Congrats, and not to be a negative Nancy, but were you racing the same IM, or did the race regulations permit outside assistance?
@ejd_mil, thanks for mentioning the electrolytes. I haven’t thought about it. The day wasn’t too hot, and I didn’t get any cramps, nor did I have any issues taking in water. But I am a heavy sweater, so I will have to look into it and include it in my IM nutrition plan.
To clarify my comment on HR at the start of the run. My HR in the last 5k of the bike stayed in the Z2 HR zone, averaging 137 bpm in those last kilometers. It’s just that in T2, it started going up, and in the first kilometer of the run, it spiked close to my max. But it went down in the second kilometer as it usually does for me.
Having said that, I think your comment on FTP is valid. I got my FTP from the TrainerRoad ramp test, and in retrospect, I think I scored too high by digging very deep during the test. I got 309W after the test, but there is no way or any amount of will that could allow me to hold this kind of power for an hour. So my power zones might not be super accurate. I probably spent less time in Z1 and more in Z2/Z3, but I still have my HR data that says I spent 87% of my bike time in Z2.
A few people highlighted the lack of nutrition. I could definitely consume more carbs on the bike. On the run, I struggled to take in the last gel, but because I was so exhausted, I didn’t have gut issues. So in my IM training, I will definitely up the carbs both on the run and the bike to find my comfort limit.
@VegasJen I should have added it in my original post. All I want from my first and possibly last IM is that damn finishers’ medal and the picture of it on my Strava 
. Kidding aside, I want to have a good time, enjoy the race, and not blow up to the point where I can barely walk.
And yes, I’m fully committed to the full IM. Tickets purchased, so no backsies 
.
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Given your objective, I think you’re 90% there. Just need to dial in your nutrition plan and race strategy. I like what others have said about the run-walk-run strategy. That’s kind of how I went into the run at IMAZ last year. It was working well, and likely would have continued to work for the remainder of the race. I just had an injury about 8 miles into the run that forced me to change strategy. I still finished, but it was much closer than I really wanted.
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Luko:
You got this! Best of luck.
As I told my son, Ironman is a long training day that is catered. So just as you would in training: Pace it very conservative (very very conservative), stay on top of your nutrition, stay on top of your electrolytes and you will come in for the finishers medal!
Enjoy the training and racing. It is an incredibly rewarding journey.
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So I probably have some relevant experience - I’m taller but in a similar weight range and went 9.46 in Hamburg this year using TrainerRoad (+ modifying with personal experience). My assessment would be (some of which mirrors others, some of which others will disagree with):
Nutrition - feels very low on carbs, I did 120g/hr on bike and 75g/hr on run and felt fantastic. Practice a lot in training (a lot!!!).
Pacing - as others have said, it doesn’t sound right. You will know if you’ve paced a race correctly to your fitness as you will feel strong 3/4 into the run and split evenly-ish. The best place to start is Zone 2 for the swim, Zone 2 for the bike and Zone 2 for the first 35km of the run. If you have a good kick left then pick it up after 35km. HR is king, forget about power (in my opinion). Simply put - use HR to pace to your actual fitness, not the power or pace you think you have or should have.
Base - accounting for your objectives, the focus should be on building base. Once you have this base, you will be going at a good pace whilst staying safely at the upper end of zone 2:
- Building up to long Zone 2 runs / cycles is critical
- The 3 hour peak run is essential in my view (others above disagree)
- I think TrainerRoad underestimates the number of long cycles needed. I did 7 cycles 160km-200km in the final c.12 weeks, far above TrainerRoad recommendation
Injury avoidance - everyone differs in terms of injury risk, but generally speaking if you are a heavier racer, I would think about:
- Approach runs on highly fatigued legs cautiously, add additional bike / swim volume instead if needed
- Keep up with core strength / mobility - minimum 2 x 30 mins a week
I’ve got some thoughts, but I’d like to get some context about what “time-constrained” means to you. You did an average of 7hrs a week and topped off around 9 hours. Is that the most your schedule could handle? Or, to ask another way, how many hours a week COULD you train if fitness and recovery was of no concern?
