I just finished IM Lake Placid and I started this week with some unstructured training. My goal is the Double Iron distance in Virginia. It takes place in nine weeks. This is new territory for me. Has anyone out the done this distance or have any suggestions? I guess what I’m wondering is, how long is long? Because if you go too long won’t the recovery time be longer?
– Plan –
Recover from IM
Unstructured
Build
Build
Recover
Build
Build
Recover
Peak
Taper
Taper (race week)
That’s my plan. Any ideas or hints?
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I sort of want to do that race also, Im wondering if I should, Im doing a 215 mile ride september 22nd, I just dont know if I could rap up my running by then, right now my long run is only 10 miles. Its not the swimming and the biking, just the running…and travel.
Congrats on LP! How is your recovery coming? I missed your finish for some reason, but it was good to meet you on the IGA hill. Hope your “problem” went away.
good luck training for the Double! You buffalites are nuts!
First few things I would like to know is what kind of time you did in LPIM and how are you feeling now?How many long events have you done(IM’s etc) and over how many years you have been competing.How old are you?Are there any physical or medical concerns that need to be taken into consideration?Then it would help to know where you strength lies in the three disciplines.I ask these questions because moving up to Doubles and beyond takes a lot more mental strength than the standard IM.Experience in long events over years counts for a lot.In these silly Ultras you really have to worry about so much more than just the race distance itself.As there is limited support for you during the Double you really have to be on the ball with keeping all conceivable problems at bay by being extremely organized before the event.You can go into an Ultra super fit but throw it all away by not accounting for every single problem that may pop up.Nutrition,weather,weather,weather,mechanical,possible crew problems,illness,injury,cold,heat,rain,wind and god forbid-ALL OF THE ABOVE!!!The fact that you did LPIM recently and your are still excited about the Double means that you are in good spirits and that is a huge plus for you.Please fill me in on your history and I will try to help you as best I can.Be warned some of my advice will not sit well with the mainstream Ironman community so as I will prepare myself for an ST roasting so should you.
Just a small note to Ironlobo.Mate,if your swim and bike is going as well as you think it is in your Double Iron prep then you have most of the battle won.You stilll have time to get your run in order.Remember you are not trying to break any run records out there so when you train,train for strength and not speed.You have seven weeks to get strong and that’s a long time.After that it’s two weeks of easy running in your taper.Do not make the mistake of trying to run stupidly long miles at this stage.IT IS TOO LATE FOR THAT-YOU WILL NOT RECOVER!!!Just my two cents worth.
There is a woman on ST named Eileen Steil, who has done a bunch of multiple ironman races (including 5x iron and 10x iron). You could probably search her posts and get some ideas and you could maybe PM her for some advice.
Personally, I have no experience with this sort of racing and training. I would imagine that the mental game becomes a huge factor, as well as nutrition and hydration. I really don’t know how effective the physical part of the training can be, as with the specificity of those distances might become acase of having diminishing returns (with recovery becoming an issue).
Did it last year after doing IM Lake Placid myself, and I live 20min from the Virginia race site. Feel free to email me any questions you have about the site or the race at triguyinva@hotmail.com
Hi Super Grover. I did the IMLP/Virginia Double combo last year and they both went very well. As Nick said, nailing your logistics for a double is very important because, in my opinion, little problems can turn in to devastating issues later on. The double is very, very mental. In my opinion, it is way more difficult than an IM and you need to go in to it knowing and accepting that. If you can give us some info. on your training so far…ie long bike, long run, hours, etc…this would be very helpful. PM me if you’d like. Good luck!!
In your past experiences, how long has it taken to recover from a double? in case you havent noticed, im very very into the idea of doing a double, but im a bit nervous as I recently had a somewhat nasty IM experience.
IRONLOBO, I bet you’d really like doing the double. It’s such a challenge and very rewarding. As far as recovery, after both of my doubles I was back training in 6-7 days. Nothing crazy hard or long but regular training. I did a double three weeks ago, took 6 days completely off and then trained for two weeks and ran my first standalone ultramarathon (3 weeks post double IM) with absolutely no problems whatsoever. I’m confident in my base so I seem to snap back pretty quickly. Everyone is unique so it’s very individual. Which one are you thinking about…VA??
Yeah, im thinking of virginia, but its on october 6-7 (or is it 7-8?) I have SOMA on the 28th. The only thing thats truly holding me back from making an attempt at this point is getting a crew together, and just the logistics of a race like this sort of scare me because I live in New Mexico, so really, im about as far away as I can get, I have no idea how I would get all my tents, soves,bike, camping stuff out there. if it were not for that, I would sign up today. That and finding a crew.
No worries. Steve Kirby, the director of the VA races, will provide a crew and tent for you at a reasonable charge. I went to VA last year w/o a crew or tent and Steve set me up. He’s a great guy and will help you out I’m sure. Just be sure to contact him early enough so he can arrange a crew for you.
I like about 50 miles from the race site - talk to me about help for crew etc. If you could get to the Charlottesville airport could help with transportation, and mabe I could get some of our tri club to help crew.
Im wondering what would make more sense…if I am to do the virginia double iron would it be better to
A: do the new mexico double century (215 miles tons of climbing)
or
B: Go to oklahoma city and do the redman irondistance race around the same time as a final big workout before virginia
(if I did B, I would basically take it easy and shoot for like a 13-14 hour time just to relaz and get some training)
.
I will also be doing the double with super grover in Virginia. I finished IMLP in 12:24 and felt fresh at the end of the race. I recover fairly quick and was able to compete in an Olympic Tri six days later. I average around 700 to 900 miles on the bike a month and feel quite comfortable with the swim. My running has been going very well and I am fortunate not to have any injuries. IMLP was my second Ironman, I also did IMOO in 2005. I have a good constitution and can eat chili on a start line. I’m also interested in talking with ultra-tri-guy as to what kind of training will be needed before race day. He posted that his training regime may seem off the wall or controvertial to some but that is what I’m looking for. I’ve been noted for doing some strange things in training myself. My friends and fellow training partners think I’m cookoo for cocoa puffs but I don’t care. I’m determined to do this.