Curious on what the average training months for a first 70.3 Ironman is?
Good to train for six months and bust out 3 or 4 weeks of 13 to 15 hours of training per week.
8 months for me.
Your answers are going to vary depending on the endurance base and goals of the individual athlete - for instance, a competitive Olympic-distance racer will not have to train as much to complete a half as a relatively untrained person, and there is a world of difference between racing any distance and simply completing it.
N=1: I did my first half at Singapore last month on a little bit of run base (20-25 mpw for a few months but no running in the 8 weeks prior to the race due to an injury), about 3 weeks of bike training at 6-7 hours a week, and maybe 10k yards of swimming on a good week. I was definitely not racing, but I completed it faster than I projected that I would due to a flat bike course.
Many half training plans are 20 weeks. I think that assumes some fitness, but it seems like a reasonable starting place.
9 months. Started as a fairly strong cyclist with very little swimming and running experience. Finished in 5:25 and it felt comfortable if that’s possible. Definitely could have gone harder but I beat my goal by 5 min.
15hrs per week of training during the last 4-6 hard weeks before my taper.
My first 70.3 was Austin last year, on October 23rd.
I got back in the pool after a couple of years off in late July.
I’d been running in March-May, then started running again in late July.
I did a local “Splash’n’Dash” in late July.
Then another in early August.
That was my build-up for a local sprint tri in late August (good time + a podium). I think it was just after that I decided to sign up and start training for Austin. It wasn’t totally out of the blue - I’d been thinking about a 70.3 since early that year.
So how long did I train for the 70.3? About 9 weeks. Only the last 5 weeks did I actually follow a plan (which I wrote on the back of an envelope. Really!) My weekly training hours peaked at about 10. The only reason it happened without problems is that I had a pretty good cycling base.
That plan isn’t recommended. My swim was fun, but not super fast. My bike leg would’ve been fine, but I had to stop twice with a flat. The run started well but the lack of adequate running base, combined with the >90 temps left me melting down in the middle of the run. I pulled it back together, but it was a lesson in doing the training and having a good hydration/nutrition plan. I got a decent MOP finish out of that.
My 70.3 this year is Boulder and I intend to crush it. Boulder is 6 weeks before Ironman Wales, and I am about to start week 4 of my plan for that. However, I’m in week 10 of this year’s training. So it’ll be about a 24 week lead up to Boulder 70.3, combined with a better fitness level at the end of last season. That’s probably how I should’ve trained for my first 70.3, but you don’t need months, it just helps.
Like aftereffector said,
Your answers are going to vary depending on the endurance base and goals of the individual athlete
and
there is a world of difference between racing any distance and simply completing it.
Although I might believe that you can race and not be competitive in the field. Your toughest opponent can be you. I intend to race IM Wales (as I race in every “race” I enter): I will likely not be in the running for a podium, but I will have a target and a race plan.
16 weeks for my first one. Now I do 8 week training blocks.
20 weeks. Don’t miss a workout and get plenty of bricks in especially after your long bike rides. Get your nutrition down too.
As a previous posted pointed out, it really depends on your starting point. (eg already doing Oly distance events vs new to the sport with strong background in 1-2 events vs relative newcomer).
For me, this summer will be my second season of Sprint distance races. Plan to do 1 or 2 Olympic distance events this year, but I wouldn’t dream of attempting a 70.3 at this point. However, I only train 5-8hrs per week, so for me the issue is getting the appropriate training volume. I think in seeking an answer to your question you should ask / consider not only the time to prepare (in weeks/months) but also the volume of training that is needed during that period
At 32, I started running in August, half-marathon in January, marathon in May, HIM in July, and IM 14 months after the HIM.
Before that I played racquetball and was generally a slug. I played no organized sports after 4th grade swim team and 5th grade AYSO soccer.
6 weeks. I spent the entire summer competitively rowing, so my fitness wasn’t really a concern. Upon returning from Canley, took one week off, and then began training. I had been doing the occasional cross training over the summer, and I knew the bike wouldn’t be the issue. Did a good amount of swimming and running… and ultimately the swim didn’t matter, since it got cancelled (Poconos). My run also sucked, but my body didn’t break down or anything.
first one, 0 days. Had just been training for a marathon and doing a few sprints and signed up the day before.
I was not very well prepared but survived ok since I had been running plenty.
second one, 7 weeks. Had a big block of training for some olympics before that, then car crash, and I was out of commision for 3 weeks. Then 7 week build for savageman, went really well. Would have liked another 4 weeks to get in run shape. Getting in run shape takes me a long time!
Really depends on your goals.
I was overweight and smoking half a pack a day and managed to get by with a couple months of minimal training. Then again, my only real goal at the time was to finish.
I trained for about 4 months before my first half (it was last week, Marquee in Tempe) with only one week over 10 hours per week (lots of 9 hour weeks though). I have a cycling background and had been running for fun with my wife for about two years before that, but mostly 3-5 mile stuff at 8:45 pace. I was happy with my time, 5:06, and felt like I planned well and then simply executed it successfully on race day.
Planning from A to Z, good focused training, and calm execution were the keys for me.
For my first, I trained for about 5 months. I’d been riding and running pretty regularly but nothing scheduled or too long. Maybe an hour for each a few times a week. And absolutely no swim background. And I started at 43 years old. My 18 year old son was training for MMA (mixed martial arts) and decided to do IM Ca 70.3 with me (I signed him up early). Here are his longest days…Swim about 1200 yards, Bike about 20 miles, Run probably 5-7 miles. Total about 3-4 weeks. It all depends on your age, fitness level and are you finishing or competing (against others or self imposed times).
5 days!
That’s right. I was signed up for a relay as the swimmer. My team totally crapped out on me on Monday night. I had never run more than 3 miles in my life and that was several months prior. At that time I was a weekend charity bike rider, i.e. slow and fat. I knew I could complete the swim and the bike without any problems. The run was another story. I wore a heart rater monitor and set it to go off at 148 bpm. If it beeped at me I walked until it was below 140 and then started running again. I finished in 7:15 and change. It was slow but I was hooked.
7 months. I had done some sprint tris in the distant past and had swam in college but I was starting from not having run at all for 5 years or swam in any meaningful way for about 15 years. I had been cycling for the 5 years before but fairly casually. I was ready to do the swim and bike in about 2 months. I could have used another year or two of run training 
I started a 20 week plan 18 weeks ago with little base. (I will be racing the Rev3 knoxville in two weeks)I feel comfortable with finishing the distance. when I started, I could not run more than four miles. Yesterday, I ran 12 miles at a very comfortable pace. Not sure i will be fast, but I will finish and have fun doing it.
Running Syracuse in June with about 12 weeks of training. About 9 to 10 hour weeks currently about to step that up. Swimmer in HS so getting back into that was cake. Mtn biker makes the cycling easier just dont do the same distance on the mtn bike. Never really been a runner this is where I see the hard part being for me. I remember when I couldnt run a mile it was only a couple of years ago. I was in fairly ok shape before starting this. I am just planning to finish but I want to try for under 6 hours.