What does it take to do a sub 10hr ironman

Triathlon Forum
1

Just a fun thread for reading.
Only reply if you have done it.

  1. male/female
  2. age
  3. years of tri training
  4. years of athletic history (and what sort)
  5. how long did it take to go sub 10
  6. what’s your secret (don’t science up here, if carrots are your secret say carrots)

don’t give advice or troll around. Only your personal stories counts :wink:

2

much will depend on your genetics… always best to ask “what does it take to live up to my potential?”… if that’s an 8 hour race or a 12 hour race… you’ll be satisfied…

that said…

  1. male
  2. 41 (did it first when i was 30)
  3. been training off and on since i was 24
  4. off an on 15 years… high school and college. etc. running and biking… was a runner first.
  5. 3 consistent years building up from olympic → ironman. did it on my second try at ironman (9:45:??)
  6. consistency and belonging to an awesome club so i could train in seattle’s rainy 9 month winter. :slight_smile:
3

I’ll bite:

Male

Age 43

Started triathlon 10 years ago.

All State HS soccer player. Had scholarship offers but only to colleges no one has ever heard of and that I had absolutely no interest in attending.

First KQ at 3rd IM (10:06). Went sub 10 on sixth try at the distance.

No secrets. Just consistency. Like most people on this board, I work 40-50 hours a week. I’m a trial attorney and usually try 3 to 4 week long (or multi week) jury trials a year. Regardless, I DO NOT skip workouts. Get up and get it done. My kids are 13 and 15 and so working out on weekends is easier. I just have to schedule long rides around soccer games. Youngest daughter is on traveling team. Soccer parents are just used to seeing me on my bike trainer in the hotel gym.

One other thing. Play to your strengths. I’m a poor swimmer. Therefore, I choose courses with a more difficult bike.

4

Just a fun thread for reading.
Only reply if you have done it.

  1. male/female
  2. age
  3. years of tri training
  4. years of athletic history (and what sort)
  5. how long did it take to go sub 10
  6. what’s your secret (don’t science up here, if carrots are your secret say carrots)

don’t give advice or troll around. Only your personal stories counts :wink:

I’ll bite…

Male, 35. Started triathlon 6 years ago, which is also the extent of my athletic history. Went sub-10 on my 4th attempt (previous attempts were 15:10, 13:01 and 11:29).

Secret? Nothing special. Just consistent work over a number of years. I would say of the past 6 years I have only been really “trying” for the past 3. However during those three years I have essentially been holding around a 12-13hr/week average (actual time spent as recorded in Training Peaks, a true average that includes all rest weeks, “off seasons” as well as big weeks). I really only peak around the 18-20hr mark in the last couple weeks ahead of a race. Most of the training hovers around 15hrs for “on” weeks and 8-10hrs on the “off” weeks. I take one of those every 5 weeks or so.

I started off fat and slow with not a single athletic bone in my body.

5

As other said, it depends a lot on your genetic potential… But I can play the game and add a data point :slight_smile:

1 - Male

2- 42 (39 at time of first sub 10)

3- 7 (4th year at time of first sub 10)

4- Never swam a stroke, ran a stride or rode a bike before 2009, 235 lbs couch potato; Zero athletic background; Cycling turned out to be a strength from the beginning.

5- First sub 10 in 4th season: 2009: starting from scratch doing sprints, 2010: training/doing four 70.3’s, **2011 **first two IM’s, 2012: 9h50 at IMMT

6-Most importantly, Consistency: I consider my training plan my highest priority, almost never miss a workout; Never use the weather as an excuse…I travel a fair amount for work, and never use that as an excuse either to reduce/skip training. Built a travel bike to take with me when flying out. I also do 95% of my bike and run training alone and follow the workout instructions pretty much exactly.A good coach that puts together a good training plan around my availability…

6
  1. Male
  2. 34
  3. 10+ in total.
  4. Grew up swimming. From 5 years old through college
  5. Second attempt
  6. HTFU Simply put in time and the effort. Get a solid swim base. Find someone to do a nice bike fit and go with that. Do lots of bike miles with intervals. Run, run, run. Base, LSD, intervals. Nothing new.
7

**** i love these threads, ha*****

  1. male/female
  2. age
  3. years of tri training
  4. years of athletic history (and what sort)
  5. how long did it take to go sub 10
  6. what’s your secret (don’t science up here, if carrots are your secret say carrots)

don’t give advice or troll around. Only your personal stories counts :wink:

