For those of you who have broken 4:30 in a half, I’m curious what your average swim/bike/run volume was.
Two years ago I did a 4:37 in a half, and I’m wanting this year to break 4:30. I’m considering:
3 swims (9-10k per week)
4 bikes (150-175 miles per week)
5 runs (40-50 miles of one brick, long, tempo, and two easy runs per week)
Is that similar to what you did to break 4:30?
Thanks
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Volume is only one part of the equation.
Train better, not longer.
That’s about where I was at for the swim and bike, but I was running less than 30 miles per week when I went 4:12 in my first half in 1998.
Of course now I can’t come close to that time!
Back then I was racing sprints and Olympic distances and my training paces were A LOT faster than they are now. I guess what I’m saying is that you can go fast on that volume but you must TRAIN FAST too.
Racing sprints/Oly’s every weekend made my body accept much higher intensities, so that when I did start to add some longer distance workouts I was able to race well at the half IM distance. This is why we see the 70.3’s being dominated by ITU or ex ITU people.
Mileage looks fine, about where im at and i did 4:43 down at lonestar, the day after i raced the sprint.
I’m going to try to break 4:30 in Florida
I need to drop my swim time from 34-30. I had a crappy swim no idea why.
Bike was about right 24.5 mph
The race from the day before nuked my legs so i did a whoping 1:48.xx
So yeah i think its realistic. But what are you paces right now?
Last year went 4:28+ at Timberman, very fair course, weather was great. Swim mileage and run mileage were similar, bike mileage too but there were a few weeks a fair bit higher (more like 250+ miles per week). But as someone else said, volume is only one part of the equation…
This is really impossible to give advice for without your specific situation…however I can say that my experience has been that the run is a huge factor in being able to hit 4:30 or better. I went 4:30 at worlds and would’ve gone about 4:20 if it weren’t for some problems I had during…off course on swim (sun in face and sighted to wrong buoys) slow transition (couldn’t find bag) and then traffic jam at mile 50 on bike…my run however should’ve been faster so I would say that running is a very important part of this sport. If there is one thing I would reccomend its definately including some higher intensity workouts…I race alot and I think that is paying off in my second year doing tri’s…I’ve already seen big gains this year from racing. Obviously you can’t race every weekend and expect to be at your best, but sometimes using races to push you in workouts can help. I know for me I always race at a higher level than even my best training days because I’m very competitive and it pushes me. So I know that’s not very specific advice but hopefully helps you meet your goals.
For those of you who have broken 4:30 in a half, I’m curious what your average swim/bike/run volume was.
Two years ago I did a 4:37 in a half, and I’m wanting this year to break 4:30. I’m considering:
3 swims (9-10k per week)
4 bikes (150-175 miles per week)
5 runs (40-50 miles of one brick, long, tempo, and two easy runs per week)
Is that similar to what you did to break 4:30?
Thanks
That is pretty much the types of workouts and distances I do and I am hoping for 4:30 this year.
that’s plenty of volume…assuming you use it wisely, get the appropriate recovery, time your nutrition, and work hard when you should and do lots of zone 2 when you should.
it looks like you must already be a pretty good swimmer and need the most work on your run from how you choose to divide your time. If that is not the case, consider spending more time on your weaker leg especially if one of those is the bike or the run.
bet you’ll do it this year. good luck.
I’ve got the high run mileage in order to prep for a marathon 9 weeks after the half. I figure after the half I’ll bump the running up to 60-70 mpw.
I swim a 32 minute half, which isn’t fast by any stretch, but I don’t think I want to spend more time in the pool because I think I’ll get greater dividends on the bike and the run for hte time spent there.
My goal splits are a 32 min swim, 2:25 bike, 1:28 run, or thereabouts, plus transitions, for a sub 4:30
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My goal splits are a 32 min swim, 2:25 bike, 1:28 run, or thereabouts, plus transitions, for a sub 4:30
That sounds good id have to be flying to do a 1:28 so i have to make it up on the bike.
I use to be stuck at about the 4.40 point. Then a friend told me to race and not pace. Next race I dropped to ~4.22.
Best advice I ever got.
My splits are about 33 swim, 2.15 ride and 1.25 run. Proir to that they were about 34 swim, 2.28 bike and run that was about 1.37 or so.
These days when I race a half I just go hard from the beginning to the end. Sometimes I blow up, most of the time I dont. Planning on going sub 4.15 this year.
Good luck.
The volume you have listed there is plenty to get you a sub 4:30 provided …
1. You have sufficient quality in your workouts
2. The 4:37 that you did wasn’t your completely maxed out limit of your physical abilities
Good Luck