Ironman races are easy...

pmg001

....... right????
So I've finished another sport after having decided that I don't want to spend all my sporting years competing at the one thing, and have decided to jump into the deep end of triathlon and target a 2011 ironman.

I've been lurking here for quite a while and have found it to be a good source of info so I've decided to start a training log to hopefully pick up some pointers and tips.

I've done a fair bit of research into triathlon and ironman training plans and, along with knowledge picked up of physiological development in other sports, I've put together a plan.

I have developed quite a decent aerobic base and am planning on further developing this by staying in "base" phase from now right up to late april/early may. The heart rate won't be going above 160bpm for any extended periods very often till then!

I've spent the last 8 weeks putting in a decent prep period, making sure all my biomechanics etc are operating correctly.


So this is the plan for my first four week cycle:

Week 1 Hours Hours
Monday 1 Turbo 0.5 Stretch+Core+Prehab
Tuesday 1.5 Turbo 1 Swim
Wednesday 1.25 Run 0 Off
Thursday 1.5 Turbo 1 Swim
Friday 1 Run 0.5 Stretch+Core+Prehab
Saturday 5 Bike 0.5 Stretch+Core+Prehab
Sunday 1 Run 1 Swim

Week 2 Hours Hours
Monday 1 Run 0.5 Stretch+Core+Prehab
Tuesday 1.5 Turbo 1 Swim
Wednesday 1.5 Run 1 Swim
Thursday 1.5 Turbo 1 Swim
Friday 1 Run 0.5 Stretch+Core+Prehab
Saturday 5.5 Bike 0.5 Stretch+Core+Prehab
Sunday 1.5 Run 1 Swim

Week 3 Hours Hours
Monday 1 Swim 0.5 Stretch+Core+Prehab
Tuesday 2 Turbo 1 Swim
Wednesday 1.75 Run 1 Swim
Thursday 1.5 Turbo 1 Swim
Friday 1 Swim 0.5 Stretch+Core+Prehab
Saturday 6 Bike 0.5 Stretch+Core+Prehab
Sunday 1.5 Run 1 Swim

Week 4 Hours Hours
Monday 1.5 Turbo 0.5 Stretch+Core+Prehab
Tuesday 1 Swim 0.5 Stretch+Core+Prehab
Wednesday 1 Run 0.5 Stretch+Core+Prehab
Thursday 1.5 Turbo 0.5 Stretch+Core+Prehab
Friday 1 Swim 0.5 Stretch+Core+Prehab
Saturday 10 Bike 0.5 Stretch+Core+Prehab
Sunday 1 Run 0.5 Stretch+Core+Prehab

It's three weeks on, then a recovery week. First week of the cycle is bike heavy, second is run heavy, third is swim heavy. I've got a bike trip planned for the recovery week which will consist of approx. ten hour cycle.
Its roughly a 10% increase in volume each week. The next cycle will start with the volume from the second week of the previous cycle.

As regards to my race schedule for the year, I haven't planned any events because there is a chance I will be going abroad in the new year. Although I'm thinking of Challenge Roth.
This is also the reason why I am putting off joining a club, which is something I am keen to, especially as I feel I need a good bit of swim coaching.

Anyway, I'll try and keep this updated. Any comments/suggestions would be very much appreciated!
Cheers!

Izoard

Good luck with it...good to see the 2011 IM logs under way!

catweazle

Yes Izoard the first one of 2011 already

Best of luck pmg!

mitresize5

good luck with it - looking forward to following your log

metal dog

good luck with it pmg

joining a club and targetting some 'b' races is a good idea, especially if you are new to triathlon generally. also there is something to be said for knowing some of the other people doing the same ironman as you (but not too much, at the end of the day it is a solo race so you have to do a lot of solo training)

those are pretty serious hours for early base training imho (10 hour cycle on a recovery week would unrecover me pretty quickly !) if you can manage this at this point in the process, you will find ironman 'easy':).

pmg001

Thursday 16th Sept

2hrs on the turbo
Avg HR 141
I must invest in the garmin cadence doohickey so I can increase the quality of these sessions. I think i'm spinning at about 85 rpm, not really sure what the ideal time trial cadence is. There seems to be quite a bit of differing opinions and studies on this, some specifying high cadence, others saying to stick to whatever natural cadence is. In terms of injury prevention I'd like to get myself spinning naturally in the 90-100 range.

Friday 17th Sept
2hours 10mins cycle from tallaght to rathdrum
Avg Hr 138

This is the first time I've gotten to actually cycle outside in about 4 weeks. One thing that is immediately obvious is that the effect on my climbing that the weight I've gained in the last 8 weeks has. I'm at 80kg now. When I'm training hard and watching what I eat, I'm around 72-73kg.
I'm not too concerned about the weight at the minute though, sure it's no harm to have a bit of extra "training effect".
I'm just enjoying my food at the moment and doing enough exercise that my weight will stabilise around the 80kg mark and I know that I'll be able to lose it easy enough after December. I reckon that if I start restricting myself now that I'll lack motivation later in the year and I also just want to enjoy my training right now.