I’ll just reiterate what others have pointed out, that is low, no wonder you ran out of gas. I weigh 73kg and consume 120g on the bike and hit every aid station on the run for more calories.
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My diagnosis for your blow up on your HIM run is a lot simpler than most of the above.
You just didn’t do enough run training leading up to the race. Only the most talented can run to near their “A” times if they’re running 13 miles per week on average (22.5 km as you stated.) That sort of run volume is really for people who’s goal is to just finish the run, not to race it. I do that and more in a single Sunday run, not even counting the other 2-3 weekly runs, for HIM prep.
Bike pacing and nutrition are of course still important, but the glaring weakness to me that no amount of bike pacing or nutrition will overcome is that 13mpw of training. I’ll bet that even if you got max-ideal calories on the bike and run, you wouldn’t have run more than 1 minute faster on the run if you’re crashing out at only 7km in the run.
(The nutrition will become even more important in an IM, though, so don’t neglect it in the role of your IM prep. You can get away with almost no nutrition in a HIM if you’ve done the training, but you’ll run out of gas in the much longer full IM, or other long events like century+ rides.)
A lot of people have talked about lots of opportunity for improvement, so I don’t mean to pile on. In regards to your nutrition, do not forget about salt. A salt tablet in T2 meant how much salt?
For perspective, the longer your 70.3 the more the salt you lose impacts you. You didn’t share your finish time (no worries!), but you can kind of ‘fake it’ in the 5-6 hour finish range… but come a full, that salt imbalance will eat you alive. Even if you’re not a heavily salty sweater, please review the amount you’re taking in and experiment. More than you expect - ejd_mil suggested 1.2g/hour and that’s where I try to live on the bike. You can come back from bonking (carb depletion); you can’t come back from a salt imbalance mid-race.
I also think you need to include big days in your TR plan. Are you on a low volume plan? Or Masters? I ask because I have a full build in my program already too*, and it is a 27-week program to the full distance A event. I have 2x 70.3 days (whether I race or not, they’ll still be that duration), and 8 other weeks with long rides over 4 hours (1x 5hr, 1x6hr included). Reviewing the TR long runs, I don’t do well with big long runs in training, so I’ll be bumping up my mid-week volume, but IMHO you have to have at least a couple of really big days in the IM build to ensure you’re adjusting to the nutrition plan.
This will be my 4th full distance triathlon and the prescribed volume feels about right to me. I do recognize that I’m in a unique position where swimming is not a big deal, and I can keep my swim volume low until the last 6-8 weeks before a race.
*I’m a tri coach so I take all of the TR recommendations with a grain of salt, but have been using TR so that I can focus my creativity on coaching my athletes and my full-time-job!
@jeffa for me training schedule during the work week can be difficult. Weekends are more flexible. From what I read comparing HIM to IM training, Mon-Fri are similar with weekend workouts growing much longer for full IM training. Would you agree? I think increasing volume 20-30% during the work week will be doable from time management perspective and I’m ready to do whatever it takes on the weekends.
@PJH thanks for your perspective. Nice to hear from other people using TrainerRoad. I was following the plan religiously, but I will make a few adjustments this year as you and others suggested. One question on TrainerRoad is how do you react to AI adaptations? Those 160km-200km rides must have triggered yellow or red days with subsequent workouts getting nerfed. Were you ignoring those adaptations and just going with original workouts?
Point taken on pacer and HR training. I am now looking into the Efficiency Factor (EF) and Aerobic Decoupling (pw:hr, pa:hr) in TrainingPeaks, trying to find my ideal pace where I can sustain long effort with steady HR on the bike and minimal decoupling on the run.
Today is actually my first day of a 34-week training plan with Base - Build - Base - Specialty blocks.