  1. Male
  2. 36
  3. 3
  4. D1 tennis, 15 years of surfing, 3 years of running
  5. 2nd try (1st try was 10:19, 2nd try was 9:26), and 2 solid years of training.
  6. Consistency, shit ton of biking, eat really healthy: tons of broccoli and smoothies, picking the right course for me to race on. A good coach. Speeding a lot of hrs reading ST for pointers and tips, reading RR has been very helpful.
8

great, good stories!!! keep 'm coming

they inspire, not just for me :wink:

9

It’s quite a feeling! One I hope to experience this year again. Don’t know if I have any nuggets of wisdom to offer but…

  1. male
  2. Was 41 at the time, am 44 now
  3. 8 years
  4. cross country in HS, took up cycling about 15 years ago
  5. It was my 4th IM. 11:15ish, 10:40ish, 10:20ish, 9:20. I started with a goal to just finish. The goal to KQ gradually took hold of me.
  6. Find out how low you can get your weight and still be able to perform optimally. If you’re miserable, starving, a total jerk to be around and experiencing headaches…you can go lower. And you have to eat smart. Eat what your body needs and when it needs it. I think some folks eat too many carbs when the body needs protein to recover. This is very general of course cuz I’m guessing nobody wants to read a novel here.

Good luck, happy new year and cheers!

10

haha i like: “Find out how low you can get your weight and still be able to perform optimally. If you’re miserable, starving, a total jerk to be around and experiencing headaches…you can go lower.”

it goes next to the nice quotes:

'As far as ideal weight goes… "The trick is to keep losing weight until your friends and family ask you if you’ve been sick. then you know you’re within 10 pounds. if they start whispering to each other, wondering if you’ve got cancer or aids, you’re within 5. When they actually do an intervention, you’re at race weight.”
Barry Dmitruk 31 X IM Finisher / 7 X Kona Finisher ’

11
  1. Male
  2. 25 years old
  3. 4 years in triathlon
  4. Been training something since I was 16. Before that very limited athleticism. First 3 years was strenght & capoeira, then a few years of strenght/climbing, no amazing gains in anything but loved it, no ragrets. First 2 years of tri (-12 & -13) I was also hitting the weights regularly, weighed 4-5 kilos more back then.
  5. Went sub10 (9:37) in my first Ironman race, Ironman Kalmar 2015. 2 ITU long distance races before (one 7 weeks before IM, one the year before). Also OK times on these (6:31 w/ 3k swim, 5:47 w/ 1500 swim) so some longer stuff before IM debut.
  6. My secrets? Vegan diet, loving all the disciplines (yes swimming as well), solid psychosocial support, nerdy personality, most likely at least OK genetics. Last 2 years ~600h of training per year. I guess these are not really ‘secrets’. Just good work put in over 2-3 years, good food, loving friends and family and me learning to love both putting in effort and going long and easy. And reading about it in books, journals, blogs.
12

Went sub-10 on my 4th attempt (previous attempts were 15:10, 13:01 and 11:29).

That’s a pretty impressive progression. Last year I went just under 16 (raced Cozumel with my wife for our anniversary), this year 12:27. Hoping I can follow your trajectory.

Inspiring thread to start the new year. Keep 'em coming.

13

damn nice stories.
non sub10 people reply also. we all like your journey

14

.

45
male
8
running though not a college level
first year
Sign up for IM MD or Florida get a good aero position and train way more than you think you should and be consistent.

15
  1. male
  2. 32
  3. have been doing triathlon since 2010
  4. played soccer growing up and through college
  5. third attempt at IM went 9:31. First - 10:32 at IMCoz in 2011, Second - 10:50 at IMLou in 2012, Third - 9:31 at IMFL in 2013
  6. consistency, pay attention to the small details, build on strengths and improve weaknesses, more consistency
16

WOW!! You all are pretty damn good. Great stories to hear. Well no sub 10 here… Yet.

