Ironman Training Plan wanted

In article <[email hidden]>,

Gurrie said:

I am after an Ironman training plan for a race approx 30
weeks away. As much as I would like to retain a coach for
mindiviudla coaching, finances don't permit.

Any books, urls etc that you can suggest will help.

google.comsearchOpen ↗
8859-1&q=Iron man+Training+Plan

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night, and party every day. Th-
en it was every other day. . . ."
- Homer J. Simpson

Gurrie said:

All,

I am after an Ironman training plan for a race approx 30
weeks away. As much as I would like to retain a coach for
mindiviudla coaching, finances don't permit.

Any books, urls etc that you can suggest will help.

Regards,

Craig

"Training Plans for Multisport Athletes" by Gale Bernhardt

http://www.trinewbies.com/2Ironman26TP.htm

Good Luck!

Thanks. I have searched using google already.

Whilst it has given me some leads, I want to hear from
fellow triathletes what has worked and what has not.

Incidently, I have also searched through past postings of
this newsgroup too, but was unable to find what I am
searching for.

"Harold Buck" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:no_one_knows-
[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Gurrie said:

I am after an Ironman training plan for a race approx 30
weeks away. As much as I would like to retain a coach
for mindiviudla coaching,

finances

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

don't permit.

Any books, urls etc that you can suggest will help.

google.comsearchOpen ↗
1&oe=ISO-8859-1&q=Iron man+Training+Plan

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night, and party every day.
Then it was every other day. . . ."
- Homer J. Simpson

"Harwood" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

trinewbies.com2Ironman26TP.htmOpen ↗

I don't understand this program.....the longest run is 1.5
hours and the longest bike is 4 hours? That doesn't seem
like enough for IM training. What am I missing?

Susan

In article <[email hidden]>,

Susan in LA said:

"Harwood" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

trinewbies.com2Ironman26TP.htmOpen ↗

I don't understand this program.....the longest run is 1.5
hours and the longest bike is 4 hours? That doesn't seem
like enough for IM training. What am I missing?

Maybe the 1.5 hour run is 18 miles and the the 4 hour bike
is 100 miles? If you can do that and swim halfway decently,
I think you can finish an Ironman. :-)

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night, and party every day. Th-
en it was every other day. . . ."
- Homer J. Simpson

I'm with you, Harold. Why waste unnecessary time training
when you could be doing other things instead?

"Harold Buck" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:no_one_knows-
[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Susan in LA said:

"Harwood" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

trinewbies.com2Ironman26TP.htmOpen ↗

I don't understand this program.....the longest run is
1.5 hours and the longest bike is 4 hours? That doesn't
seem like enough for IM training.

What

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

am I missing?

Maybe the 1.5 hour run is 18 miles and the the 4 hour bike
is 100 miles? If you can do that and swim halfway
decently, I think you can finish an Ironman. :-)

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night, and party every day.
Then it was every other day. . . ."
- Homer J. Simpson

"Gurrie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

All,

I am after an Ironman training plan for a race approx 30
weeks away. As much as I would like to retain a coach for
mindiviudla coaching, finances don't permit.

Any books, urls etc that you can suggest will help.

Regards,

Craig

Hi Craig,

My Ironman goal last year was to finish. Which I did at
12:30. My plan was simple:

Step 1. Marathon focus training. (runnersworld.com0,1300,1 51 56Open ↗
1440,FF.html?site=RunnersWorld) Step 2. Century focus
training. Step 3. Combine.

I made it about 3/4 of the way through my initial marathon
training when I realized that time was running out and had
to shift gears to focus more on the bike. Long rides are
key. The sooner you can get to 100+ miles the better. I
ended up with about 4 90+ mile rides and I wish I had about
3 more under my belt. I never made it to "over-distance"
(like around 120) which was a training goal of mine.

I never did find a good century workout, so I adapted the
pattern from the marathon program. My experience with most
training programs was that they assumed that I was going for
a sub 10-hour finishing time - and they assumed that my
"base" training was essentially what I was doing the week
before I tapered. I had completed a 1/2 Ironman the year
before, and had about 22 races under my belt in 9 years of
sprints/Olympic distance races - but I was really starting
close to zero.

