the unofficial site for Ironman UK | www.energypics.co.uk
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IRONMAN TRAINING The Background I decided to put this page together to offer some insight into the training I have done over the last couple of years for my Ironman UK races. I hope it will be useful as it gives you an idea of what I did as a father of three small children with a full time job and all the commitments that come with all that. I dont have 15-20hrs a week to train and so this is just my opinion of what it takes for a middle to back of the packer to get around the IM course in one piece. I think it will be particularly useful for anyone attempting their first Ironman race as you will always think you haven't done enough training and will always worry and panic about all the small details. In reality, as long as you get at least three months of consistent training then you will be fit enough for the race itself. I am not a qualified coach, but I do have three years experience of Ironman racing and can offer you an insight into what worked for me (and what didnt). There are things I tried which worked fantastically well and other things that looking back now I wished I had tried. This experience comes from two Ironman UK finishes and one DNF.
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SWIMMING Unless you are looking for a fast Ironman swim split and/or you can dedicate hours and hours to swimming then you need to be realistic about the Ironman swim and aim to train yourself to be able to get round in an economic and steady pace. For me that consisted of two swims per week - one pool based concentrating on technique and drills and then one Open Water session to get yourself used to the hustle and bustle that awaits you in an Ironman swim. You need to get used to that feeling of claustrophobia and being hit, kicked and rattled because that is what will happen on race day. I would also recommend that you enter an early season open water race (Keswick for example) where the water will be very cold - this will prepare you for Rivington which has the potential to be cold. However it wont be as cold as one the Cumbrian Lakes in early May though, so if you can survive that then you can survive anything ! When you can train OW, then try and swim as close to others as you can to make sure that you are comfortable with the "heavy traffic" that will face you when you swim in Rivington. ** RACE TIP: There will be a bit of congestion at the first bouy - try and aim to swim the turn wide so that you avoid the pile up close to the bouy itself.
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CYCLING This will be the key to your Ironman UK race. It really is all about the bike and a successful bike leg will make sure you are able to complete the run section as well as you possibly can. If you havent taken the time to get your VO2 test done, then I would recommend it as you are then able to set your training zones correctly and work from there. Zone 2 riding becomes the bedrock of your training and beware it is boring and hard to keep to at times, but it works very well in terms of conserving your muscles for the marathon. For me, I rode the following:
so that was between 7-10hrs of biking a week and all conditioning the body to ride at a steady HR and burn the right fuels. In the final couple of months, you will need to do some "bricks" and that for me was tagging a run on the end of my long bike of varying distances between 30mins and 90mins - this will get you used to that feeling of running off a long bike and how that will feel on race day, whilst adding further endurance to the body. ** RACE TIP: make sure you practice a hard hill within the first 10-20mins of your training ride. Sheep House Lane comes after 1-2km of riding in the race. |
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RUNNING This is probably my weakest discipline over the longer distances and as such I have taken time to try and work out the best way for me to run. Unless you are an experienced and proficient long distance runner, then I would recommend that you practise a "run/walk strategy" when you are training because this is certainly what you will be doing on race day at IMUK. I spent much of the Spring period training for a marathon and had lots of miles in the bank with a maximum run of 30km and 3hrs 30mins (again at Zone 2) and was therefore able to reduce the run mileage through summer and work more on the bike. This is what I did, but you will be able to work out your best strategy depending on what works for you best. Either way it should ideally involve three runs a week
** RACE TIP: take that little bit of time in T2 to compose yourself in readiness for the marathon. Get set, take on some fluids, get your feet sorted out and set off with a positive determined attitude. The first part of the IMUK run course is easy, so enjoy the good feeling. |
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MENTAL TOUGHNESS Try to visualise as much as you can what race day might be like and how you may react. Try and stay relaxed and plan your way out of trouble - for example in Ironman UK 2009, I smashed my ankle on the concrete ramp getting out of the reservoir. Cut and bruised it would have been easy to panic, but I checked there was no pain during a jog to T1 and then took extra time in T1 to make sure it was ok and to get my socks/shoes on properly so as not to irritate it. It was swollen and cut, but that little bit of time made sure I could manage the pain through the race. Be prepared for anything that the race might throw at you and deal with it calmly. There are very few things that can actually put you out of the race - major illness/injury and major mechanical faults being the predominant ones which you cannot do anything about so dont spend time worrying about them. ** RACE TIP: Stay calm - treat the day as a training day - don't panic |