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by Patrick McCrann
Ask any IM veteran and they will tell you that the hardest part of the Ironman isn’t what happens on race day. The hardest part is actually making it to the starting line. Being ready on race day has a lot more to do with what you’ve done over the last six months than the type of wheels you have or the terrain you’ll encounter on the course. It’s my experience that the training leading up to the race is a pretty solid indicator of performance. Nail the training and chances are, you’ll be in a good place on race day.
The Cycles
Two distinct cycles lie ahead in your IM training: preparation and build. Regardless of your experience level, preparation training is predominantly aerobic work and includes drills, Zone 1-2 runs and cycling as well as a focus on technique. Build training is a bit more individual, as the level and duration of the work depends on your experience, current fitness level and your race day goals.
The length of these cycles depends on your overall fitness and race experience. The less fit you are, the more real training you can get done, the better off you will be. This training will be primarily aerobic / endurance focused. On the other hand, the fitter you are, the less build you need to do, but this training will be at a somewhat higher intensity (endurance / tempo). In other words, the fitter you are, the longer you can wait on the real training – but you have to work harder. For those of you who have multiple IM races under your belt, you know that you have a bit more leeway with your training as the overall fitness gains are cumulative and tend to stick around despite downturns in your exercise cycle.
I recommend most athletes think in blocks of four weeks, as experience has shown that a monthly “cycle” is relatively simple for most folks to grasp and schedule around.
Newbies: 24 weeks, 6 cycles as 2c preparation + 4c build
Intermediate: 20 weeks, 5 cycles as 1c preparation + 4c build
Experienced: 16 weeks, 4 cycles as 1c preparation + 3c build
Moving From Cycles to Weeks
Now that you have sense of your training window, how do you actually make the plan actionable? Well, we start by setting up a “basic week” for both the Preparation and Build cycles; this is meant to be a set schedule that helps you budget your time appropriately.
Basic Preparation Week
Your basic Preparation “week” should be relatively short (approximately 10 hours) and should be heavy on aerobic work, stretching, core and strength. And you should have a day off! Here is a sample week for an Irondistance athlete, with a focus on swim, moderate on the run, light on the bike.
| MON - |
OFF |
| TUE - |
Core/Flex (45 mins), Masters Swim (60 mins) |
| WED - |
Spin Class/Trainer (45 mins), Tempo Run (45 mins) |
| THU - |
Core/Flex (45 mins), Masters Swim (60 mins) |
| FRI - |
Spin Class/Trainer (45 mins), Drill Run (30 mins) |
| SAT - |
Core/Flex (45 mins), Long Swim (75 mins) |
| SUN - |
Long Run (90 mins) |
This week has three swims, three runs, three core/flex and two spins. Eleven workouts; the longest workout is on Sunday. It's a very easy schedule to manage, especially considering the core/flex stuff can be done at home. If you need core or flex ideas, visit the Training Tips section on the PTS website [link] where we have free routines available for downloading!
Basic Build Week
This is where it starts to get a little dicey, as there are so many variables to each person’s training. This week should be a bit longer than the Preparation week, so think approximately 14-18 hours. I recommend athletes have either a day off (Newbies) or a day with an optional light workout (Intermediate +). There should be a long weekday “day” and a long weekend day where you go long at an endurance pace…an you can do more tempo work on the other days (or at the end of those endurance efforts).
| MON - |
OFF / Optional Recovery Spin (60 mins) |
| TUE - |
Masters Swim (60 mins) Tempo Run (45-60 mins) |
| WED - |
Endurance Ride (90-120 mins), Endurance Run (80-120 mins) |
| THU - |
Masters Swim (60 mins), Tempo Trainer (45-60 mins) |
| FRI - |
Core/Flex (45 mins), Endurance Swim (60 mins) |
| SAT - |
Long Ride + Short Run (180-360 mins + 15-30 mins) |
| SUN - |
Long Run + Recovery (90-150 mins + 15 mins) |
This week has three swims (including one endurance swim), four runs, three bike rides and one core/flex workout. Wednesday and Saturday are the long days for maximum rest between the efforts; you’ll need good rest on Tuesday and Friday nights. The schedule can be adjusted as needed, and does not include double bike weekends or race simulation efforts—both of which are key training milestones.
Conclusion
Remember, a basic week is simple: it's a set schedule that you can implement over and over again. You are establishing a routine that you can implement through that entire particular cycle. By planning for your training now, you will have a higher chance of being able to complete it all…which gives you a higher chance of actually succeeding! Good luck!
Patrick McCrann is a USAT Certified Coach and a Joe Friel Ultrafit Associate. He can be reached at:
www.performancetrainingsystems.com.
or by phone at: 617.513.3830
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