Ironman 2014 - 10 Years of Ironman in PE

[Garfield2010]

So the focus now is swinging back to IM PE. Due to me falling a bit behind in training from illness I have taken leave on Friday and will go for a solo 200km TT to be followed up by a brick run of 5km..... Should be interesting....

[tankisbyon]

To the guys who are strong swimmers:

 

Is there much value in doing kicking drills with the kickboard ?

 

The IM training program I am following, has quite a lot of kicking drills (for example, Monday's workout of 3000m had about 500m of kicking)..

 

I know that with open water swimming, its much more arm focused, so am I better off substituting these kicking sets with pulling, or does the kicking have value?

[JGR]

To the guys who are strong swimmers:

 

Is there much value in doing kicking drills with the kickboard ?

 

The IM training program I am following, has quite a lot of kicking drills (for example, Monday's workout of 3000m had about 500m of kicking)..

 

I know that with open water swimming, its much more arm focused, so am I better off substituting these kicking sets with pulling, or does the kicking have value?

I went to analysis and some pointers from Natalie Tissink and she told me I should do about 10% of the distance in kidding, training distance that is. so for 3km 300m should be amble. This was also on top of the fact that I don't even kick that much and it is something she told me to work on.

[kingalton]

I went to analysis and some pointers from Natalie Tissink and she told me I should do about 10% of the distance in kidding, training distance that is. so for 3km 300m should be amble. This was also on top of the fact that I don't even kick that much and it is something she told me to work on.

I agree, I hardly kick when I swim

I did a 35 min swim this weekend at 70.3 without kicking at all in the water..

if I could just start kicking, I could improve my swim time a lot..

its something I will be working on for the full..

[Red Zone]

I am no great swimming but do kick, as I understand it the kick is more to assist in body rotation and position than actual propulsion. When you get your kick working with your stroke you feel much more controlled in the water

[davem]

Legs are for running and cycling.

[mon-goose]

i gently kick constantly while swimming. A little kicking helps keep the legs up and helps with balance, for me anyway. And it must help with propulsion as well. I don't do kicking drills a lot in training. I probably only do around 200m in every 10km training. I don't think it can do any harm as it just strengthens the legs.

 

But, the leg muscles take a lot of oxygen so you don't want to be kicking like crazy while you're swimming as you will get tired quicker.

[davem]

So the focus now is swinging back to IM PE. Due to me falling a bit behind in training from illness I have taken leave on Friday and will go for a solo 200km TT to be followed up by a brick run of 5km..... Should be interesting....

 

Is this so you can practice not drafting

[JGR]

I agree, I hardly kick when I swim

I did a 35 min swim this weekend at 70.3 without kicking at all in the water..

if I could just start kicking, I could improve my swim time a lot..

its something I will be working on for the full..

I think the kick or lack thereof is helped a lot by the buoyancy of the wetsuit. It is more evident in the pool

[tankisbyon]

Thanks.

 

I usually only have about 1hr15 min in the morning to do my swimming, so will spending 10% of the time kicking give me decent bang for my buck, or will rather doing other drills ultimately help me more with my swimming?

 

for example will doing more catch-up, fists or pulling instead of kicking be better in terms of helping me with an IM swim?

 

I always wonder if it wouldnt be better to be doing something else when I am busy kicking......

[kingalton]

I think the kick or lack thereof is helped a lot by the buoyancy of the wetsuit. It is more evident in the pool

true, in the pool you have to kick a bit, else you legs drop, in the suit, you can drag them without them sinking..

[JGR]

Thanks.

 

I usually only have about 1hr15 min in the morning to do my swimming, so will spending 10% of the time kicking give me decent bang for my buck, or will rather doing other drills ultimately help me more with my swimming?

 

for example will doing more catch-up, fists or pulling instead of kicking be better in terms of helping me with an IM swim?

 

I always wonder if it wouldnt be better to be doing something else when I am busy kicking......

Get a ring or drag suit.

 

Don't use a kickboard and double the kicking with hypoxic training. Will also help with balance in the water. ie arms out, head down and only breathe every couple of meters, the same way you normally would.

 

You can also incorporate a slights rotation and hold that position slightly longer than you normally would.

 

just my 2c's

[Garfield2010]

Kicking without a wetsuit is more NB to keep your balance. It suits me as I use swimming to recover as well after running sessions.In the wetsuit I barely kick at all. Just focus on one kick per stroke and to point your toes (and ears) back.

[TYWALK]

Not to sound boastful but i am a really good swimmer. Swam a 27 min in East London and 2nd in my age group for the swim. I also been swimming all my life and competed at a provincial level.

 

Kicking is vital!

 

If you would like to improve your swimming, do the following:

 

1. Join a swim squad if you can

2. If you cant join a swim squad, at least get a training program

3. Swim as often as possible (at least 3 times a week)

4. Don't just swim length after length this will not help you improve. You have to break the swim sessions up to include some sprints and long distance swimming and time yourself. Try beat these times.Also add some kicking, this will break up the swim session (not so boring), improve your leg strength and will force you to kick when you do swim in the sea.

[ADe]

So from next week my focus shifts to training for IM.

 

I am interested to know what your opinions are on long rides and runs for IM training. Are you doing multiple close to race distance rides/runs or shorter more intense sessions. I read a few threads on the Slowtwitch forum and there were quite a few different views on this. Some guys are doing multiple 7+hr rides and others only 4 hour rides, but at a higher intensity.

 

My goal is to finish within 13 to 13.5 hrs. My longest bike will be about 6 hrs (two of them) and my longest run 3 hrs, with the last long bike and run about 3 weeks from racing day. In between I focus a lot on short interval and hill sessions, because I do try to have a life outside IM training as well.

[Garfield2010]

So from next week my focus shifts to training for IM.

 

I am interested to know what your opinions are on long rides and runs for IM training.

 

My personal approach this year is to do as many long rides/runs as I can. I am piling on the km's but I would like to think it is quality sessions as well. The last 5 weeks I will shorten my sessions and increase intensity. I don't know how you can expect to do well in PE when your longest training ride was 140km??? (except if you followed that up with a 20km brick run)

 

PE's road surface is rough. For me it feels like a 200km ride her in Bloem on sleek surfaces. I saw last year a lot of okes sat up after 150km and couldn't even do the TT position anymore. This then also flows over into your run as your hammies will stiffen due to sitting up etc....

 

And also if you do a 200km ride then you have teached your body to keep going for 7 - 8 hours. Come Ironman you should be ok until an hour into the run at least.

 

But that's just my view.

 

Also I am doing Roth in July so I have to ensure I get one hell of a base in place....