My swimming plan which is obviously missing here was
essentially to "maintain". I posted a 3000 yrd workout last
week which was my staple for my training (prior to this
training I felt that a 2400 was a "great workout"😉. I did
this 2-3 times a week. As I got closer to my big day I did
some open water swims.

I think I came pretty close to a "minimalist" Ironman
training program - and I still had several weeks of 19+
hours worth of training.

A huge part of my enjoyment in completing the Ironman was
knowing that my training plan worked - as untested as it had
been. I was the first (and probably last) guinea pig for it.
Tailoring your plan yourself around where you are and what
you need to accomplish will really help you stick to your
goals and realize what needs to be done.

While I was spent upon the finish, I was still coherent, and
I was able to join my fans for pizza and beer afterwards.
This contrasted dramatically with the 1/2 Ironman I did the
year previous where I was essentially a zombie for 4 hours
after the race.

Whatever your plan is be sure to give yourself two-three
weeks to taper!

Good luck!

-CF

PS if you want more details feel free to ask.

"Harold Buck" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Susan in LA said:

"Harwood" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

trinewbies.com2Ironman26TP.htmOpen ↗

I don't understand this program.....the longest run is
1.5 hours and the longest bike is 4 hours? That doesn't
seem like enough for IM training.

What

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

am I missing?

Maybe the 1.5 hour run is 18 miles and the the 4 hour bike
is 100 miles? If you can do that and swim halfway
decently, I think you can finish an Ironman. :-)

If I could do *that* I wouldn't train at all! :-P

Susan in LA (took 4 hours to go 55 miles today......but
there was this *really* big hill......)

"Susan in LA" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Harold Buck" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:no_one_knows-
[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Susan in LA said:

"Harwood" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message
"]news:[email hidden]...
> trinewbies.com2Ironman26TP.htmOpen ↗

I don't understand this program.....the longest run is
1.5 hours and

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

longest bike is 4 hours? That doesn't seem like enough
for IM

training.

Quoted message said:

What

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

am I missing?

Maybe the 1.5 hour run is 18 miles and the the 4 hour
bike is 100 miles? If you can do that and swim halfway
decently, I think you can finish an Ironman. :-)

If I could do *that* I wouldn't train at all! :-P

Susan in LA (took 4 hours to go 55 miles today......but
there was this *really* big hill......)

That's quite a run!

a.

In article <TVVic.17065$S42.16751@lakeread03>,

ChronoFish said:

I think I came pretty close to a "minimalist" Ironman
training program - and I still had several weeks of 19+
hours worth of training.

You're pretty far from "minimalist," I think. I think my
longest week of training was about 15 hours of actual
training, with most in the 10-12 hour range. However, I
didn't come close to your 12:30!

I am trying to get faster this year, and hopefully I'll
get another shot at an IM-distance race next year and can
shave off some time (particularly if I get a cooler day
next time :-)

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night, and party every day. Th-
en it was every other day. . . ."
- Homer J. Simpson

"ChronoFish" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<TVVic.17065$S42.16751@lakeread03>...

Quoted message said:

"Gurrie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> ChronoFish's excellent training plan ommited <<<<

-CF

PS if you want more details feel free to ask.

I used a similar approach to do IM Australia last month.
My "logic" was that biking was 1/2 the race so should
account for 1/2 the training time. I'm normally a runner
but decided to do all my recovery workouts on the bike; I
rode every morning and alternated running/swimming after
work. I did build to 8-10 100+ rides with a single 123. I
did 2 ~95mi/16mi bricks and the longest run was 21 miles.
I'm a terrible swimmer but trained enough to finish and
just took it easy.

The result? I misjudged the taper, came to the race
overtrained and was lucky to finish in 12:20. A week before
the race I was in a state where a slow 4 mile run would have
me sore the next day. I was panicking and did only 20min of
exercise/day the last week, staying in bed, the couch or
light stretching. I felt ok on race day but nothing close to
"ready to go!". I was very conservative in the swim, a
little slower than my original plan on the bike, easing off
whenever I felt any pain or tightness in my legs, and just
did what I could on the run. I made it through 22mi of the
run at 9min/mile when my thighs gave it up. I went down a
hill and both quads were suddenly filled with broken glass.
I managed to walk/jog for another kilometer, then walked the
rest of the way in. My nutrition during the day went well, I
didn't "bonk" in that sense. I'd simply overcooked my legs
weeks earlier and never recovered.

