem is that there is no way I can train quite at that level this time of year. And by the time it begins to cool down enough to train at that level will be just about the time when I should be scaling back for my prerace recovery period.

.
Easy solution…Train indoors.

This for sure

As well as salty meal at night with lots of water

Gets you hydrated for the next day

17

Its currently 45-50c where I live

I trained for 4 IM’s previously in a similar climate. I guess 95% of all my training was indoors in the spare room

18

Its currently 45-50c where I live

I trained for 4 IM’s previously in a similar climate. I guess 95% of all my training was indoors in the spare room

122???

Where do you live the ☀️

😬

19

The middle of a very warm country 😉

Unlike my last warm country I am three hours from the sea so whilst it hits >50 it’s only 8% humidity
.

20

This is why I’m a big fan of you. One of the best answers I’ve seen to a new triathlete in a long time.

OP, heed his advice!