First time posting on the forum, but thought I’d ask you more experienced cyclists/racers about training for & completing a full distance Ironman race.
I just finished my first 70.3 in Indian Wells this month (using the half IM trainerroad plan) and there were definitely a lot of lessons learned. My biggest takeaway is that I have a lot of work to do with my running and plenty of room to grow with my swimming & cycling. I’ve since signed up with a running Coach to really try and improve my confidence on my feet in 2024, with a goal to finish a full Ironman in 2025 (most likely summer).
With about a year and a half to build myself up to that level, what would be the best course of action for my cycling & TrainerRoad plans? Would starting a full IM plan now be too much too fast? Would a half IM plan keep me improving (with the adaptive training & AI FTP adjustments) until I get closer to the actual race? With so much time, I’m not really sure what direction to go in, but I definitely want to keep working and getting stronger. Any help would be much appreciated!
With a goal of not doing your IM until 2025, I would first recommend that you do other races in 2024. Do a bunch of OLY and at least one 70.3, if you can. You will learn more with every race. Valuable information when 2025 comes around.
Without knowing your training history, it sounds like you are relatively new to the sport….which means your best bet for improvement is to rack up volume and build your aerobic engine. I would not worry about a training plan geared towards your 2025 goal, just one that lets you rack up mileage, both running and riding ( and meters in the pool).
For running, Google the BarryP plan. (Or just search the forum here…there are links posted). It will be your best option for improving your run, IMO….i had great success with it.
For the bike, I would just do some of the base plans and maybe some general build options. Zero need to refine anything further than that……nor does it need to be a plan that incorporates running. You can effectively manage both disciplines independtly for now (and the BarryP plan makes it pretty easy to sneak in quick runs when you need to 3 days a week). Just alternate your longer running days with your longer riding days.
There is also a dedicated IM training thread, which will undoubtedly give you plenty of information to chew on.
Good luck…crossing the line on your first IM is a great achievement!!
I’d definitely recommend sticking with the half IM plan for now- full-distance training is a pretty massive load and not something you want to be sustaining for upwards of a year, IMO. (even the IM athletes I know who are at the very pointy end of their respective categories are typically sitting on olympic/70.3 type training outside of races- that’s still more than enough to build fitness and be in good shape to start a full distance build when the time comes, while being a lot less stressful and significantly easier to fit around daily life.) You might also find that 70.3 volume on the bike gives you a bit more room to focus on the running side of things if you’re looking to improve on that in particular.
As above, I’d highly recommend getting as much race experience as possible in the meantime- local short course races are great because you can race them fairly frequently/easily and the downtime afterwards Is typically less. Doesn’t need to be anything super-high priority- it’s more about focusing in on things like transitions, swim skills, and pacing across the 3 disciplines than times. (though those are of course always fun to chase)
Thank you both for the advice! I spoke to my Masters swim coach and you all seem to agree that shorter distance races build invaluable experience. My thought was to take time away from racing to build myself and prepare, but it looks like I was looking at it wrong. I’ll race to build confidence and learn from the experiences rather than putting all this pressure on myself to smash personal bests every race.
@Power13
The BarryP plan sounds like exactly what I need. I’ll start putting it into practice this week and build up as much as I can. Thank you for the direction!
@toribath
I’ll stick to the half IM plan I’m on now. It’s low volume but I think at this point it’s all I can handle (while trying to still maintain 2 swims and the BarryP running plan). I think my issue is not wanting to adjust the intensity (as the podcasts recommend) on the days I’m feeling sore & beat up. It’s easier for me to bite down and power through the workout but I end up paying for it later on.
With the mid volume plan, is it more time in the saddle with lower intensity each workout? Any thoughts on the masters plan option or should I be fine on the regular plan at 32 years of age?