@lightheir I’m gradually increased my weekly running mileage with the goal of maintaining it at 40-65km (25-40 mpw). My full IM TrainerRoad training plan starts this week and I already adjusted upcoming workouts so my weekly running volume is within this range. Would you say this kind of volume is enough to finish full IM without blowing up? Considering the goal is to cross the finish line, not to race for a specific time.
@swimcyclesprint my HIM time this year was my best at 5:39.
Honestly, salts, sweat rates and hydration are still dark arts for me. But I have a few months ahead to learn more about it and to experiment during my training. I have no idea how much salt was in that tablet I took
You can come back from bonking (carb depletion); you can’t come back from a salt imbalance mid-race.
To be fair, it wasn’t a complete bonk. I was just exhausted, but I was clear in the head, I wasn’t wobbly or anything like that.
I also think you need to include big days in your TR plan. Are you on a low volume plan?
Right now I’m on TrainerRoad masters mid-volume IM plan. 34 weeks. It follows Base - Build - Base - Specialty phases. I have 4 rides of 4+ hours in the second build phase and 5 rides like this in the Specialty phase. My longest ride however is only 4:30. Running workouts follow similar pattern with 2+ hour runs, topping at 3:00. Depending on where I am with my training, I might up my longest ride a bit, but to be honest those weeks seem pretty hard-core to me and I’m worried about injuries and recovery needed from these efforts. Maybe I’ll have a different perspective when I’m closer those phases.
Yes, that should be enough run volume.
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Ref long rides triggering yellow / red warnings - yes, I think these warnings are valuable, I would typically do a stretch and an easy swim the day after the long bikes / long bricks.
Ref pacing - I think it’s very easy to complicate it. You have a threshold and you need to 1) know what it is 2) learn to operate efficiently just below it. Watches / bike computers generally do a good job at estimating threshold, but the ideal case is a V02 max lab test. That showed me that my threshold was not 150bpm as I expected, but 155bpm, giving more headroom to play with. (My personal experience, I may be corrected by someone with more experience)
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Lol the dark arts 
water, carbs, salt. Mix and match to meet what you need - and yes, use the months ahead to play with it! Take good notes and be scientific about it.
TR is so strange sometimes.. a 3 hour run is SO different from a 4.5 hour ride. I’ve been sick the past week, and could probably go and ride 4 hours but a 60 min run would cook me right now.
I agree that you may want to look for bike alternatives that keep you out there a little longer, or make sure the brick is long enough to truly get a test of your nutrition. The big weeks into an IM just… are a lot. Keep in touch with your body. The run is going to injure you long before the bike will.
Duncan74 mentioned it earlier, I’m going to second the run-walk plan from the start. I can assure you that if you’re doing it right, the first walk interval will feel silly, but the last walk interval will feel too short - but you’ll run consistently between all of them. He mentioned a 70.3 just over 5 hours doing that, and I’ve done the same (walked every aid station + 30 seconds and ran the same time as Duncan - swam 30, biked 2:38, ran 1:53, total 5:05… and that is my worst 70.3 swim by 3 minutes lol).
@swimcyclesprint (cc: @Duncan74) do you train for run-walk strategy? Or do you do the workouts as usual and just execute run-walk on the race day?
It depends on where I’m at in my training cycle and what kind of run I’m doing.
Long run, in a race build, focused on pace, etc.? Yes, I’m utilizing a run-walk. Usually will try to match it to my race day plan (every mile / every 10 min / every 3km etc.).
Easy run? Yes, usually, to ensure I’m staying in an ‘easy’ zone.
But a tempo run or similar? No, I’ll do the workout and run the whole time (unless there’s a rest interval, then I will often walk for a short time - 30s - during that rest just to reset my brain).
100% was carried through from training. In fact at that point I was still learning to run again so hadn’t run more than 2km in one go since my stroke. Training we played with a few different run / walk intervals but the longer run seemed to work ok. (ie we tried some 3min run, 1 min walk).
Real issue I had was at that time Garmin could do intervals in run mode, but not as part of a Tri activity (now changed, I did happen to have a bleat at the garmin rep at the race on this issue). So had to wear 2 watches.