The Ironman Training 2021 Thread

Training
2173

Long post time, I’m gonna split this one up and hopefully there some learnings in there.

The Background

I’d finished IM Switzerland 2019 in 14h31 with a great swim, a so so bike and another god awful run of 6h31. Long time thread readers will know that I’m just not that good of a runner, stand-alone or triathlon. I decided then that it was time to focus on running, and pick a race that played to my strengths and not my weaknesses so I wanted a sea swim and a flat bike. As usual, I had a few beers one autumn night and signed up for Barca.

The Preparation

The plan was start strength in the autumn, run training through the winter for a spring marathon then switch to long course and race Barca. COVID happened so I got my strength and run training but no race to prove my performance, but I had dropped my half marathon time by 7 minutes to 1h50m. Instead of Barca I did virtual Kona (a great thing btw) it’s not directly comparable to a real race, but it is some sort of marker. I had my usual decent swim, a very good (but virtual bike) and another awful run 5h59 which was actually still a PB. The total time was 13h21m but they don’t count transitions in VR so probably more like a 13h45 performance. Then 2021 was more run focus, my 5k dropped 1m30s and my Olympic tri run became my 10k PB at 49m. I also set significant Olympic PBs at 2h27 and 2h26 way down from 3h15 or something a few years ago. So all positive stuff, then I did a marathon three weeks ago and I blew up exactly as I did in 2019 for another 5h marathon. Not so good.

The Goal
A PB IM Run and a sub13 finish.

The Race Plan
Swim 1h10 - Not going hard
Bike 6h - 170W
Run 5h30 - Actually a 2/1 run walk strategy with a 5h target
Transitions 20m

6 Likes
2174

The Execution: Ironman Barcelona 2021

Well the Swim was shortened due to the weather, so a sub13 couldn’t be counted I just wanted the bike and run splits. The conditions were horrendous, I was really surprised they put us in the water as I stared at the rolling and heaving ocean somewhat sardonically. I was having trouble making out the buoy targets from the shore…but only had seconds to think of that then off we go, splash splash a few butterfly strokes and into the washing machine. I couldn’t see where I was going, I didn’t know if each stroke or breath would catch air or water so you could forget technique and rhythm, but some how the buoys came past my left shoulder and before I’d had time to really worry about the amount of seawater I’d consumed it was over and I was staggering back up the shore struggling to stay upright.

4045_001279
4045_001279640×960 80.4 KB

image
image600×600 65.3 KB

image
image600×600 62.5 KB

I kind of dithered before the timing mat as I hadn’t seen it and while I was starting to get the wetsuit off…still 20th in AG M45-49, not that it really mattered. I would usually have tens of minutes over the majority of the field by now and a clear route out of T1 but not today.

T1 Minor disaster, my first ever penalty :scream: I had run down the “wrong” side of my bike rack and ducked under it to get on the right side. I’d had no idea this was illegal, but I accepted the call and the lady held me for 30s while she talked. A fair jog to the bike mount and now with half a dozen incompetent bike handlers in front of me was the frustrating part.

Bike a bit of wobble getting through the slow mounters and then off though the no aero bars, drafting allowed, arrow streets with the lovely people of Calella cheering us along then off onto the coastal road and the strong winds that had whipped up the sea for us. 80mm front wheel was not a great move by me, some very shaky bike handling as I fought the wind which would not have looked pretty but I’ve had it bad elsewhere and stayed upright so I was never worried although others were :sweat_smile:

4045_074811
4045_074811640×960 86.8 KB

There’s a lot of Facebook chatter about the draft cheats so I won’t bang on about it here, it’s not like everyone was cheating it was a small minority but it was so blatant it was infuriating. Those people aren’t triathletes to me.

Barca has a reputation for being fast, but the headwinds and the long gradual inclines were proper hard work I was quite surprised to find myself a 5h29m bike split, 111th AG, a PB by a long long way and this despite stopping to remove my saddlebag dragging on my wheel, stopping to repair an undone chinstrap and a crippling cramp 15km out from the end :slightly_smiling_face: AP/NP 166/183

T2 The cramp was agony to get through and into my run kit, especially with five toe socks so I had little confidence I’d finish the run - but you know, trust the training right?

I limped off to the run start and got on with it. For the first time ever there were no dramas. I held my strategy the whole way. I tailed off the nutrition and fluids as my belly began to complain but it worked out.

4045_102952
4045_102952960×640 73.5 KB

Unfortunately my run phases got too slow to make the stretch target but I upped the ratio from 2/1 to 3/1 for the last 11km and narrowly missed goal with a 5h31m and 239th in AG run split! Got the crowd going on the red carpet and really milked the finish line. :partying_face:
4045_123903
4045_123903640×960 69 KB

I loved it, I had a great time, hit some PBs and I exceeded my expectations.

18 Likes
2175

Barcelona was my 5th full distance Ironman not including VR Kona and taking into account the short swim I think I trained myself to a sub 13hr performance so I’m happy to leave full distance as a 12h+ athlete for a while.

Whilst I have improved my run significantly over the two years with multi sport training, there is still something about long distance running that I haven’t got right so I won’t be doing another Ironman until I can run a standalone sub 4hr marathon or a 1h50 70.3 run. And I won’t be doing either of those until I can take ten minutes off and run a 1h40 half marathon. Then , I don’t know but I’ll probably do 20 mile running races until I can break the 25km barrier I seem to have.

So if I can hold to that logic, 2022 will be single sport for me. I will miss triathlon, but I will be back.

12 Likes
2176

Great write up and improvement! Thanks for sharing all the details.
Best of luck with your single sport training!

2 Likes
2177

Woke up this morning having decided its now the offseason. Lets GO :sunglasses:
:sleeping_bed:

6 Likes
2178

Not doing the last race?

