On my running club forum, somebody casually asserted that triathletes “easily work out 20-30 hours a week, often more.” Is that right? Twenty I can imagine. But 30 or more?
(This came up during a discussion of Heidi Westerling, a young woman who recently ran a 1:11 half-marathon. In Running Times, she said that for a while she was running 150-200 miles a week. This led to some speculation on my club’s forum about how many hours she spends running, and how much time triathletes spend working out.)
i think a lot of people throw numbers around without knowing whats going on.
i think peter ried in his crazy weeks said 34-38 hours? and he was known for some insane volume weeks.
for most age groupers a 20 hour week is unheard of.
many say they are training that much, but a lot gets thrown into that 20 hours (driving to/from pool, talking pool side, getting ready to ride, etc), very few of them are run/bike/swimming 20 hours a week.
IMOP I would say 20 hours would be an easier week for them. In my big weeks in prep for a 70.3 I have been up to 14 hours on my biggest week. SportTracks is great and it tracks my total training time for the week/month/year, so those 14 hours did not include all the transportation and conversational time.
In my experience back of the front pack AGers are training 20 hours per week. Guys at the front have more god given talent, but some do it by putting in those extra 3 - 5 hours, primarily on the bike. Typical for an entry level pro to be logging 25 hours per week. Top pros in their big weeks might be pulling 35 hours, which is insane.
some weeks could be 40, but that would be not for the top guys. 30 yes - some weeks at some age. 20 something i think is closer to average. It’s not just about hours
Before an IM I was aiming for 4 sessions each sport:
Swim: 5hours
Bike: 300 to 400km = 10 to 13 hours
Run: 5 to 6 hours
So that would be 20 to 29 hours.
I have a business to run on the side, too. So a Pro or a AGer with more time to train and recover (!) could train more. Not sure if that brings more quality, but to some extend in endurance more is more.
Pete,
Call Athlete’s Lounge in Portland, join Ironheads Triathlon Team, ride (frequently) with Dave Ciavarella and the crew. Then, you’ll know.
With that said, this is part of the quality vs. quantity debate. In reality, you have to have both.
My experience shows that my top performances have occurred when I’ve had peak weeks approaching 30 hours, but also completed some quality power/VO2 max sessions.
I’d argue that you will rarely find athletes (Steve Larsen and a few really experienced athletes excepted) who can have top performances (Kona qualification) on less than 14 hours average and 20 hours peak.
However, individuals vary so listen to your body and do what makes you happy and let the chips fall where they may…
I’d argue that you will rarely find athletes (Steve Larsen and a few really experienced athletes excepted) who can have top performances (Kona qualification) on less than 14 hours average and 20 hours peak.
I read something he wrote recently that said he thought he was benefitting from 20 years of high training volume, most of it as a professional cyclist. I had a friend who was a very good triathlete (One overall AG national win and one AG win in the early 90s) and he said he found the same thing. He injured a foot and has been running only once a week and riding and swimming a lot less than he used to do. For a couple of years he could do short, hard stuff and still be fine and he attributed that to 20 years of 20 hours or more per week, but now he can’t do it anymore since that huge aerobic base has pretty much run its course.
Thanks Jonathan and everyone for the insights. Yeah, “top level” was vague – I guess I was thinking in terms of nationally competitive age-groups and pros. Seems pretty clear from the various posts that volumes in the 20-30 range are not uncommon, and that some folks do go over 30 hours. Yikes!
Hours per week varies on who you are talking to. Some will take there 3 or 4 top weeks of the year and use that number for whatever reason. I’m pretty competitive and my max weeks are 20-21 hours maybe 2 or 3 times in the year. November - December I’m at 5-7 hours, January - February I’m at 7-9 hours and currently I’m at 12-13 hours. June - July will be at around 15-17 hours. This does not count the easy weeks wher I cut volume by almost 40%.
FWIW, I never ride longer than 4 hours and will only run more than 2 hours once or twice. I prefer a 3 hour bike ride with 45’ to an hour at an uncomfortable pace than grinding it out for 6 hours. This enables me to hit the 3 - 4 hour mark in an IM at a comfortable pace and not have muc longer to go.
I think that triathlon is, in generally, relatively untested, and it will evolve to realize the current volume is way to high. Top runners are doing 100 mile + training weeks - but their training pace translates into 10 - 14 hours. There is a point of diminishing returns for training metabolically - and ultimately the smart performers will be 12-15 hours if working, while full time would rarely need to go over 22-25 except specific camps. Of course… many over due it and wonder why they show up to races fit… but tired.
To get into 4:0X shape or better, I run 5, bike 2, and swim 4-6 each week. easy/maintenance runs are 45-1:15, including 1 hard workout/wk, and 1 long run (1:45-2:00) One ride is short (45-65mi) hard, in the hills or with fast (pro 1/2) groups, my other ride is 75-110mi, depending on what I am training for and fatigue level. I always follow my long ride with my long run the next day. Swim sessions are usually 1:15-1:45 long. One of the days might me an easy 45min recovery. I am at 5days/wk in to pool for the most part, so yes, all those days are doubles.
A short run/swim (45min/1:00) is my single recovery day for the week. My once-a-week hard run and hard ride change as the season progresses, they are the backbone of my fitness.
For ~9:00 IM shape I add 15-20% volume (mostly on the bike), and drop a little intensity on the bike/run.
This is my humble, simple training regime.
I never really add it up, but I imagine it puts me 23-30hrs/wk, depending. I know of other “B” tier pros who do everything I do plus another 10hrs (or more) on the bike.
On my running club forum, somebody casually asserted that triathletes “easily work out 20-30 hours a week, often more.” Is that right? Twenty I can imagine. But 30 or more?
(This came up during a discussion of Heidi Westerling, a young woman who recently ran a 1:11 half-marathon. In Running Times, she said that for a while she was running 150-200 miles a week. This led to some speculation on my club’s forum about how many hours she spends running, and how much time triathletes spend working out.)
Pete Danko
Portland, OR
That’s very interesting. 150+ mpw would seem counterproductive to a half-marathon PR.
But for someone running at her level an easy 8:30 pace for 150+ miles during her buildup period (many months before peaking) might be feasible…but not with any intensity included.
Is this something that’s becoming in vogue for elite runners these days?
I was thinking that if you are running say 175 miles in a week it obviously includes probably a minimum of 150 miles of sub-race-pace running. All of that slow running is good for certain things, but it’s likely to actually slow her half marathon race pace (but of course I doubt she was anywhere near her 1:11 race while doing those miles…so mute point right?)
but you do make a good point. If any given athlete can handle more training loads and still recover fine then they will have an advantage.
So a Pro or a AGer with more time to train and recover (!) could train more. Not sure if that brings more quality, but to some extend in endurance more is more.