IM 2014 Training Program

[CarineIM]

Hi fellow IM trainees,

 

I'll be doing my fist Ironman 70.3 next year and to be honest I'm a bit nervous... Can anyone recommend a good training program?

[Sidekick Racer]

www.beginnertriathlete.com has some good free intro programs

[reteid]

You can choose between the Mark Alan program (shamaan,chrystals,hrm,taper etc)alt the Dave Scott program(put shoes on run,put speedo on swim,klimb on bike ride train at suicidal pace and today is a good day to die).Programs vary as much as individuals.Having siad that with tongue in cheeck,i have found the beginner triathlete programs very usefull but more from a planning perspective.You can also have a look at the book Triathlons for dummies or join a club such as Embark.Happy training and will see you on the starting line next year.

[reteid]

Nervous is not bad.I am still shatting myself after doing my first tri in 1987.what seemed to work for me is the following:listen to your body.if your legs hurt very much then go for a swim or a bike ride.if your legs just hurt go for a run.eat when your hungry,drink when you are thirsty.enjoy the never ending journey.consistency is the key.

[Thug]

Seeing that you are in Cape Town, why not contact Claire Horner from My Training Day.

[gadget]

In Durbanville you can join the Embark crew. They are training for 70.3 and Ironman 2014

[SwissVan]

 

You can choose between the Mark Alan program (shamaan,chrystals,hrm,taper etc)

 

alt

 

the Dave Scott program(put shoes on run,put speedo on swim, klimb on bike ride train at suicidal pace and today is a good day to die).

 

 

LOL that's funny

[FC&P2C]

Buy the book: 12 week triathlete by tom holland.

He has got a realistic program for sprint, olympic, 70.3 and full ironman

Ive used his program for 6 ironman and a lot of other ultra distance events succesfully.

[Red Zone]

I did 70.3 without a formal program. First set your goals, that will determine what sort of program you need.

 

I knew how much time I had to train and with some experience in shorter tri's knew what was required.

 

I swam 2km once a week, cycled up to 100 km on the weekend with another ride thrown in during the week (around an hour) and ran up to three times a week (max distance 21km) made sure that I did quite a few brick sessions. Ave training week probably around 8 hours with a few big weeks in Nov / Dec up to 12 hours. Did a comfortable 5:45.

 

The no 1 tip is to train through winter, keep your fitness (S, B & R)up so that you dont get overwhelmed when October comes and you need to start from scratch.

[davem]

I am a little cynical when it comes to coaches for age groupers. Most of the workouts are cut and paste and to be quite honest doing your first 70.3, you are not trying to hone your body to peak at 100.00% of your potential. You are not likely to be fussy over seconds or even minutes. If you are aiming for the pointy end of the race then a coach is essential to beat you into submission and drain every fraction of a percent from your body.

• There are free programs in every Tri mag and all over the internet. Read them and understand what each set achieves.
  
• Build up a program yourself by understanding what each session is trying to achieve: base, endurance, strength and speed.
  
• Understand the effect each session has on your body and how long it takes for your body to recover. This will enable you to pace yourself without burning out. HRM with TE and EPOC are really useful.
  
• Don't leave out your weaknesses.
  
• Do sessions that are enjoyable. A mountain bike ride with mates might not be as perfect as a tempo ride on the road, but it is most of the way there and is good for the soul.
  
• If you miss out on a session, it is gone. Don't try and make it up. Don't feel guilty (my personal biggest challenge).
  

The secret is to find a routine that works for you in order to build your own program. You know what is weak in your own skills set and improve it. Discipline in sticking to your routine is your first victory.

 

Training with others is a major motivator to comply with your routine. Somehow you share the pain and pleasure.

 

Talk to people in the swimming pool! I am always amazed at how guys swim on and on without chatting to other people. It makes the time go quicker and you do put in more effort.

 

If you don't feel like doing a session, commit to do the first small bit, say 20 lengths of a swim set. If you are still not in the mood, get out and go home. Most times you will finish the set.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Most importantly enjoy the journey because race day is just too short.

[Snytjie]

As a relative newcomer to triathlon I would like to affirm the approaches by Red Zone and DaveM above. It certainly works for me at this early stage. For sprint and olympic distances I bought plans from TriathlonGeek. Although they worked, I didn't have a thorough understanding of what I'm actually doing. I just followed the plan. Coming up to race days, I was fairly nervous because of this.

