Hi,
I just signed up for the 2017 Memorial Hermann IRONMAN. This race is April 22nd.
I have done an Ironman 70.3 earlier this year in April and doing another 70.3 distance here in Texas next weekend (Kerrville).
Just wondering how I should go about training this far out for an Ironman?
Any tips would be helpful.
Thanks!
Good luck in Kerrville, i had wanted to race this, training all depends on your goals: more info needed.
i have had success with this pattern-
A few weeks off after the last race of the year to recharge the batteries, then maybe a month of enjoying my fitness - ie exercise if I feel like it, but maybe go for hikes with the family etc., mountain biking, alternatives to the usual training. Then a couple months starting to resemble training - but with a focus on skill or technique development - lots of swimming as its a great time to improve your speed in the water as well as holding onto some aerobic base. Run frequently, but not long, or hard. Strides or short hill reps for the neuromuscular development, but the focus is on getting the legs ready for the mileage, not actually building the mileage. For the bike I do a lot of mountain biking because I find its good for handling skills, and smoothing the pedal stroke.
After I feel like the body is ready for some work again I work on strength - some ankle strap and paddle work in the pool, more hill reps on the run, and lots of big gear, low cadence stuff on the bike.
After a few months of this I work on speed, add in some tempo runs, some vo2 intervals on the bike, some pukey type stuff in the pool. This usually coincides with early season racing sprint or Olympic stuff which is great.
Finally anywhere from 6-12 weeks out from a full I start building the endurance through progressively longer stuff. The intensity maybe drops a little, but I make sure to include at least some threshold on the bike and run, and all of the longer workouts have fairly heavy ‘at or above race effort’ components to them. I still do lots of fast swimming, just make some swims more race specific - or rather than just swim 6x400 in a main set I’ll try and simulate race start craziness for 100 before settling into the pace for the last 300.
Cliff note version:
Rest 2wks
Get ready 6wks
Get strong 8 wks
Get fast 4-6 wks
Go far 10-12 wks
Race
Ymmv but I find this approach far more palatable than riding on my trainer for four hours in January when I could just flog myself with a sufferfest and go hang out with my family.
My goal is between 11h and 12h. It will be tough since my first 70.3 was 5:53h. We’ll see how it goes next weekend. Temperature will dictate how well I do.
Kerrville Half done! Placed 5th in my age group (m40-44) with a time of 5hr 33m. Now onto Ironman Texas.
First priority would be sorting out any recurring or niggly injuries you’ve got, if any. If none, lucky you!
Second priority would be working on weaknesses. Particularly if swimming is a weakness, now would be a good time to do some big swim volume with lots of intensity. Swim speed gains seem to be easier to hold onto on a reduced volume than run or bike gains.
Third priority would be building up base running mileage by increasing frequency at low intensity.
If it was me, I’d have cycling on the back burner, maybe 1-2 sessions per week doing longish intervals to maintain some sort of fitness, no long ride. Would be running 5-6 days/week at low intensity. And spending as much time as possible in the pool. If I was short on time I might even drop the cycling altogether for a month or 2, have done that in the past and got it back quickly enough with no problem, but then cycling is my strongest of the 3 sports so YMMV.
i have had success with this pattern-
A few weeks off after the last race of the year to recharge the batteries, then maybe a month of enjoying my fitness - ie exercise if I feel like it, but maybe go for hikes with the family etc., mountain biking, alternatives to the usual training. Then a couple months starting to resemble training - but with a focus on skill or technique development - lots of swimming as its a great time to improve your speed in the water as well as holding onto some aerobic base. Run frequently, but not long, or hard. Strides or short hill reps for the neuromuscular development, but the focus is on getting the legs ready for the mileage, not actually building the mileage. For the bike I do a lot of mountain biking because I find its good for handling skills, and smoothing the pedal stroke.
After I feel like the body is ready for some work again I work on strength - some ankle strap and paddle work in the pool, more hill reps on the run, and lots of big gear, low cadence stuff on the bike.
After a few months of this I work on speed, add in some tempo runs, some vo2 intervals on the bike, some pukey type stuff in the pool. This usually coincides with early season racing sprint or Olympic stuff which is great.
