I tried doing a search, but couldn’t find answers to my specific questions. So here goes…
I am doing my first half ironman on 7/19 (Door County for all you midwesterners out there). I’m a tax accountant and it’s crazy busy for us now, so I can’t do any time intensive training until after 4/15. I do currently work out 5-6 days a week, running twice a week (a 45 minute run and a 75 minute run), swimming once a week (just 0.75-1 mile of laps), and I teach a spin class 2-3 times a week. In the past three years, I have run 4 marathons (several shorter races) and I’ve done 5 triathalons.
I would like to find a 12 week training program for the race. I would prefer to only do a true brick workout on the weekend, aka, I don’t mind doing a bike and a run on the same day, but if it’s during the week one would have to be in the morning and one would have to be after work due to typical time constraints. I’m not sure what to do with the spin classes I teach. Do these count as bike rides? Anyway, can you think of any good programs? I don’t mind paying for them.
I’m not looking to be competitive, I’m usually a middle of the packer. I’m guessing I’ll end up in the 5:30 to 6 hour range for this first one and speed it up later. Thanks in advance for your help.
If this is your first half and you are not training that much then you don’t need to go crazy with a plan beyond increasing your volume in all three sports.
Of course spin classes count as bike rides and if you do them three times a week then you probably just need to add in a weekend long ride that gets you up to at least the race distance. If you can go beyond the 56 miles then that it gives you confidence for the longer day required.
After April 15 then you can start to add in some shorter workouts that will build to longer workouts. Aim to ride and run every day, even it if is only for 15 minutes of each. People will tell you those are ‘junk miles’, but there is not such thing. If you run a 75 minute run already then you probably don’t need to run much longer, perhaps upwards of 1:30-1:45. If you add in two or three 15 minutes runs each week and add about five minutes each week then after 10-12 weeks your will have three or four runs between 45 min and a long run around 1:30. Aim for between 4-5 hours of running.
On the bike if you have three spin classes for an hour and build up to a 3-4 hour long ride then you will be around six-seven hours of riding.
The swim is always the least convenient for the busy person, but I would aim for at least three swims a week for 1500-2000 meters each.
The above ideas are fairly general, but if you are just trying to get through it then you don’t really need to go overboard. Just build up as much as you can and then make sure you have an intelligent plan on race day. My first half was a nightmare because I didn’t really have a plan and rode the bike too hard, got behind on my nutrition, tried to make up for lost time by drinking it at the end of the bike and then walked/shuffled the run with bad stomach cramps. That’s not fun.
Thanks for the reply. I do much better with my training if I have a very specific schedule though, I’m definitely going to have to map something out for the 12-13 weeks between 4/15 and 7/19. Can anyone tell me how many miles you’d count a spin class for? Several of the programs I’m finding online say ride 25 miles, etc. Do I need to do a little extra after class or is that enough?
Do a search for Gale Bernhardt’s 12-week training plan. You have PLENTY of time. Really depends on your goals in the race. If they are just to finish comfortably, and not to podium, just slowly build up so you’re at least doing a couple of bike rides up to about 60 miles before the race, a couple of runs in the 12-14 mile range and get in at least two swims of 30-45 minutes each week. Just my two cents.
I do not think anyone can tell you how many miles you do in a spin class for a given amount of time. It all depends on the intensity and resistance you are doing. I think i can estimate my mileage using my intensity as a guage. For a hour at a very high intensity I estimate I am around 23-25 mph , meduim intensity around 18 to 22 mph and low intensity around 14 to 17 mph. That is just a guess and estimate though. seems i cannot piece togather the hard intensity outside yet like I do on a spin bike. Funny enough it is alot easier to stay around 18 to 19 mph for a hour. boy I would love to see the day i could bang off 26-28 miles in a hour.
I’ll definitely check this one out. My Ironman friend (who doesn’t have one of those, right? ) also told me to check out the Beginner Triathlete one and just cut off the last 8 weeks, modifying for my own taper. I may try that too.
) also told me to check out the Beginner Triathlete one and just cut off the last 8 weeks, modifying for my own taper. I may try that too.