 

Now I'm also training for 70.3. I've changed completely. I bought two triathlon books (by Phil Maffetone and Joe Friel), read (most of) Tim Noakes Lore of Running, and buy TriathlonSA monthly. Based on this I've made my own plan. It has the necessary aspects of base building, anaerobic training, tapering and rest in it. For example, the latest TriathlonSA has some great anaerobic/speed sessions in it which will fill up a good portion of that phase of my training.

 

The plan is devised around my own life situation. I started early (April) and during the base building to mid- Sept I have weekly escalations of 7% in all sessions. Sessions are sorted in 10 day cycles with 3 runs, 3 swims and 3 bikes (including both a bike-run and swim-bike brick) and two rest days. I seldom feel pressured and even after loosing a month of training due to illness, I'm well on track to my first 70.3 in December.

 

It's really not that difficult to devise a plan that suits your own life. You have already done the most important thing: start early enough. I think most pressure people feel is because they leave it late and then want to crash a 12 week program from Nov on into their already busy lives. Now that would be a proper source of nervousness for me.

 

If you like/prefer company in training, then I would suggest joining one of the clubs. You will have to keep to certain times then.

Edited June 13, 2013 by Snytjie

[Disylizzy]

In Durbanville you can join the Embark crew. They are training for 70.3 and Ironman 2014

 

What is the embark crew?

[gadget]

What is the embark crew?

 

It is structured group training. Steve and Dave (both from Atlantic Tri Club) has had man successes for getting couch potatoes to great sportsman through 70.3. The advantage is you have group training, access to athletes who have done it all before etc. Aimed at beginners and intermediate triathletes going for their first ironman in 2014. It is very accessible. Most people think these groups are too hardcore, but y

I started there 3 years ago and it was a good introduction to the sport. If you need higher level coaching join Velocity sports lab with Raynard Tissink or Dinamic coaching with Neil and Di MAcPherson (more individual focus).

 

check link

 

PS: I see the 70.3 program starts 1 August

 

Edit: sp

Edited June 14, 2013 by gadget

[Disylizzy]

It is structured group training. Steve and Dave )both from Atlantic Tri Club) has had man successes for getting couch potatoes to great sportsman through 70.3. The advantage is you have group training, access to athletes who have done it all before etc. Aimed at beginners and intermediated triathletes going for their first ironman in 2014. It is very accesible. Most people think these groups are too hardcore, but at Embark it caters for all levels. And at races you will see the Black and red Embark kit EVERYWHERE.

 

I started there 3 years ago and it was a good introduction to the sport.

 

check link

 

PS: I see the 70.3 program starts 1 August

 

Thanks, I'll check it out

[mataz]

A program like that is great if you know absolutely nothing but if you are a fairly seasoned athlete already, save yourself some money and buy one of Joe Friel's books, either:

 

-The Triathlete's Training Bible (for all distances), or

-Going Long (for ultra distances)

 

When I did Ironman I read "Going Long" first and then got myself a training program from this website and adapted it to my needs:

 

http://www.trifuel.com/triathlon-training-plans

[ewald99]

I agree with Davem, when you are starting out you don't need a coach. I made that mistake and got tired of paying my 500 ZAR per month to a well known coach/athlete in Cape Town after a few months. The program was completely cut-and-paste, he even forgot to take out someone else's name once, and he took 2 weeks sometimes to reply to my emails when I asked for explanations of the sessions. It's just not worth it.

 

I think you can swim, run and ride as much as you can fit into your schedule when you are starting out and you will be fine, you don't need any fancy training sessions. I have 2 tips for you from a beginner's perspective:

 

1. Make sure you do a good portion of your training in conditions similar to your planned race (for example make sure you swim in the ocean sometimes, and not just the pool, and if the run is hilly make sure you run some hills every now and then etc.)

2. Use some of the money you saved by not having a coach and get a real swim coach to look at your stroke, I cut 5 seconds per 100 off my pace immediately by making a single small change to my stroke. Someone like Neil from Dinamic or Natalie from Velocity will help you. (this helps whether you are trying to cut serious time off your swim or just trying to survive!!)

 

Once you get through your first few tris and you start looking at really improving times then you should get a coach, but if your coach tells you they don't need to at least meet you or have a phone conversation with you about your goals and acheivements then you may be getting a cut and paste!

Edited June 14, 2013 by ewald99