The Ironman Training 2022 Thread

Training
1023

I realize I’m late to the party, but IM Tulsa was also my first full!

TLDR: 4th in AG (qualified for Kona through roll down, but can’t go due to business school conflict), 19th female overall, 94th overall overall)

Swim: 1:21:35
Bike: 6:07:42
Run: 4:07:40
Total: 11:44:13

Full Race Report

Swim: They changed the swim from a 1 loop course to a 2 loop course 5 mins before the start because the water was so rough. All those years of grinding out miles on the bike and run had eroded the IM staff math abilities so it was a solid 500 m long. And still incredibly choppy. Saw my first lap split and was disappointed by how far I was off my goal pace. Went in for my second lap just trying to swim strong and smooth telling myself this was my race and no one else’s.

T1: Came out of the water around 1:20, about 10 mins slower than I wanted. Got a nice wetsuit strip and went into the change tent. Some very nice and experienced athletes told me the swim was long, making me feel a lot better.

Bike: I was a little overexcited in the first hour, especially up the first big climb that came at about mile 10. Kept telling myself that my goal of 150 W felt easy now, but wouldn’t by mile 80. There were some fun descents on the bike, but the >5,000 feet of climbing made it rough. Road surfaces were mixed, and I did lose a nutrition bottle which was not ideal. My back did flare up a bit, but I was on the hoods and out of the saddle a good bit with all the climbing, which helped with back pain if not aerodynamics.** Started suffering about halfway through, and at that point it just became about finishing. My dream bike split was 5:40, and I ended up coming in around 6:08.

T2: I was happy to be off the bike, but I could not believe I had to run a marathon with the way I was feeling. A volunteer helped me do everything as cognitive function was not high at this point. I got on my shoes (forgot to put in a change of socks), and she buckled on my race belt, and I was off.

Run: The first 1.5 miles were a straight up lumber. I paused to find my legs and got in some nutrition and started feeling better. Managed to hold ~8:30 pace until about halfway through when the wheels just came off. The new goal became finish in <12 hours. I crossed the line at 11:44:13, an Iron(wo)man.

****To weigh in on the TT bike vs road bike debate. I rode my TT bike, and I regularly passed people descending. If you have a good fit and feel comfortable on your TT bike, I think it holds a definite advantage, as there were considerable portions of the course that you could tuck in for a solid 20 mins to avoid wind AND the TT bike offers you a greater variety of positions for such a long day.

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1024

Question for the group: I have to take a break from swimming for a week or two. What’s the most productive thing I can do with that extra time? (I’m doing a HV HD plan, so I have roughly 4 extra hours a week, although I might be able to do some OWS if the weather improves).

  1. Add volume to bike workouts (either through longer alternates, or adding Z2 rides)
  2. Add volume to the runs
  3. Do some dryland workouts
  4. Strength training
  5. Cross-train on the rower
  6. Some combo of the above
  7. Nothing, take advantage of the extra rest
  8. Something else I haven’t thought of
1025

You didn’t say how long till your race

if it was me and my race is in the next 8 weeks or so … out 1 week
I would do # 7 and focus on extra recovery - eat better for the week

out 2 weeks
I would still mostly say #7 but would add in OWS even if I had to get some booties/thermal swim socks and thermal cap

1026

Ah, meant to add that and forgot to. A event is in October (IM 70.3 AZ), B event is in 3 weeks (an Olympic I’m doing to get some race experience).

1027

Yeah for the your A race - no big deal missing a week or two

for your B race - be prepared to feel a big flat in the swim

focus on your quality of workouts while you are out of the pool and get the extra rest since you are already on HV IMO

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1028

Massive result, congrats!

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1029

Well done on the results and thanks for the reports.

For the TT discussion…

I posted recently on this question. my 70.3 next month is a street course with bad surface. A dentists dream. My TT bike was used many TT’s not tri’s (until now). It’s about learning how it handles, bike fit and confidence. You don’t want to lean down for a bottle and wobble into some road furniture or worse a competitor. Comfort is for road bikes, TT bikes don’t do comfortable. TT bikes respond to being fluid. A road bike can be thrown about a bit, TT bikes need to be stroked. I could go with some sexist analogies but I’ll hold off.

Froome was unlucky. Bernal had a rare moment of situational awareness. The thinking nowadays is head down which is ok when you’re on a closed barriered course with a chase car but not when there’s a school run nearby.

I recently had a breakthrough ride on my TT bike. The fluidity is back and my drinking is comfortable… I didn’t hit road furniture. It’s a huge confidence boost for me.

Good luck out there.

