1/2 ironman training plan?

dee_thurman
dee_thurman Posts: 240 Member
edited December 1 in Fitness and Exercise
I am running my first marathon on Saturday. If all goes well, I would like to attempt to train and participate in a 1/2 ironman. I do not know how realistic this is. I am not a big biker or swimmer. I have a decent base strength from doing circuit training in the weight room. I have a decent base endurance because I have trained and completed all of the milage for the marathon. I was wondering if anyone knew where I could find the best detailed 1/2 ironman training plan. I used a Hal Higdon training program to train for my marathon. I don't know how well it prepared me to run 26.2 miles because I don't do that until Saturday. I do know that I felt conditioned during my training and I was able to stay healthy and complete my milage. For the 1/2 ironman training I would like to do the same thing. I do not want to train to compete and win anything. I like the idea of the everyday training and being able to progressively get in better shape as you go along. Any thoughts on my idea or where I could find a good step by step training program?

Thanks
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Replies

  • gdyment
    gdyment Posts: 299 Member
    http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/training/training-plans-view.asp?planid=16&memberlevel=1

    That one is free, and you can use their training log to track workouts - if you pay it will sync automatically from garmin and schedule crap in your calendar (I use it).

    You really need to have a road or tri bike and probably buy a wetsuit (any swimming one will do but not a surfer one).
  • dee_thurman
    dee_thurman Posts: 240 Member
    I am getting an older road bike and I will purchase a wetsuit. Do you do iron mans? How will this be compared to running a marathon in your opinion?
  • Djproulx
    Djproulx Posts: 3,084 Member
    I second gdyment's comments re: BT site and training plans. I track my workouts there. If you want another plan to look at, here's a 16 week plan I used last year to train for the Timberman 70.3 held last August. Its 3 swims, 3bikes and 3runs/week with a day of rest. I will follow it again this year.

    http://triathlon.competitor.com/2010/09/training/super-simple-ironman-70-3-triathlon-training-plan_12364

    One more thought based on your comments: Since you're a runner currently, expect to spend more time working on your weaker areas, which you suggest are swimming and biking. At the 70.3 distance, your run can be dramatically impacted by your bike fitness, pacing strategy and nutrition. This takes practice, but that's also the fun part. :)
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    To add to what the others have said perhaps you may want to get a couple of shorter triathons under your belt first, get a chance to practice your transitions and get more comfortable with the swim (expect lots of body contact) and the ride.

    Do you have a tri club locally? If so you may want to consider joining, most of the more seasoned athletes are happy to share their wisdom and experience.
  • dee_thurman
    dee_thurman Posts: 240 Member
    Finished my marathon today. My next goal is to do a triathlon. Loved the marathon today. Enjoyed it and did a little bit better than I expected. So I will take a couple of days off and then try to start getting my swimming and biking down.
  • sarabushby
    sarabushby Posts: 784 Member
    Hi @dee_thurman congrats on the marathon, glad you had a great day and exceeded your expectations. I too have done a marathon and various sprint distance tri's and 1 Olympic distance so far with a couple more planned for this year. I hoped to step up to 1/2 iron this year but not sure I have done enough endurance training over winter.
    I'd definitely recommend you try a sprint and Olympic before jumping into 1/2iron. Also focus on getting your brick sessions in as its a killer on the calves going from cycling to running and open water swimming with mass starts which is quite different to zipping up and down lanes in your local pool. You're lucky to have a strong running background, my run is my weakest discipline. Good luck and keep us posted with your progress and which event you choose!
  • dee_thurman
    dee_thurman Posts: 240 Member
    thanks sara - I wouldn't exactly say that I am strong in any of the events. Whatever triathlon I would do, I would just try to participate and enjoy the event. My marathon time was 3:56 which placed me 276th, I think. I don't really have a strong running background. With that said I do not have great swimming form and I have very little experience on the bike. So whatever I will do, I am just going to have fun with it. I don't even know if it is possible. I am going to try to swim and bike to exercise. I think your advice of doing a sprint distance first is good advice.
  • Djproulx
    Djproulx Posts: 3,084 Member
    dee_thurman wrote: »
    Whatever triathlon I would do, I would just try to participate and enjoy the event............ I don't even know if it is possible. I am going to try to swim and bike to exercise.

    Congrats on a solid marathon finish. Well done.

    I think you have a great outlook for starting triathlon training. A perfect goal for your first tri is to simply finish with a smile on your face. But fair warning: triathlon can be highly addictive.
  • dee_thurman
    dee_thurman Posts: 240 Member
    what is the typical cost to enter a half ironman event? Are the only ironman's on the official website or are there more races than those listed?
  • sarabushby
    sarabushby Posts: 784 Member
    There are full-distance events that are not run by the Ironman brand and which don't have Kona qualification etc. Are you in the US? In which case I can't make recommendations but in the UK the Outlaw is a popular half and full distance event. Here a half-iron distance (also known as 70.3) could cost approx £80-250 to enter depending on whether it's a small local event or a true Ironman 70.3.

