In my build up to Ironman Florida in November I have signed up for Sprint races June-August then and Olympic in September.
Is this a good strategy or no?
I am still doing my long runs, Bikes, etc… I just also want to be fast
.
Yeah, why not…good way to work on T1, T2’s…get the competitive juices flowing…if you want to pay the entrance fees for doing an hour long brick session, go for it!
Yeah, why not…good way to work on T1, T2’s…get the competitive juices flowing…if you want to pay the entrance fees for doing an hour long brick session, go for it!
Hate spending the money, but I push myself way harder when it matters
.
Several pros around here turn up and win those races in their IM builds.
In my build up to Ironman Florida in November I have signed up for Sprint races June-August then and Olympic in September.
Is this a good strategy or no?
I am still doing my long runs, Bikes, etc… I just also want to be fast
.
Best to swim as hard as you can, bike as hard as you, and cruise the run. That way you can get back to building. If you run hard it requires way more recovery IME.
In my build up to Ironman Florida in November I have signed up for Sprint races June-August then and Olympic in September.
Is this a good strategy or no?
I am still doing my long runs, Bikes, etc… I just also want to be fast .
Only if you tell everyone before the race, in transition and after the race that is was “only a training race” and your really focused on IMF.
Short course people love hearing that.
It’s what I’m doing leading into Kona - 2 sprints and a half in June, 1 sprint in July, sprint and an Olympic in August and then a week of climbing in Italy in the Dolomites in early September.
To be fair, I’m not going to be competitive in Kona (lottery winner) but I am hoping to PR the distance in my 9th IM. I figure I’ve done the hermit strategy (16-20 week IM exclusive build), the barely train strategy and the prep race strategy (16-20 week plan with a B race or two thrown in) and have had fairly consistent results. Time to try something different and have a ton of fun along the way. After all, this little hobby isn’t paying the bills.
Lots of people do sprints for speed work (including pros), long enough to get some good work in, short enough that it will not kill you so you can train the next day. Plus they are not A races, push it but play it safe.
A sprint triathlon can be great training. But it is NOT speed training. Not at all. It is threshold training @ just above TH. And it is almost pureley AEROBIC.
A mile (4 min for elites) is about 50% anaerobic and is still far too long for speed training. Speed training: swim 25-100m (100 only for the very fast elites) bike: 30’’ up to 2 min run: 200-400
I guess you’ve never heard of mile repeats for speed work…that’s a shame, you’re really missing out! Where do you come up with this nonsense…
I guess you’ve never heard of mile repeats for speed work…that’s a shame, you’re really missing out! Where do you come up with this nonsense…
Adal is right actually. “Speed work” is kind of a misnomer here. Doing a sprint shouldn’t be used as a substitute for short repeats either on swim/bike or run. A one hour+ event is way beyond even relatively long repeats like mile repeats. And with that said I wish I’d never heard of mile repeats… they hurt.
A mile (4 min for elites) is about 50% anaerobic and is still far too long for speed training.
While your premise is a good one, you’re way off on the breakdown. Gastin puts a mile at 84/16 aerobic vs anaerobic.
Even an 800m (1/2) mile he puts at 66/34. 400m: 43/57.
I guess you’ve never heard of mile repeats for speed work…that’s a shame, you’re really missing out! Where do you come up with this nonsense…
A mile isn’t about speed. A 100/200m sprint is about speed.
I guess you’ve never heard of mile repeats for speed work…that’s a shame, you’re really missing out! Where do you come up with this nonsense…
Explain your mile repeats. I may already be doing them but I’m such a slow runner I’m always up for a different run structure.
As for using Sprint Tri’s I guess it would depend on how much they are. Around me they cost around $90. I know you push yourself harder in a race, but I still have a hard time swallowing $90 for that. I like to use Garmin ‘athlete’ as a training partner. Load up a course from a previous race and it will track you vs. your previous time. This is a beautiful feature and does really help push me harder since I’m competing against a previous race pace. Now the only issue is I can run faster in training because I haven’t swim and biked. Thus the feature is perfect for biking but for running you need to tweak the time.
I guess you’ve never heard of mile repeats for speed work…that’s a shame, you’re really missing out! Where do you come up with this nonsense…
Adal is right actually. “Speed work” is kind of a misnomer here. Doing a sprint shouldn’t be used as a substitute for short repeats either on swim/bike or run. A one hour+ event is way beyond even relatively long repeats like mile repeats. And with that said I wish I’d never heard of mile repeats… they hurt.
actually he is wrong, I think we have established this already…speed work can encompass several different things in regards to training! For me, the definition is getting out of my comfort zone, and tapping into a dark place that people just don’t like to go. And no one is suggesting using a sprint as a substitute for anything, but simply adding another tool for the tool box.
A mile (4 min for elites) is about 50% anaerobic and is still far too long for speed training.
While your premise is a good one, you’re way off on the breakdown. Gastin puts a mile at 84/16 aerobic vs anaerobic.
Even an 800m (1/2) mile he puts at 66/34. 400m: 43/57.
What would you class as anaerobic speed work ? For me it’s pretty much anything under about 20 seconds preferably closer to 10 seconds otherwise you need long ass breaks.
why does speed work have to be anaerobic?
I guess you’ve never heard of mile repeats for speed work…that’s a shame, you’re really missing out! Where do you come up with this nonsense…
Adal is right actually. “Speed work” is kind of a misnomer here. Doing a sprint shouldn’t be used as a substitute for short repeats either on swim/bike or run. A one hour+ event is way beyond even relatively long repeats like mile repeats. And with that said I wish I’d never heard of mile repeats… they hurt.
actually he is wrong, I think we have established this already…speed work can encompass several different things in regards to training! For me, the definition is getting out of my comfort zone, and tapping into a dark place that people just don’t like to go. And no one is suggesting using a sprint as a substitute for anything, but simply adding another tool for the tool box.
No, you’re wrong. Speed is not a limiter for any type of training or racing you’re doing unless you’re doing. What you’re referring to has little to do with speed in and of itself.
my dick is bigger…and my dad can beat up your dad! Do you know how nonsensical and glib you sound?
Personally I would label speedwork as above race pace efforts. So be that 100m repeats really for pure speed or mile repeats for more sustained and difficult efforts it has to be above race pace for me to classify it as speed work. I guess technically if you’re preparing for an IM a sprint tri would be above race pace but I think it’s too long to qualify as traditional speed work. Unless you’re doing a few of them back to back!