Triathlon: Three Great Bike Workouts For an Ironman Race

Originally Published in Inside Triathlon Magazine
By Mike Koenig, CTS Expert Coach, USA Cycling Expert Coach

When preparing for a 112 mile time trial, the Ironman athlete absolutely MUST prepare the body to spend a really long time on the bike at a medium level of intensity. Doesn’t sound that intimidating, right? Hopefully not, because a 112 mile ride, taken as a separate entity, should be something that just about any Ironman athlete can accomplish with a good, solid effort. However, problems do often begin to arise toward the latter stages of the bike leg and especially AFTER the bike is completed, starting in T2 and carrying over into the run. Therefore it is imperative that you train your body to complete the bike ride as comfortably and as strongly as possible while leaving enough in the tank to go out and run a marathon afterward.

The long ride

As mentioned above, just about any Ironman athlete can get through a 112 mile ride. However, finishing this ride with enough juice left to tackle the marathon is the trick. Many Ironman athletes will get through their long ride of 4, 5, or 6 hours but have trouble maintaining form and power output during the last hour or so. Why is this? The answer could be one or more of the following reasons:

Hydration

We all know that we need to stay hydrated during any endurance exercise. However, triathletes are often surprised as to how much they should be drinking. The recommended dosage is 4-8 oz every 15 minutes. On a warm, sunny or humid day you will want to be on the upper end of that range, which means you will be consuming roughly two bottles of water per hour! It should also be noted that the timing of your drinking is important. Don’t just guzzle a bottle of water every half hour – instead, do your best to systematically take in small amounts of fluid at more regular intervals so that your body has the chance to absorb all of it.

Nutrition

This is where things can get a little confusing. There is a simple formula though: 1 to 2 grams carbohydrate per kilogram body weight per hour. That is, you need to calculate how much you weigh in kilograms (1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds) and then multiply this number by between 1 and 2. The result will be your minimum and maximum range of caloric intake per hour. Example: If you weigh 150 pounds, you weigh about 70 kg. This means you’ll need between 70-140 grams of carbohydrate per hour!!

Nutrition during training and racing is of the utmost importance for events lasting longer than 90-120 minutes. After about 2 hours, muscle glycogen levels (the body’s “gasoline”) will decrease unless they are refueled. Therefore, you should lay out an eating plan for every hour spent on the bike so that you keep the fuel going to your muscles.

The long ride is your weekly opportunity to simulate the race but at a lower intensity. Practice these nutritional concepts on your long ride. Try to vary what you eat and tinker with different foods, bars, and gels until you find a winning formula. Remember though, once you get to the run, you may be more limited with what your stomach can handle since running involves a much more jarring motion than the bike. So have fun on the bike and eat foods that taste good! Just be sure to get the proper amount of fuel and you should be OK.

Steady state pieces

The steady state rides are workouts that will teach your body to buffer lactic acid more efficiently. Without getting too scientific, lactic acid is what makes your legs feel heavy after a hard effort.

This ride can be performed by warming up for about 20 minutes, during which you should include a couple fast pedal (cadence 110+) intervals just to focus on getting the legs moving at a fast cadence (albeit in a smaller gear). Then ride at steady state effort for about 30 minutes for beginners and up to 120 minutes for more veteran riders. Heart rate for this ride should be at your lactate threshold. Try to do this workout on an uninterrupted stretch of road so that you can keep your heart rate up the entire time. Cadence for steady state intervals while climbing should be 70-80 RPM, and flat terrain cadence should be 85-95 RPM.

Sample Workout:

20 minutes warm up including 2 x 3 minutes fast pedal
40 minutes steady state (increase by about 10 minutes every week)
20 minutes cool down

Climbing repeats/power intervals

Climbing repeats and power intervals are the final pieces of the Ironman puzzle. Triathletes often ignore bike intervals completely and as a result might be selling themselves short of getting the most from their training. That is not to say that these are absolutely necessary if you want to finish an Ironman, but they are necessary if you want to race an Ironman. Performing either workout will give benefits for obvious reasons, but when you are structuring your training program be sure to check out the elevation profile of your Ironman course. For hillier rides such as Canada or Lake Placid, you’ll want to incorporate climbing repeats more often.

Climbing Repeats

This workout should be performed on a long steady climb. Your climbing lactate threshold heart rate is slightly higher than your individual lactate threshold heart rate on flat terrain. The cadence should be 70-85 RPM.

Sample Workout:

20-30 minutes warm up including 2 x 3 minutes fast pedal
3 x 8 minutes climbing repeat with 5 minutes rest between intervals
20-30 minutes cool down

Power Intervals

This workout should be performed on an indoor trainer because of the controlled environment allowing for a better comparison from one session to another. It can also be performed on a relatively flat section of road. The gearing should be moderate, but pedal cadence must be high (110 or higher). Take one minute to build up to the desired training zone, then maintain this intensity for the remaining interval. It will be during the last two minutes of each interval that will develop your maximum aerobic capacity. With a high cadence, your heart rate will remain extremely high and you will train your body's ability to deliver oxygen to the muscles. Recovery between intervals is easy spinning.

Sample Workout:

20-30 minutes warm up including 2 x 3 minutes fast pedal
2 sets of 3 x 3 minutes power intervals, 3 minutes rest between intervals, 10 minutes rest between sets
20-30 minutes cool down.

Mike Koenig is a Carmichael Training Systems (CTS) and USA Cycling Expert Level coach. To learn more about Michael and CTS, visit www.trainright.com.