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1030

Hi everyone thanks for the forum and all the informations here
Im new to this whole world of endurance sports
28 now and haven’t had the best habits since my teens years so have lots of work to do

My plan is to do an Ironman in 4/5 years so I can progress at my rythm
Have done 5 good months of training on the bike using Planbuilder only went to a shameful 180 ftp to an still shameful 218 ftp at @85kg/187lbs (estimated) 3 mounth ago feel absolutely stronger now
I have done recently 2 Olympic distances yet 2h47 and 3h01 with approx 1h30 min bike leg

I plan to do a swim bike 90k event in September and then start to build to an 70.3 in summer 2023

I’m in a swim squad and I have a running coach so that part is taken care of
My plan for the September event is to use the
•8week polarized plan => 40k tt plan
really want to try polarized plan I like a lot this style of training

and for the 70.3 summer 2023 event
6week polarized plans x2 like suggested => 8week polarized =>sustain power build => 40k tt
Feel like 40k tt is more likely to prepare me to do the effort maybe will need more longer ride on the low end

What are your thoughts ? What are your plans buildup’s for 70.3 with a good time for preparation

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1031

I’d still consider looking at the tri plans even if you are using your swim squad and your run coach for those two. The bike plans have more bike hours for a given volume compared to the tri plans and can make it tough to fit in swims and runs with enough recovery. Doing a tri plan and dropping the run and swims out might give you a better schedule and volume of bikes.

I’ve not done the 40k tt plan and while I think it probably will be good for an ftp boost it may not give you the endurance you need for the 90k race. If you stick with that route I’d make sure you are doing some longer rides as the event approaches that the tt plan won’t have built in ( I assume). At least look at the tri plans to compare to see what you might want to add in yourself.

Between your Sept race and maybe Jan 1 a bike plan wouldn’t be bad. I’ve already setup low volume climbing road race plan starting after my 70.3 in a few weeks through end of year as I switch focus to an October marathon, I’ll bump the volume for the block after the marathon as I switch back to a bike focus. Once I pick my races next year I’ll start a tri plan again Jan 1.

You’ve made good gains, nothing shameful there.

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1032

3 and 7

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1033

Hey there and welcome to the thread! :slightly_smiling_face:

It seems like you have all the bases covered, I am a strong advocate of the tri plans particularly for first time TR triathletes, but we have seen success at least with more seasoned athletes using sweet spot base into sustained power build. I don’t advocate for polarised plans for a few reasons but ultimately I haven’t used them.

I wouldn’t say you need to do any specific 70.3 prep this year, so go with whatever you fancy.

I would say write down your strengths/weaknesses challenges/opportunities before you make plans, so you can fot your training as best suits you and focus your efforts accordingly.

1034

They released this with little fanfare, but the Form goggles now have triathlon swim plans:

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I’ve been pretty happy with the goggles, I’m gonna give these a shot once I get back in the water.

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1035

One step forward and 2 backwards…

On vacation right now. Thinking i was going to run every day and enjoy the hills. But no. Got sick on my way here and have had on and off fever for the last 3 days and generally not feeling great… so great start of vacation

1036

Sorry to hear that. I hope it’s only mild and that you bounce back quickly.

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1037

I’ve been down with covid for a few days - a mild case though. Once I’m feeling better I’m going to ramp back in slowly, keep an eye on the HR.

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1038

I feel your pain. I’m on holiday too. I was unable to take the bike, managed a couple of runs and barely found the water as the family get in the wayPreformatted text

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1039

I was able to get some labs done, so it’s not COVID or flu.

It’s something called mycoplasma pneumoniae. I need antibiotics. I was told without antibiotics it will take a long time to get better and chances of getting worse are very high…

1040

Yes, get on those antibiotics for the full course!

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1041

Managed to snag a 70.3 worlds slot from Victoria this last weekend in the M30-34 age group – didn’t even think this was a possibility going into the race as I’ve only gotten in about 5.5 hours of training per week the last few months due to travel and getting COVID / moving to a new house in the last three weeks. Hadn’t done a brick, a ride longer than 2hr, or a run longer than 9mi this year before the race.

Upside is that I have a ton of room for improvement – I think I can reasonably manage to shave another 20-25min off my 70.3 time by late October just in my bike and run. Downside is that St. George somewhat conflicts with some other events I had planned:

  • Tahoe Rim 100 mid-July
  • 70.3 Santa Cruz early September (will likely miss now due to emergent travel)
  • BC Bike Race mid-September

Now I’m thinking about doing a run focus this summer (maybe a few months of 50+ mi weeks) as this is where I have the most room for improvement and it will be easier to do consistently given my travel plans. Then do a 12wk buildup to St. George. This will shift my summer focus to just having fun (and avoiding injury) at the mtb events.

Would love to hear this group’s thoughts on how to best train and be fresh for worlds while still doing a week-long mtb stage race a month before.

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1042

Awesome! Well done.