    That's just a rough guide, hope it helps.
  • Djproulx
    Djproulx Posts: 3,084 Member
    dee_thurman wrote: »
    what is the typical cost to enter a half ironman event? Are the only ironman's on the official website or are there more races than those listed?

    If you are in the US, the World Triathlon Corp (Ironman brand) is the dominant half(70.3) and full distance(140.6) racing series, but not the only one. Another popular series is the REV3 triathlon. As far as pricing, I paid $315 for my Timberman 70.3 (Ironman) registration. That race is coming up in August. Right now, if I registered for the REV3 70.3 held at Quassy in June, the current price would be $265. As another data point, I'm racing the REV3 Olympic distance race in June, and that entry fee was roughly $150. There are also lots of smaller local races at somewhat reduced prices. Bottom line: Triathlon racing is not cheap, but if you register as an early bird and use discount codes when available, the pricing can be manageable.

    One last point - once you move beyond races in your local area, it can get expensive. Travel, lodging, bike shipping can all come into play. So maybe start with a shorter distance local race. Then, if you get bitten by the tri bug, you'll know what to expect.
  • dee_thurman
    dee_thurman Posts: 240 Member
    any good triathlon training books out there that you would suggest?
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited April 2016
    There are tons of triathlons, including the half ironman distance, that are not on the Ironman website. I did my first half last year, after having done a few olympic distance ones (both last year and in the past). I look at the trifind site a lot to check out what's close enough.

    I used a combination of a plan on beginnertriathlete and a Matt Fitzgerald one in a tri magazine (similar to ones you can find free on the web). Joel Friel has a bunch of books and they generally have training plans.

    I trained for my first olympic distance (years ago) with a group from my gym and enjoyed it, and decided to join a group again this year -- having some coaching on swimming technique and group rides is helpful (although there are millions of biking group rides around here anyway), and it's fun to meet others interested and learn from their experience.
  • glevinso
    glevinso Posts: 1,895 Member
    Completing a marathon is certainly a good fitness base to start from. In terms of total time spent at the event, a half-ironman is a longer event than a marathon. However I personally find it to be "easier" to complete vs a full marathon due to the run component.

    For what it's worth I think an open full marathon is a harder event than a full ironman (assuming both are performed to the best of your ability).
  • dee_thurman
    dee_thurman Posts: 240 Member
    i just finished a marathon. I have 20 weeks to train for a half ironman. At 10 weeks I plan to do a sprint triathlon to get a feel before a try to complete the half ironman. Is that enough time to train, do you think?
  • dee_thurman
    dee_thurman Posts: 240 Member
    I am more concerned about the cycling part than swimming or running. Obviously I can run 13 miles. After my marathon I jumped in the pool and swam slow but swam a mile in the pool pretty comfortably (really slow time however.) I have 0 experience on a bike.
  • dee_thurman
    dee_thurman Posts: 240 Member
    I just got a road bike from someone else. I am going to get sized for the bike this weekend and start riding. I have been riding a mountain bike this past week just to get my legs on a bike but understand that the road bike will be totally different,
  • glevinso
    glevinso Posts: 1,895 Member
    20 weeks? To just complete? Sure I think you can pull it off considering you have the fitness base of a full marathon under your belt. Have you swam in open water before? It is not really anything like swimming in a pool going back and forth staring at a black line.

    Definitely work on the bike though. The road bike is a good tool for the job (in fact most half-iron races specifically will disallow anything other than a tri or road bike). You have the aerobic base, but building to a 56 mile ride will take some effort. It will be a challenge but one you should be able to pull off.

    The real trick, though, is being able to get off the bike and still actually run well for 13 miles. That is the real challenge of any triathlon though.
  • Djproulx
    Djproulx Posts: 3,084 Member
    I'm guessing that with your fitness base and your interest in training, you should be able to complete the distance. Often, newcomers to the sport are most concerned with handling an open water swim. That doesn't seem to be a concern for you. So your focus on getting a bike fit and starting now makes a lot of sense.

    Have fun picking a race and enjoy the training!

  • Djproulx
    Djproulx Posts: 3,084 Member
    glevinso wrote: »
    The real trick, though, is being able to get off the bike and still actually run well for 13 miles. That is the real challenge of any triathlon though.

