1/2 Ironman - Training Plans or Groups

pucenavel

Is anybody out there considering signing up for a 1/2 Ironman?

I've done 2 Sprints & one Olympic. I've also done a 1/2 Marathon.

The 1/2 Ironman has sort of been my 'horizon goal' all along.

I'm wondering if there's a group already out there for training plans, etc. I'd like to find out what others are doing in order to figure out if they are ready or not. On the Olympic distance I did, I found out a little late that I hadn't trained enough for the run leg (I'd been injured and didn't run for 3 months - started running again 4 weeks before the race). It would be nice if there was some sort of litmus test I could do 3-4 months ahead of the event to gauge my readiness. The race I am looking to do is in October.

Thanks in advance.

dawnemjh

I am planning on signing up for one after new years, that takes place in July.
I have only ever done 2 sprint tri's
I have done a couple marathons and 3 or 4 halfs, but not a big bike fan, so this will be my challenge. Since I live in New England, my plan is to take spinning classes until the cold weather eases up some...

MacMadame

I've done a couple HIMs and two IMs too!

You can get free training plans all over the place and then there are some that cost money. If you want to look at the free stuff first, I recommend joining BeginnerTriathlete.com and looking at their stuff. If you don't like it, then search around on the web. I've also heard good things about Don Fink's plans and a lot of people like Matt Fitzgerald's plans. For those you have to buy the book!

I generally don't use a training plan as I find it hard to fit my life into them. I just have general goals for each sport that will inch me towards the final goal. For example, I set up some Sprint and Oly distance races ahead of time to practice some of my ideas for nutrition and transitions and to get used to racing.

I also start going long on the bike a few months out from a long race and gradually add to my miles until I get up in the 40-65 mile range for a HIM, 65-100 for an IM.

While I'm doing that, I'm also working on increasing my running but I increase distance a lot slower for that. Unfortunately, I injured myself running and that has caused me to compromise my run training so what I do isn't necessarily what I'd recommend.

After doing a lot of reading, I have the following approach to my training:

Ideally I'd do a speed, tempo and long workout in each sport each week. Then at least one strength training session, preferably two. I like to build up on volume and/or intensity for a few weeks in a row and then have a week where I cut back in order to consolidate my fitness and recover from all the abuse I put on my body.

Since life isn't ideal, I often compromise on this plan, but I keep that pattern in mind when I'm deciding what workouts to do every week.

Bike:
Spin class for my speed work (optional - if something has to give, it's that workout)
Tempo ride every Thurs. with my tri club (1.5 hours, 20-25 miles; one week we do fast and flat; next week is hills)
Long ride very weekend with my club, by myself or meeting up with other bike friends (it varies)

Run:
I don't do speed work any more because I got injured from it but when I did it, I went to a track workout every week that my tri club puts on for an hour.
Then I try to run small amounts during the week and one long run on the weekend.
Now that I'm not injured any more, my goal is to run 2 hours on Sat. and 2 hours on Sun -- that's to build up for a 50 mile trail race though. For a HIM, I stop at one 2 hour run a week.
Until recently, I was running 3x a week, one 30 minute run, one hour and one two hour. But I have become convinced it's better to run a small amount every day. Once my head injury heals up (crashed my bike), I am going to try to run 10 mins every day for a while and then gradually make one of those my long run and another my tempo run.

Swim:
This is the hardest for me to get in as you can't just put on a swim suit and start swimming! I do a coached workout for 1-1.5 hours once a week during the week and I OWS most weekend from April through Sept. With my OWS, I am going long but I also do intervals and work on sighting and my stroke.

Strength:
In the winter when I don't bike or run or swim as much, I will do strength workouts several times a week. As it gets close to my big races in the summer, that drops down and by the time I'm in my last two months of IM training, I'm lucky to get it in once a week. But I try to do it every week at least once as it helps everything including day-to-day life. I also have stuff I can do at home if I am very limited in my time.

pucenavel

That sounds similar to what I'm planning - not exactly, but the same theory.

One thing I need to work out is how much nutrition my body can absorb (or be trained to absorb) during the bike and run. Going at that intensity for 6+ hours will require that I take in a s--tload of calories.

I'm already pretty fit in all three, the biggest thing I need to work on will be intake & then getting used to a run AFTER the bike. Last year, I did a 40 mile ride and a 1.25 mile swim every Saturday during the summer. This year I'm going to up it to 2.5 mile swim, 40 bike and a 10k once a week (the lake is 20 miles from home, and 1.25 miles per "lap", so increasing to two laps and then taking an hour run when I get home). That is in addition to three swims per week, one other short run per week and two days that I ride about 17 miles round trip to work. In the winter I do a lot of 1-hour sessions on my Fluid2 trainer, swim twice a week and do 30 minute run once a week and an hour once a week.

Any suggestions for experimenting with nutrition?

terrydcurley

have done lots of halfs and 3 fulls, lots of great plans on the web, check out a site called www.beginnertriathlete.com, you need between 18-24 weeks to train with a good base to start, hope that helps and welcome to the dark side of triathlons, next you will be thinking about the full!