Finally anywhere from 6-12 weeks out from a full I start building the endurance through progressively longer stuff. The intensity maybe drops a little, but I make sure to include at least some threshold on the bike and run, and all of the longer workouts have fairly heavy ‘at or above race effort’ components to them. I still do lots of fast swimming, just make some swims more race specific - or rather than just swim 6x400 in a main set I’ll try and simulate race start craziness for 100 before settling into the pace for the last 300.
Cliff note version:
Rest 2wks
Get ready 6wks
Get strong 8 wks
Get fast 4-6 wks
Go far 10-12 wks
Race
Ymmv but I find this approach far more palatable than riding on my trainer for four hours in January when I could just flog myself with a sufferfest and go hang out with my family.
These are some good tips. I’m doing IM Chattanooga next year as my first IM (3+ years in triathlon with have done 2 HIMs, 3rd HIM coming in a few weeks) so I’m trying to put together my off season program as well as schedule my training next year. I know in the offseason, I need to do some strength training work to start then planning on working on improving my bike ftp as well as doing lots and lots of swimming. I just haven’t quite figured out the volume I want to take on in the offseason.
Also really curious about this topic. Thinking IMLP in July will be my first full and trying to figure out how to go about it, guess that’s more like 10 months…
I do swim 2-3 times per week. Master Swim at the local YMCA. Not really catered for Triathlon, but it does help me a lot. We do all four strokes and we average around 2400 yards for 1 hour.
Running is my strong event, so I am not worried about that one that much. I now enter marathon season.
I really need to spend more time on the bike, that is where I can make up a lot of time. I am not comfortable to do 56-60 miles and I need to start build on that slowly.
Thanks for all the advice, I will sure incorporate it in my training.
I just don’t want to burn out before the race 
I’m in a similar position to you, my first IM will be March 2017.
In terms of how I’m approaching the training:
From everything I’ve read a good IM performance isn’t as much due to what you do in the build 2-3 months out (obviously that helps though) but it is more to do with the regular consistency you can implement now over the next 6 months.
ETA: Of my 4 x run, 4 x bike, 3 x swim; each sport has two ‘key’ workouts per week that I do everything possible to not miss (e.g. at the moment 1 long run and 1 tempo run for my run). The other sessions I see as ‘supporting’ sessions, and while I try and hit them all inevitably I’ll miss some sessions when life gets in the way. When that happens the sessions I’ll miss will be a supporting session.
If I could go back in time:
My hips and Achilles/calves were weak and lead to all kinds of problems that took me two years to fully sort out. Doesn’t take much - even 15 minutes twice a week
Tightness is a precursor to injury. For something feels tight or even moderately sore - stop and fix it - immediately
Take this from someone who did his first two ironmans with running injuries which lead to a ton of walking
otherwise what others are suggesting is thumbs up from me
Buy “Be Iron Fit” by Don Fink. Pick your favorite 30 week plan, either competitive, intermediate, or just finish. Start 35 weeks out because life happens and you may need to repeat a week here or there. Until you hit 35 weeks out, focus on base fitness. Since you are doing half’s you already have a strong base, just keep it up.
Or get a coach.
Either way, don’t wing it. Leverage the experience of those who came before you.
Short course training next 2 months, lots of short and intense rides on the trainer, frequent swims, maitenance on the run.
Build to middle distance Dec/Jan, then Feb to race day build the volume to specific.
I did the Kansas half IM (my first half, third tri total) in 2014 with minimal structured training (no real running, just masters swim and spin class totaling 4 days a week) and finished in 5:53. Subsequently, I basically took a year off with my only activity being the masters swim class 2-3 days a week (less distance covered than you are doing in an hour). For some reason the Full IM itch hit me and I decided to go for it at Boulder (2016). I started training about 38 weeks out and followed this plan:
http://www.trifuel.com/triathlon/ironman-workouts/
Despite straining my hip flexor and missing out on about 10 weeks of run workouts (I substituted the elliptical, but it was not very effective), I finished in 10:58. The training plan certainly prepared me for the bike and swim and I have to think that I could have cut a significant time off my run had I not been injured for much of the training time. The last month or so is pretty demanding from a timing perspective (I have 2 small kids and a full time job), but the plan works if you put the time in (as I’m sure any other plan would)! Good luck - you can do it!
ride your bike. lots. the IM ride should be your easiest of the year.
don’t do that long slow bs. 4hrs>25hrs per week if the 4hrs is all intervals