Today was also my first day cycling with my new Garmin 305 which I picked up a few weeks ago. Great bit of kit, I'm really enjoying analysing the data post run/bike. This is actually the first time I've ever cycled with a speedometer as well. Before I just used my HRM. Its interesting to have the speed/distance data but it doesn't really make the training anymore effective I guess, in terms of the bike anyway. Although the cadence meter would definately make a difference I reckon especially as my cadence on the road seems to be a lot lower than on the turbo.

It's also interesting how much more taxing cycling on the road is. For these two sessions the avg Hr was about the same, although the road felt much tougher. I suppose this is due to the bigger range in Hr, whereas on the turbo it never strays more than +/- 5bpm.

Swimming tomorrow for the first time in a long time!

pmg001

metal dog wrote: »

good luck with it pmg

joining a club and targetting some 'b' races is a good idea, especially if you are new to triathlon generally. also there is something to be said for knowing some of the other people doing the same ironman as you (but not too much, at the end of the day it is a solo race so you have to do a lot of solo training)

those are pretty serious hours for early base training imho (10 hour cycle on a recovery week would unrecover me pretty quickly !) if you can manage this at this point in the process, you will find ironman 'easy':).

Yeah I'll definitely have to get some oly distance races in, mainly to practice the swim and transitions.

One thing I've been wondering is whether people would recommend getting a full marathon in before doing an Ironman. Having never done one before obviously the benefits of this experience would be massive, however the concern is the effect that it would have on the training plan. I guess it's a matter of picking the correct time to fit it in?

Well the weekly hours aren't that much when you consider that it includes 1.5 hours sitting on the ground in front of the tv doing stretch/core/prehab.
I'm also being realistic in that I'm probably going to miss one or two mid week sessions due to work commitments/not getting out of bed in the morning.
And again, this is all very low intensity work so burn out shouldn't be an issue.

That ten hour cycle is a trip that I've been planning for a while and will be a fairly leisurely cycle so it shouldn't be two strenuous.

I'm delighted some people have actually read this!!!

pmg001

Well this hasn't gotten off to the best start!
I had my driving test today ( I passed!), and my preparation for this meant that I did nothing on monday or sunday, and only got an hour long run in on saturday.
I had intended to go for a swim after my test but arrived at the pool realising I'd forgotten my togs, so I went for a run instead.

Both todays and saturdays run were along the Murrough in Wicklow, which is along the sea and basically pan flat. It's nice to run on such a flat plain compared to my usual routes around Glendalough, and it was nice to see the nice even graphs for hr and pace afterwards, rather than the peaks that the hills usually create.

Even though I ran the same route on Saturday and today, my hr rate was ten beats higher today and the pace was somewhat slower. Its a good example of how hr can fluctuate due to any number of variables. I reckon in this case the nerves from the test had something to do with it. While i usually stick pretty strictly to my hr zones, on days like today I don't mind running slightly higher rate for the same percieved effort.


Frustratingly I'm still having issues with tight calves and then numbness in my feet, although its no longer so bad that I have to stop running totally, just pausing to stretch and take my feet out of my shoes once or twice does the trick. It usually goes away altogether after 40 mins. I find that if I run on consecutive days that its much less of an issue.


Instead of my run planned for tomorrow I think i'll do the bike that I missed today instead, as the run I did today was as long as the planned run tomorrow.


Now I'm going to go figure out how to drive on the motorway!

pmg001

Permission to say "oh c0ck".

Was out running in Glendalough on Sunday and managed to mangle my ankle.
I was running on the track that goes from the car park to laragh and stood on a stone or something and went over on my ankle. I knew it was bad as soon as it happened. Turns out i've torn a few ligaments.
C0ck.

To make matters worse I hadn't brought my phone and had to hobble into laragh to call for pick-up. To make matters even WORSE, when I went into the cafe beside the hotel to ask if I could use the phone, clearly distressed and in quite a bit of pain, the f-ing B#TCHs in there "didn't think they could make out-side calls on the landline" and also conveniently had forgotten to bring their mobiles to work. Seriously. I actually couldn't believe they were serious, but yes I had to hobble over to the hotel to use the phone there.
C0ck.

The doctor reckoned it'd be 6 weeks before i'll be able to run or cycle again, although i think i'll be able to get cycling sooner than this.

Positives
1) I can put serious time into my swimming over the next month.
2) I can get a lot of core and prehab done which will help prevent future injuries.
3) Probably the best time of the year for it to happen.

