Ironman training plan
By Julien on Sunday, February 17 2008, 18:44 - Ironman - Permalink
Just about 4 months before the Nice Ironman, and after a long semi-resting period, it's really time to devise a training plan ... and to start training!
There are 18 weeks left till the 22nd June. I've divided them into two periods of 4 weeks and two periods 5 weeks. Each period is concluded by a relative rest week to recover. So that'll be 3 weeks training, 1 week rest, 3 training, 1 rest, 4 training, 1 rest, 4 training, 1 rest (tapering). During the two first periods, I plan to exercice 6 times a week (proper triathletes would probably laught). For each sport, I'll train once in a short and intense fashion (intervals), and once in a longer and slower way. I'll try to prioritise on swimming and cycling, as I'm less comfortable with those.
[2] The distance of the easy swim on Friday will increase from 1km to 2km during the first period and from 1.5km to 2.5km during the second one.
[3] The Sunday bike will increase from 40km to 90km (London to Brighton) in the first period, and 60km to 120km during the second one.
During the two last periods, I would exercice 7 times a week by adding a running session after the Sunday bike.
[2] The distance of the easy swim on Friday will increase from 2km to 3.5km during the first period and (hopefully) from 2.5km to 4km during the second one.
[3] The Sunday (bike + run) will increase from 60km + 10km to 20km.
[4] Sessions of 120 and 150km the first period, 180km and 90km during the second one.
I've setup two public Google calendars: the Ironman training plan and the Ironman actual training. The latter will be updated with lame excuses for not training... You can tell me off if you think I'm not training hard enough :) You can either browse them directly or register if you have a Google account.
This is however still a draft I may need to improve. In particular, I've got no back to back swim + cycle session. Also I may try a half-Ironman in real conditions on my own, ie. swim 2km in the Channel near Brighton, ride back to London and then run 21km. Other plans may alter this training such as conferences and other trips.
EDIT 21/02/2008: increased bike distances.
Ultra IM training plan.
There are 18 weeks left till the 22nd June. I've divided them into two periods of 4 weeks and two periods 5 weeks. Each period is concluded by a relative rest week to recover. So that'll be 3 weeks training, 1 week rest, 3 training, 1 rest, 4 training, 1 rest, 4 training, 1 rest (tapering). During the two first periods, I plan to exercice 6 times a week (proper triathletes would probably laught). For each sport, I'll train once in a short and intense fashion (intervals), and once in a longer and slower way. I'll try to prioritise on swimming and cycling, as I'm less comfortable with those.
- Monday: swim (intervals)
- Tuesday: run (intervals) OR longish run (15km to 20km) [1]
- Wednesday: -
- Thursday: spinning class
- Friday: run (easy 10km) + swim (easy 1.5km to 2.5km) back to back [2]
- Saturday: -
- Sunday: bike (40km to 120km) [3]
[2] The distance of the easy swim on Friday will increase from 1km to 2km during the first period and from 1.5km to 2.5km during the second one.
[3] The Sunday bike will increase from 40km to 90km (London to Brighton) in the first period, and 60km to 120km during the second one.
During the two last periods, I would exercice 7 times a week by adding a running session after the Sunday bike.
- Monday: swim (intervals)
- Tuesday: run (intervals) OR long run (20km to 32km) [1]
- Wednesday: -
- Thursday: spinning class
- Friday: run (easy 10km) + swim (easy 2km to 4km) back to back [2]
- Saturday: -
- Sunday: bike (60km) + run (10km to 20km) back to back [3] OR bike (90km to 180km) [4]
[2] The distance of the easy swim on Friday will increase from 2km to 3.5km during the first period and (hopefully) from 2.5km to 4km during the second one.
[3] The Sunday (bike + run) will increase from 60km + 10km to 20km.
[4] Sessions of 120 and 150km the first period, 180km and 90km during the second one.
I've setup two public Google calendars: the Ironman training plan and the Ironman actual training. The latter will be updated with lame excuses for not training... You can tell me off if you think I'm not training hard enough :) You can either browse them directly or register if you have a Google account.
This is however still a draft I may need to improve. In particular, I've got no back to back swim + cycle session. Also I may try a half-Ironman in real conditions on my own, ie. swim 2km in the Channel near Brighton, ride back to London and then run 21km. Other plans may alter this training such as conferences and other trips.
EDIT 21/02/2008: increased bike distances.
Ultra IM training plan.
Comments
Excellent, and surely quite scary for the rest of us. Will you revive the trainotron on your blog?
Nope, it was a bit of hassle to manage. The second calendar will give you similar information. But that'll be only about Ironman (no climbing, hiking, ...).
Also, it helps Google knowing me better: they already know many pages I'm browsing, some emails I'm receiving, the videos I watch online, some books I read online, where I've been hiking, and they store pictures of me at various places, as well as blogs talking about me, so why not giving them my training as well ?
Note that this training plan is light compared to what many triathletes do (10 to 20 hours a week)
Am I reading it correctly that your longest bike ride is 90km? The Ironman bike distance is 112 miles = 180 km.
The Nice bike course is very hilly (Maritime Alps) with some scary (fast & long) descents.
Make sure that you put in some longer rides and concentrate on hills.
Best of luck!
The longest ride in the plan is 180km. But you've got the point, the average ride distance is probably too short.
Thanks for the advice!