The Ironman Training 2021 Thread

You’re going to kill it! If they return to the 2019 course make sure you’re confident in your bike handling and bring secure bottle cages.

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Essentially all cycling is done indoors, perhaphs once a fortnight an hour or two may be outside. Recent crash and too many close calls with vehicles gives me more incentive to ride inside. Was looking for a fast course for my first and it ultimately came down to Hamburg and Barca.
Consistency is for sure a key factor as you said; my body can handle 25 hour weeks but not for back to back for months on end. Physiological benefits I get from consistent 20/21 hour weeks is probably the same as very inconsistent fluctuating 25 hour weeks.

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From what I’ve gathered the route for '21 shares some sections from the '19 route. That is something I neglected to think about really so I will be sure to bear that in mind! Have you done Hamburg before; are there certain course features that require the need for sharper bike handling as you mentioned?

I’ve done 2018 which was proper Autobahn. Friends did 2019 and I heard that they added some twisty bits inside the Harbour area that were tricky, crossing a number of railroad and tram tracks and plenty of sharp turns. Looking at the map I’d recon that part for sure. The out and back along the river is just head down hammertime.

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Rouvy has the IM Vichy route (no video tho)
So I intend riding it a couple of times before the race.

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Ironman 70.3 Lanzarote in October 2021 for me, then Ironman Lanzarote in May 2022.

Eventually getting back into triathlon after 6 years of just cycling. With all pools being closed here in Scotland I’m still trying to decide on the best swim cords/stretch bands to purchase to help whilst the pools are shut.

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Phew!

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I tried using Best Bike Split and TR workout creator for IM Austria course and it gave me a default finishing time of 6:07. Since I want to go faster, I changed the finishing time to 5:30 and 5:00. It basically shortened the whole course, except for the final interval, which lengthened a lot - to 30 and 60 minutes (time taken away from other intervals).
This doesnt seem right, does anyone know how to create the course so that the ratio remains the same?

Coincidentally just got an email confirming the routes and yeah can see those twisty bits you mentioned. Really hope they carpet over the rail tracks as I’ve hit the deck several times because of tracks no matter the weather. Will definitely be sure to get tight cages as well :joy:
Apparently the bike course is like 6k long too so best factor in an extra ~9 mins to the bike leg

Stafford 70.3
Nottingham Outlaw (full)
Derby Triathlon (good to support local and its cheap)

None of them wont be quick but at least I will be in the 50-55 age group this year :slight_smile: The only way for me to win is attrition to stay injury free and hope all the ex pros knees are knackerd by the time they hit 60 :slight_smile:

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Where abouts in derby are you?

Spondon/Chaddesden side.

Jamie, I heard you talking about going sub 9.

What splits are you looking for?

Would be looking for ~56 min Swim (1:29 / 100m) but would take a combined Swim+T1 of no more than 1 hour (although I have heard the run to T1 can be lengthy so). Ideally <4:50 Bike split (6km long bike course so either bike harder or adjust estimate) and a v.low 3 hour run.

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Do NOT bike harder to make a bike split…that way lays ruin.

Trust me on this.

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In for my first full, Lake Placid, this year. Was registered for St George last year but that obviously didn’t happen. Felt fairly prepared in March when I refocused my plan for the September date, but really only seriously trained through June. In the slow process of ramping back up, 5 weeks into Full Distance MV Base and an adapted Barry P plan and feeling pretty good (adding easy bike volume in place of swimming for now). Have to say I kind of feel guilty admitting this as I grew up swimming, but I don’t miss it as much as I expected to. I’m looking forward to getting back to the pool and open water for sure, but can’t really say I’m in a rush.

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Thanx for the 2021 thread @JoeX

You can put me down for Challenge Cape Town on 7 November 2021.

Last year was a big training year for me on the bike. I completed:
Trad Base 1 - HV (6wks - repeated wk2&3)
Trad Base 2 - HV (6 wks - repeated wk2&3)
Trad Base 3 - HV (4 wks)
Sust Pwr Build - HV (8 wks)
SSB 1 - HV (6 wks)
SSB 2 - HV (6 wks)

I made huge gains in FTP during this period from 244 up to 342! Due to COVID I was working from home and all I did was train and recover.
Then I went back to work as I started a repeat of Trad Base 3 HV. Things went south quickly. There was no sign of over training at all. Daily HRV was fine, my HR recovery was as per normal. Then towards the end of Wk2, I couldnt complete one workout. Two days later I had to bail half way again. Then I skipped a workout completely. I went for an outdoor ride and could barely make it up a hill that normally I’d smash. I just couldn’t hold power. And mentally, I suddenly couldn’t get myself to push anymore.

I took a week off completely, then did the recovery week followed by a MTB event. As luck would have it, I crashed and fractured my ribs. This resulted in me spending the final few weeks of 2020 lying on my back mostly.

Last week Monday I made it back to training. Ramp tested and I’m down from 342 to 287. Which I’ll happily take for now.

My plan currently:
Trad Base 1 LOW volume plus BarryP running 6 days a week. Gym work 2-3 times a week.
All of the above super easy. I don’t want to over do things as I’m still feeling mild pain from the ribs, plus I want to progress slowly back into my training as I don’t have the mental strength I had before.

I will re-evaluate after 4 weeks and see where I go from there. But the thought is to stick to low(er) volume training until around May/June and then do a full 24 week Base, Build, Speciality Half Distance block to build for Challenge Cape Town.

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I’m trying to sign up for a full distance in May but everything is sold out! I may just train for halfs this year again and sign up for a full once everything is settled!

I’ve been mainly weight training and enjoying myself. Pools have been closed but i’ve been doing the odd run and zwift ride.

Some advice on TT bike size would be great right now!

I cant go into the store to try it because of covid but there is an amazing deal on a cervelo. The issue is they only have 56cm. Im a 58cm road bike (6ft tall), and i’ve read that you can go a size down for a tt bike.

I’ve had a bike fit done on my road bike but i have no idea how to transfer the measurements over to a TT bike?

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Signing up is tricky this year, in fact I’m wondering if I should sign up for events in 2021 if I can assume they will be put back to 2022, otherwise next year will be a dud too :wink:

Personally I wouldnt try to guess a Tri fit based on a roadie fit, I would (did) get a Tri fit before I bought my Tri bike. I did a fair amount of self-fitting beforehand using online resources and books, but the external eye of a fitter was much better.

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The 56 TT bike may work, but it is not definitive. if you are unable to get a full fit, I would suggest e-mailing Cervelo with some of your measurements (height, inseam, etc) and seeing if they can help guide you. Just tell them you are debating sizes and wanted their input between a 56 and a 58.