Given my state, that it was my 1st IM, I counted myself
very lucky to finish and was satisfied to have survived
it. I plan to do it again in 2 years and will do it /alot/
differently. I'd skipped weight training during the base
phase, which was a mistake. I'd done too many long rides
mixed with hard midweek hill repeats on the bike. Too much
and not enough recovery in between. I'd read, and ignored,
the advice: only 1 hard workout/week in each discipline.
That doesn't mean the others are all "recovery" type
workouts, just not the kind that take more than 2-3 days
to recover from. I'd begin reducing volume earlier and
adding shorter, higher intensity, stuff sooner. Finally,
my taper was really only about 3 weeks. I'll do an honest
5 this time, keep the intensity till the last week, taper
the volume.

Whatever you read, keep in mind that we are all an
"experiment of one" so something that worked for another may
not work for us. I try to learn something from every race
and it keeps me eager to train and race again.

Thanks for the feedback. It is very much appreciated.

Craig

"ChronoFish" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:TVVic.17065$S42.16751@lakeread03...

Quoted message said:

"Gurrie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

All,

I am after an Ironman training plan for a race approx 30
weeks away. As much as I would like to retain a coach
for mindiviudla coaching,

finances

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

don't permit.

Any books, urls etc that you can suggest will help.

Regards,

Craig

Hi Craig,

My Ironman goal last year was to finish. Which I did at
12:30. My plan

was simple:

Quoted message said:

Step 1. Marathon focus training.

(runnersworld.com0,1300,1 51 56Open ↗
1440,FF.html?site=RunnersWo rld)

Quoted message said:

Step 2. Century focus training. Step 3. Combine.

I made it about 3/4 of the way through my initial marathon
training when I

realized that time was running out and had to shift gears

Quoted message said:

to focus more on the bike. Long rides are key. The sooner
you can get to

100+ miles the better. I ended up with about 4 90+ mile

Quoted message said:

rides and I wish I had about 3 more under my belt. I never
made it to

"over-distance" (like around 120) which was a training goal

Quoted message said:

of mine.

I never did find a good century workout, so I adapted the
pattern from the

marathon program. My experience with most training

Quoted message said:

programs was that they assumed that I was going for a
sub 10-hour

finishing time - and they assumed that my "base"
training was

Quoted message said:

essentially what I was doing the week before I tapered. I
had completed a

1/2 Ironman the year before, and had about 22 races under

Quoted message said:

my belt in 9 years of sprints/Olympic distance races - but
I was really

starting close to zero.

Quoted message said:

My swimming plan which is obviously missing here was
essentially to

"maintain". I posted a 3000 yrd workout last week
which was my

Quoted message said:

staple for my training (prior to this training I felt that
a 2400 was a

"great workout"😉. I did this 2-3 times a week. As I got

Quoted message said:

closer to my big day I did some open water swims.

I think I came pretty close to a "minimalist" Ironman
training program -

and I still had several weeks of 19+ hours worth of

Quoted message said:

training.

A huge part of my enjoyment in completing the Ironman was
knowing that my

training plan worked - as untested as it had been. I was

Quoted message said:

the first (and probably last) guinea pig for it. Tailoring
your plan

yourself around where you are and what you need to
accomplish

Quoted message said:

will really help you stick to your goals and realize what
needs to be

done.

Quoted message said:

While I was spent upon the finish, I was still coherent,
and I was able to

join my fans for pizza and beer afterwards. This

Quoted message said:

contrasted dramatically with the 1/2 Ironman I did the
year previous where

I was essentially a zombie for 4 hours after the race.

Quoted message said:

Whatever your plan is be sure to give yourself two-three
weeks to taper!

Good luck!

-CF

PS if you want more details feel free to ask.

Thanks for sharing your experience Bob

"Bob Mercier" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"ChronoFish" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:<TVVic.17065$S42.16751@lakeread03>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

"Gurrie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>> ChronoFish's excellent training plan ommited <<<<

-CF

PS if you want more details feel free to ask.