2179

Congrats Joe and well written. That swim looked brutal and nice pictures. I have never done a full but did enjoy the one 70.3 I did a while back. I think for me a full time wise is too much even though I do have time to dedicate to it. I want to still have somewhat is a life (or tell myself that) and enjoy some other things that I want to get into (mtb or gravel riding soon hopefully).

1 Like
2180

nah, I got nothing to prove. No point in spending $100 race fee. Think I’ll go to the Renaissance fair instead

2181

Thanks for sharing your race story with us! It was an enjoyable and inspiring read. Great work!

2 Likes
2182

Words of a wise person.

Resting up for next year is probably more important…
Enjoy the fair…
It always fun!

2183

I really enjoy reading this thread, and Joe congrats on your IM and thanks for keeping this going.

At long last I finally have my first 70.3’s coming up. Two years ago I’d initially decided to supplement my road racing with some Tri and signed up for Santa Rosa and Coeur D’alene with a smaller format local 70.3 for ‘practice’. Needless to say, none of those happened. I got rescheduled to AZ 70.3 happening this month, the small Napa one also this month and Indian Wells in December. While my motivation has gone up and down over the past 1.5yrs as things continually got delayed, but I am super excited now. My training has been pretty solid I think, I’ve done a couple solo 70.3’s (4:41 and 4:50), have averaged around 8hr cycling, 2-3 swimming and 2-3 running per week through my plan with avg ~650TSS. To be honest I am mostly nervous about the logistics of it all, it’s so much bigger than a local road race, finding bike/running gear in the transitions, dealing with less experienced folks on the bike course etc… But I think if I stay calm I should in theory be able to put up a half decent result.

So my goal is 4:40 - 32 minute swim, 2:27 bike (250NP on road bike with bars) and 95 minute run allowing for 4 min T1 and 2 minute T2.

Barring any mental errors or mechanicals I think this is very doable, the closer to 4:30 I get the more satisfied I’d be, but don’t want too much pressure on myself for my first official 70.3.

Napa and Indian Wells my goals will be a bit adjusted with cold water and hills.

I’ll report back on the 18th to let you all know how AZ goes.

-Stu

3 Likes
2184

Best of luck!!!

2185

Yes, and I think one thing I’ve learned from 2021 is that I don’t need long course specific training anymore. I did olympic only January to July then essentially I think maybe 8 weeks of long course training before tapering. I put in more hours than usual, but when it’s all short 1-2hr stuff it is so much easier to schedule and complete than the 3h-5h workouts.

2186

Yes I don’t mind the 3 hour trainer or even outdoor rides and like you enjoy the treadmill for the most part. Also for me I get to take a day or 2 during the week and take them completely off or do something else like hiking.

1 Like
2187

Anyone with a shaved / bald head have any tips for keeping a swim cap on? I swear I never used to have this problem, but I’m 0/2 in my last events and it’s turning into an issue (where I have to stop and pull it back down ever 5-10 min, or just ditch it altogether and risk less visibility.

2188

At maple valley I stood next to a guy in the swim start who had the thermal cap with the chin strap on, he said he does this as he is bald and otherwise the green swim cap pops off.

not sure how that would work during a warm swim

2189

First, great job JoeX and everyone else.

Second, reporting in after a disappointing Augusta 70.3. Didn’t know what to expect as my training runs hadn’t been going great, but went in at least hoping to top my 2016 time. Didn’t achieve this…was 10 minutes slower on the nose. 5:48:06; 76/201 in AG. (slowest 70.3 to date)

Swim: Was one of a very, very small group of age groupers not wearing a wetsuit (I had given my old one to my son and never got around to buying another one, and they were out of my size at the expo). A little shock jumping in the water but quickly warmed up. Still, not a great swim given the current was flying (top swim was just under 20 minutes I believe). 28:58; 101/201 AG

Bike: Hillier and chattier course than I remember from 2016. Was spiky in the beginning and hard time finding a rhythm. Legs were not feeling great immediately. Railroad track ejected nutrition bottom from behind the seat cage at mile 10. Stopped to retrieve it (lost 2 min there), only to find the cage was broken…so carried the bottle in the aero position for the next 7-8 miles while I downed the content. NP was way over AP first half of ride so eased back on effort to save legs for run and kept it steadier second half. Legs still not great. 2:40:02: 20.94 MPH; 28/201 AG (slowest 70.3 bike to date).

Run: The first 4-5miles were a fine slow slog at my maximum speed of 9:00-9:30/mile. Then, the negative thoughts came in as the pain increased and the wheels came off. A slow walk run survival strategy for rest of race. Picked it up toward the end but I was empty, exhausted. Don’t know why cause I ate (4 picky bars) and drank (2.5 large bottles of skratch) on the bike, and gels on the run. The best 70.3 I even did I existed solely on gels and infinit nutrition drink so maybe solid foods just aren’t my thing. 2:29:42; 11:31/mile; 129/201 (slowest 70.3 run to date).

Sucks, but not too beat up mentally. It is what it is. Maybe just don’t have the run endurance. Will have another chance at it in NC 70.3 in a couple of weeks. Will report back afterwards!

2 Likes
2190

Yeah, exactly, I think this might have to be the move.

2191

Great advise! I am definitely going that way! I feel I do not need more than 10 to 14 days taper.
My plan is to push the rest of the current week and then cut the volume to 70% the next week and to 40 to 50% on race week but spice it with some long rest period intervals at comfortable pace or power.
That carbs advice is priceless. Many thanks!

1 Like
2192

Man, I’m so jealous reading all these race reports. I haven’t raced since the Before Times. :frowning: What’s everyone’s plans for the winter?

Renaissance fair is always a good idea. Haven’t been to one in forever. Have a beer for me!

1 Like