How many miles do you put in per week on the bike in training for an IM? One of my friends is a top AGer and his goal is to hit 400 miles. He is currently in the mid 300’s. I just don’t know where I’d find that kind of time with a full time job, responsibilities, and other training for the run and swim. Just wondering. Thanks.
All depends on where you want to finish. I got by on 120-170 per week and finished @12:10.
Mine is 200-250, usually something like couple of ~30 milers, a 40-45 miler and then a long of 105-125. This weekend is a 125 and in 2 weeks I think I have been talked into doing a double century in B’ham, Ala. Still not sure if that is wise while preparing for IMF
I’m in your range. I’m training for my first IM, IMFL. By the start of the race, I will have done 6 century rides with a max distance of 115. I do 1-2 thirty milers per week plus the long one on the weekend. I do a century + every other week and on the off weeks I do a 50-70 miler then a thirty minute run brick session. I end up with about 130-170 mi weeks. Just trying to gauge if I’m way out of the ball park in my training or not. Thanks.
180 to 220 miles.
I did one 1,000 mile month this year.
jaretj
How many miles do you put in per week on the bike in training for an IM? One of my friends is a top AGer and his goal is to hit 400 miles. He is currently in the mid 300’s. I just don’t know where I’d find that kind of time with a full time job, responsibilities, and other training for the run and swim. Just wondering. Thanks.
Again, it comes down to what your intentions are. Do you just want to finish? Or do you want to try and finish in the top or your age group? You can certainly finish on 120/week, but if you want to finish strong, I think a minimum of 250/week is in order. I was putting in 300+/week 6 weeks out and went 10:10 at IMF in 03’ with a 4:53 bike split.
If you’re doing a century every other week now for IMFL, you’ll be fine.
I think I have been talked into doing a double century in B’ham, Ala. Still not sure if that is wise while preparing for IMF
It’s more than wise, it’s downright brilliant! Training like this can turn ordinary training into something special, you won’t regret it.
I just want to come across the line alive and in one piece.
I just finished my first IM this season and if anything, I learned that its all about the bike at this distance for us MOPs....the swim is a nice long warmup for the day and what you do on the bike (nutrition, pacing) with determine how fast your bike split is and how you set yourself up for the run.
I am now convinced there for most of us, there is no such thing as too many hours in the saddle (long runs, short run, interval workouts, hill workouts, bricks, etc). More is More, at least for the bike.
FWIW…I did 1 interval workout a week (1-1.5hours, followed by a short run, and one long ride on the weekend (most 60-80 miles, 3, 100-112 rides at the peak) and finished in 12:14. I wish I had more, but as you mention…life gets in the way. That is great that you top AG friends gets 400/week in, but for many of us, that is a pipe dream.
I think 120miles a week is a good things to shoot for…it all depends on how your training schedule is set up…
Good luck in IMFL!!!
I did 250-300km average before IM Austria. Biked 4.54, finished 9.26.
But…and this is important, 6 weeks prior I did a mini-epic camp of 4 days: 75km, 220km, 215km and 82km. 3km swimming and 5-10km running each of the 4 days to.
Also did 2 LT workouts (spinning bike) every darn week since 1. nov.
Good luck
I don’t know yet if this was “enough”, but I just totaled up my training over the last 44 weeks in preparation of ironman this weekend. I averaged 82 miles per week on the bike. The number in parentheses is the # of swims/bikes/runs, and the second number is yards/miles.
Totals: S: (114) 163,800 B: (112) 3605 R: (209) 1584 hours: 447
**Weekly averages: **
Swim: 2.6 swims, 3722 yds.
Bike: 2.5 rides, 82 miles
Run: 4.75 runs, 36 miles
hours/wk = 10
Can you label those weekly averages? I"m having a hard time following. Sorry, slow this morning.
I’m in your range. I’m training for my first IM, IMFL. By the start of the race, I will have done 6 century rides with a max distance of 115. I do 1-2 thirty milers per week plus the long one on the weekend. I do a century + every other week and on the off weeks I do a 50-70 miler then a thirty minute run brick session. I end up with about 130-170 mi weeks. Just trying to gauge if I’m way out of the ball park in my training or not. Thanks.
I think you are right where you want to be considering it is your first IM and you are out to have a good time, and finish in one piece. I think you’ll be in fine shape with that many >100 mile rides. You could probably cut it down by 3-4 >100mile rides if you wanted to.
That’s my 0.02.
“I am now convinced there for most of us, there is no such thing as too many hours in the saddle (long runs, short run, interval workouts, hill workouts, bricks, etc). More is More, at least for the bike.”
I used to think this way, but not anymore. I think consistency over the year is far better than big weeks a couple of months before the event. “Most” people don’t have 15 hours a week to bike. No way. Jobs, families, and just natural limits (recovery) don’t allow this. I think the person who can do 200 miles a week 50 out of 52 weeks a year is in far better shape than the ones (like me) that ramps up too quickly 3 months before the event.
If biking is your strongest, you’ll need to put in less than if biking is your weakest sport. And I say evaluate your strength not on how you feel, but on how you perform in comparison to other competitors.
I think I read that training should somewhat reflect A) the ratio of time spent for each event during the race and B) your weaknesses.
My base week for the last month and a half has been 150 miles and I am still able to get in a 1.5 hr swim and a 2+ hr run in addition to other shorter workouts. Any more volume in any of the sports and I start to impact my recovery time and the ability to get in those key workouts. Oh yeah, and my ability to freak it on the weekends. So to speak. RICK JAMES FOREVER!
http://www.mem-gaming.co.uk/v2/wp-content/uploads/rick-james.jpg
That’s exactly where I am and how I feel. I’m at just over a 2 hr run, 1:30 swim, and about 160mi bike and I my body feels it to the point where I can do some shorter workouts in addition, but I couldn’t add another 50 miles of biking or another 5 of running.
I hear of friends who are doing 7 hr rides on Saturday followed by 4 hour rides on Sunday with a 2 hour brick. I think a weekend like that is more along the lines of Gordo Byrn dragging a tire behind himself when he goes for a run (i.e. proving that he is strong and willing to go the extra mile for training) than actually building good fitness. If you can do it without getting sick and missing other key workouts, super, but I think that going epic all the time is a setup for injury/illness.
When is your IM?
Nov 3. I’m doing IMFL.
Mudflaps gets my vote for most sensible comments on this thread thus far. I have a demanding fulltime job, demanding family, and am training for Hawaii. I can’t believe the crazy miles/time AG’ers put on thier bikes. I know quite a few people who bike, bike, bike, and yet they don’t seem to be getting better/stronger/faster…and they complain about all the time they are spending on their riding… I ride 1X per week on the road, and sometimes get in 2 road rides a week. Nuff said…