I used a similar approach to do IM Australia last month.
My "logic" was that biking was 1/2 the race so should
account for 1/2 the training time. I'm normally a runner
but decided to do all my recovery workouts on the bike; I
rode every morning and alternated running/swimming after
work. I did build to 8-10 100+ rides with a single 123. I
did 2 ~95mi/16mi bricks and the longest run was 21 miles.
I'm a terrible swimmer but trained enough to finish and
just took it easy.

The result? I misjudged the taper, came to the race
overtrained and was lucky to finish in 12:20. A week
before the race I was in a state where a slow 4 mile run
would have me sore the next day. I was panicking and did
only 20min of exercise/day the last week, staying in bed,
the couch or light stretching. I felt ok on race day but
nothing close to "ready to go!". I was very conservative
in the swim, a little slower than my original plan on the
bike, easing off whenever I felt any pain or tightness in
my legs, and just did what I could on the run. I made it
through 22mi of the run at 9min/mile when my thighs gave
it up. I went down a hill and both quads were suddenly
filled with broken glass. I managed to walk/jog for
another kilometer, then walked the rest of the way in. My
nutrition during the day went well, I didn't "bonk" in
that sense. I'd simply overcooked my legs weeks earlier
and never recovered.

Given my state, that it was my 1st IM, I counted myself
very lucky to finish and was satisfied to have survived
it. I plan to do it again in 2 years and will do it /alot/
differently. I'd skipped weight training during the base
phase, which was a mistake. I'd done too many long rides
mixed with hard midweek hill repeats on the bike. Too much
and not enough recovery in between. I'd read, and ignored,
the advice: only 1 hard workout/week in each discipline.
That doesn't mean the others are all "recovery" type
workouts, just not the kind that take more than 2-3 days
to recover from. I'd begin reducing volume earlier and
adding shorter, higher intensity, stuff sooner. Finally,
my taper was really only about 3 weeks. I'll do an honest
5 this time, keep the intensity till the last week, taper
the volume.

Whatever you read, keep in mind that we are all an
"experiment of one" so something that worked for another
may not work for us. I try to learn something from every
race and it keeps me eager to train and race again.

Quoted message said:

"Susan in LA" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Harold Buck" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:no_one_knows-
[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article
<[email hidden]>, "Susan
in LA" <[email hidden]> wrote:

> "Harwood" <[email hidden]> wrote in
> message
> "]news:[email hidden]...
> > trinewbies.com2Ironman26TP.htmOpen ↗
>
> I don't understand this program.....the longest run
> is 1.5 hours and

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> longest bike is 4 hours? That doesn't seem like
> enough for IM

training. What

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> am I missing?
>

Maybe the 1.5 hour run is 18 miles and the the 4 hour
bike is 100 miles? If you can do that and swim halfway
decently, I think you can finish an Ironman. :-)

If I could do *that* I wouldn't train at all! :-P

Susan in LA (took 4 hours to go 55 miles today......but
there was this *really* big hill......)

That's quite a run!

a.

Don't be silly.....it was a *swim* workout.

Susan in LA

"Susan in LA" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

news:<[email hidden]-
nk.net>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

"Susan in LA" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Harold Buck" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message news:no_one_knows-
[email hidden]...
> In article
> <[email hidden]>, "Susan
> in LA" <[email hidden]> wrote:
>
> > "Harwood" <[email hidden]> wrote
> > in message -"]news:[email hidden]-
> > server.com...
> > > trinewbies.com2Ironman26TP.htmOpen ↗
> >
> > I don't understand this program.....the longest
> > run is 1.5 hours

and

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the

Quoted message said:

> > longest bike is 4 hours? That doesn't seem like
> > enough for IM

training. What

Quoted message said:

> > am I missing?
> >
>
>
> Maybe the 1.5 hour run is 18 miles and the the 4
> hour bike is 100

miles?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> If you can do that and swim halfway decently, I
> think you can finish

an

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> Ironman. :-)

If I could do *that* I wouldn't train at all! :-P

Susan in LA (took 4 hours to go 55 miles
today......but there was this *really* big hill......)

That's quite a run!

a.

Don't be silly.....it was a *swim* workout.

In that case...That's quite a pool!

(This made me laugh.)

a.