Negatives
1) I will get very fat.
2) Bike and run fitness will essentially be back to square one.
3) I have developed a deep-seeded hatred of cafe workers.
4) I find it hard to train properly when I'm injured. Training is very much all-or-nothing for me.
5) In order to avoid getting very very very fat I will have to watch what I eat quite strictly. No fun.

shotgunmcos

Sorry to hear about the ankle man. Hope it heals quickly for you, be careful with it when it does!

RE: the tight calves, have you got compressions socks? Worth the investement if your calves give you traouble

RE: HR and perceived effort. If the HR is 10 beats higher but you feel great so plug away anyway, this will affect future sessions. Stick to your plan!

Great to see an IM log for 2011 up here already but man, the title of it really grates me :rolleyes:

metamorphosis

Sorry about the ankle but at least its now and not in the new year. Keep your eyes on the prize though!

shotgunmcos wrote: »

RE: the tight calves, have you got compressions socks? Worth the investement if your calves give you traouble

mcos - anywhere in the city you know where you can get compression socks. Iv looked around and can't find them. Will prob just have to order online or something.

Izoard

ULstudent wrote: »

Sorry about the ankle but at least its now and not in the new year. Keep your eyes on the prize though!





mcos - anywhere in the city you know where you can get compression socks. Iv looked around and can't find them. Will prob just have to order online or something.

Be careful on your choice of socks. I have a pair of Orca's and they appear to be no more than cosmetic.

I then invested in the Zoot Rx option...much better.

shotgunmcos

ULstudent wrote: »

Sorry about the ankle but at least its now and not in the new year. Keep your eyes on the prize though!





mcos - anywhere in the city you know where you can get compression socks. Iv looked around and can't find them. Will prob just have to order online or something.

Hi I didn't get any Running or Tri specific ones. Just head into Foot Solutions on O'Connell Street (near Cruises St) and ask for Angela the Manager. She knows Runners and Triathletes very well so can make a good recommendation without having to pay for brands.

Macanri

pmg001 wrote: »

I'm delighted some people have actually read this!!!

With a title like that how can someone not have a read!

Sorry to hear about the ankle, take it easy when you get back at it. Good to see you have drawn positive things from it also.

All the best for your training over the next few months.

pmg001

Well this log hasn't gotten off to the best start!

Since spraining my ankle nearly three months ago I'm still not able to run on it.
I took two weeks off completely after the sprain and since then I have been doing some fairly consistent bike work and the odd swim.
I've been doing mostly 90 min turbos at z1/2 around three/four times a week, with two long spins around wicklow on the weekend, although I've missed a few weekends due to other commitments.
I'm finding it tough to fit swimming in because there's no pools within an hour of my house and work has been all over the place lately.

While I feel I have been getting some good consistent training done it has lacked structure and I've been missing more sessions than I would like. This is mostly to the fact that I find it really hard to motivate myself when I'm injured. Although I'm planning to really get the head down now and fix up a training plan with increased structure for the bike and swim as well as more intense rehab for my ankle with the aim of being able to start running again in the new year.

This injury, life situation, and some more research I've been doing have caused me to reevaluate my goals for 2011. I don't think that completing an full Ironman is going to happen next year for a few reasons:
1) I don't feel confident that my body will be able to handle the volume of training that would be required to race an Ironman to the standard that would satisfy me.
2) Obviously missing these four months of running will also mean that I will struggle to reachh the volume of training required without injuring myself.
3) My future is very uncertain with regard to work and I may be venturing far afield which means that I'm not going to fork out the cash to enter a European Ironman. And the entries are probably all full by now anyways.

So my new goals for next year are:
1) Race a number of Olympic distance tri's and possibly duathlons. Haven't looked into which ones to do yet, but will just try and pick ones which fit in with my schedule. The number I enter will probably be dictated by the cost!
2) Join a cycling club and hopefully do a few bike races.
3) The swinford half ironman. This will be my 'A' race.

Really my goals are to just build a base over the next year, get my body used to increased volumes of running and cycling, increase my swimming technique and endurance, gain race experience, beat some fat old men on €5k bikes, and try not to take it all too seriously!

I'll throw up my bike/swim plan in the next few days once I have it completed. Another three hour turbo today I think!

catweazle

Welcome back Pmg, hopefully I will be seeing you in Swinford all going well, its a great race. You might be as well off, I was hoping to go after a full next year but after doing Swinford last year I know myself I am not ready to myself justice at one. 2012 maybe :rolleyes:

Izoard

pmg001 wrote: »

Really my goals are to just build a base over the next year, get my body used to increased volumes of running and cycling, increase my swimming technique and endurance, gain race experience, beat some fat old men on €5k bikes, and try not to take it all too seriously!

I'll throw up my bike/swim plan in the next few days once I have it completed. Another three hour turbo today I think!

I could take offence...if I had a €5K bike:)

Sorry to hear that, but probably the best choice given the circumstances.
At this point I'm deviating away from the IM myself in favour of the Lost Sheep - will still be checking the log!