    ^^ Yup.
  • dee_thurman
    dee_thurman Posts: 240 Member
    My training plan doesn't call for me to practice biking and then running as soon as I am finished biking. I plan on doing a sprint marathon 10 weeks into my training but shouldn't I practice this a few more times than just the sprint marathon?
  • sarabushby
    sarabushby Posts: 784 Member
    Oh gosh yes. Practice a brick session at least once a week surely. After your long ride would be good, just do say 15-30min run straight away with a super quick transition from one to the other to get the most benefit. This is what I'll be doing tomorrow morning. Yuck.

    If you get the chance to try a duathlon race at any stage over the next 20wks that would also give you valuable experience.
  • dee_thurman
    dee_thurman Posts: 240 Member
    I am going to do a sprint triathlon as my trial run before I do a larger triathlon later. I am one of those people that I have to practice bricks if that is what I am going to do in the race.
  • bradcfairchild
    bradcfairchild Posts: 74 Member
    I've enjoyed all of your comments on this topic. I searched for people doing Ironman events to see what they were up to. Great job on the Marathon. Sounds like you jump in with both feet. "Total Immersion", is a great book to read for triathlon swimming. Swimming with a local swim club can help a lot. If you can already swim a mile you will only get better using the techniques in that book. I keep my own spreadsheet for training. It's a place to start making intentions and goals. This time I started at the date of the event and work back to see what I need to do to get close to ready. I'm doing a half Ironman in less than 2 weeks. May 7 2016 in St George, Utah. I've been training for it for about 2 months so it's been a steeper curve to get the miles in. My longest run was14 miles, biked was 44, I haven't got in the water yet. :) but I am using a body glide machine which strengthens those muscles a little. I am a little worried if I will be able to run after the swim and the bike. I've not done any brick workouts and probably wont in the next 2 weeks. I kind of signed up and am using the half as motivation and a check to see where I am at for the Ironman in August. I had some unexpected back problems I needed to work through. Good luck with your training and goals.
  • glevinso
    glevinso Posts: 1,895 Member
    dee_thurman wrote: »
    My training plan doesn't call for me to practice biking and then running as soon as I am finished biking. I plan on doing a sprint marathon 10 weeks into my training but shouldn't I practice this a few more times than just the sprint marathon?

    A marathon is a 26.2 mile run. Not sure what you mean by "sprint marathon".
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    glevinso wrote: »
    20 weeks? To just complete? Sure I think you can pull it off considering you have the fitness base of a full marathon under your belt. Have you swam in open water before? It is not really anything like swimming in a pool going back and forth staring at a black line.

    Definitely work on the bike though. The road bike is a good tool for the job (in fact most half-iron races specifically will disallow anything other than a tri or road bike). You have the aerobic base, but building to a 56 mile ride will take some effort. It will be a challenge but one you should be able to pull off.

    The real trick, though, is being able to get off the bike and still actually run well for 13 miles. That is the real challenge of any triathlon though.

    I cannot emphasize that point enough.
  • dee_thurman
    dee_thurman Posts: 240 Member
    Glevinso - I meant to write a sprint triathlon.

    Brad - I have looked online for programs to train for a half ironman. I do not think I actually swim or run the actual distance that I will have to go on race day. I will swim more distance on a specific day but not all at once. It works more on building up speed after longer warm ups and cool downs. It gets close but you don't actually swim 1.2 miles. I will bike over 50 miles multiple times. I will only run around 10 or 11 miles at one time. It has me swimming biking and running 3 days a week. Since it is my first triathlon I really have nothing to compare it. I will post the link below. If you want, tell me what you think?
  • dee_thurman
    dee_thurman Posts: 240 Member
    http://www.trinewbies.com/tno_trainingprograms/tno_HIM.asp

  • dee_thurman
    dee_thurman Posts: 240 Member
    Sarabushby - if you don't mind my training schedule is above. If you don't mind, tell me when you would bike/run or swim/bike or do all 3 within the training program?
  • glevinso
    glevinso Posts: 1,895 Member
    dee_thurman wrote: »
    http://www.trinewbies.com/tno_trainingprograms/tno_HIM.asp

    Seems somewhat reasonable. Fairly swim heavy, but that isn't a bad thing at all. I see no benefit to those 60 minute "walks" in there however. Not sure what the point of that is.

    I definitely recommend getting at least one shorter race in like the sprint tri you mentioned. It really helps to learn how to transition in a race situation.

    I don't see any bricks or transition runs in that plan. I personally am not a fan of brick workouts (where you do a full bike ride and a full run workout back to back). However throwing in a few transition runs after your long bike ride can be very beneficial. I differentiate a transition run from a brick - A T-run is really just 2, or at most 3 miles of a run off the bike, not a full "workout" like a 6 mile run or something like that.

    This does seem a bit light on the long runs though. I would recommend, since you have a base of already running a marathon, to get your long runs at the end of the plan well up there. Even getting to 15 or 16 miles. There is also nothing wrong with doing a few over-distance bike rides (60-65 miles) near the end of the plan.
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