  1. Male
  2. 46
  3. 2 years at tri

Well I was athletic throughout my life with little to no cycling. Competitive swimmer in HS. I was a Runner cause the Marine Corp made me. I Signed up for IMFL 2014 before ever doing a single tri. ( jump with both feet I always say). Did 10:53 without swim(it got cancelled) Did IM Muskoka in 2015 and did just over 14:00. Bombed my nutrition on the bike which killed my run. Had a 1:06 swim though. I’m what you might call a scrapper in training. I train hard but 75% is probably the wrong way. I know I can get to a sub 10 when I finally get a coach to get get me there. Not a lot of support in my area of Ohio for tri. I’m kinda a lone wolf.

17
  1. Male
  2. 26
  3. 4
  4. Grew up playing hockey until University. Only running was occasional laps around the rink as punishment.
  5. Second Ironman. 2013 I did 10:58, 2015 I did 9:46. (2013 is when I got off to a very humble start with a 4:47 marathon, and 6:50 HIM)
  6. Consistency in training, and an off season away from S/B/R to keep me motivated when it’s time to put in the work.
18
  1. male
  2. 30 at time of race
  3. 2 yrs
  4. anything and everything. Played soccer most of my life (wing back or winger - never particular fast but ran a lot - kind of like an amateur version of Robbie Savage). Before triathlon I did 3 years of intensive boxing training, was definitely in the best shape of my life before taking up triathlon.
  5. 2 years I guess. IM Wales 12:4X after first year (hilly course). IMFL in 9:4X second year.
  6. Time and effort: just did what my tri coach told me to do mostly (mostly longer and slower that I was ever used to); swim lessons, bough a tri bike, got a good bike fit; bought aero wheels/helmet; gave up drinking; gave up my social life practically; 4-5hr sessions on the trainer; paid attention to diet/weight/nutrition; luck (good weather, no mechanicals, no nutrition issues, warm but not hot, etc). Basically just went all-in, not sure out of those things what helped.
19
  1. male/female : male
  2. age : 54
  3. years of tri training : 31
  4. years of athletic history (and what sort) : 49. No significant childhood athletic accomplishments, but I’ve always done reasonably well at multi-sport/ adventure sport/ ultras.
  5. how long did it take to go sub 10 : 27 years and 27 IMs. Slow learner.
  6. what’s your secret (don’t science up here, if carrots are your secret say carrots) : Consistency (of course) + really high volume over a number of years. Sub - 11 has always been pretty “easy”. 10:15 - 10:40 has been “moderate-hard”. Sub 10 took massive effort; particularly running (my weakness). I got serious about running ultras (100km+, mountains, desert). That really built running toughness, which paid off in the back half of the marathon where things had gone pear shaped so many times before. Sub-10 was a PB by 7 minutes, with a run PB by 7 minutes. I think that took, quite literally, almost 1000 extra hours of run training. No easy way for me.

don’t give advice - I know enough not to give advice - or troll around. Only your personal stories counts :wink:

20
  1. Male
  2. 34
  3. Doing Tri’s since 2007 (26 y/o). First Ironman in 2011.
  4. Swam my whole life up through college. Swam at Cornell University. Came from a high volume club team and trained in the distance group in college. Learned to swim at 4ish…started competitively at 6 or 7.
  5. Went sub 10 in my 6th Ironman (9:46). I have done 7. However my times have mostly hovered around 10 hours (10:30 IMKY, 10:00 IMKY, 10:08 IMCDA, 10:03 IMKY, IMLP (DNF), 9:46 IMCHATT, 10:01 IMTX)
  6. No secret. Just consistency. I try to hit two hours of some combination of swim/bike/run every day. Average about 13-14 hours per week year round and have a few big blocks during competition months. During the summer months the average is more like 16-20 hours per week. A few weeks a year will be as high as 24 hours.

My biggest advice is that there is no substitute for saddle time, and time on your feet. Consistency is key. I am of the belief that if I can stay consistent I will ultimately have another breakthrough and get from a consistent 10 hour guy to a consistent 9:30-9:45 guy. Volume will get you most of the way there. However, as I have gotten older (and recently had a child) I am trying to fit in more intensity since my volume has suffered a bit…And definitely get a power meter. I wasn’t training for real until I had one.

My biggest limiter is my run. Most of my Ironman marathons have been around 3:40. With my bike and swim I need to consistently be 3:20-3:25 to have a chance at KQ. Spending a lot of time this winter attacking my run weakness. Trying to run at least some every day and hope I can stay injury free. Next shot is at IMTX in May.