How To Train For An Ironman
The thought of Ironman training, to many people, is lots of hours, lots of big sessions, lots of time away.
The truth is that most of the training is short (1 hour) sessions, then building up some longer bike and run sessions as we get closer to race day. There will be some weeks where you need to commit 4-6 hours for a long bike ride, but not as many as you think. And with proper planning, these needn’t interfere too much with your busy life.
Can you commit one hour per weekday and several hours per day over the weekend?
If yes, you can manage an Ironman training programme!
How Much Time Do Athletes Need To Train?
“Only as much time as you have available” would be my answer.
We’re all busy people, with families and work commitments. Not all weeks are the same – what seems easy to fit in one week, proves a nightmare the next.
If you pinned me down, I would suggest that one hour per day on a weekday and several hours per day on a weekend and you have a great basis for your Ironman training programme.
The Repeatable Week
One of the first things I do is ask athletes to identify their available training time in any ‘normal’ week. Once I have this, I produce a weekly structure that the athlete can follow. The content of the sessions will change, but the days that they train will remain pretty constant.
This is often known as the ‘repeatable week’.
A weekly structure that you can repeat consistently over many weeks, without too much juggling or short-changing your family or work.
Typical Hours Per Week
“I can’t train for an Ironman. I can’t afford 15 hours or more per week!”
There is no number that we aim for. For some people ten hours per week is a normal training week. For others it is six hours. Some athletes aim for three sessions in each discipline per week – so nine sessions. Others aim for two – six sessions per week. Some athletes have a greater bike focus than others – so may do an extra bike instead of a run. For others, we include more swimming.
It depends on lifestyle, time available, work patterns, ability to handle load and race goals.
In the six months before an Ironman, most of our recent Ironman finishers have trained between 6-10 hours per week average over this period. A very manageable training load in a busy persons life.
Weekly Sessions
As a minimum, I like athletes to do two sessions per discipline. Six sessions per week. One per day, with a recovery day (day off). Or two sessions on one of the days, giving the athlete two recovery / family / lifestyle days.
Ideally, if time isn’t so tight and the athlete can handle the load, three sessions per discipline per week is a great weekly structure. This structure is usually reserved for the more experienced athlete too.
Structure of Sessions
As a general rule, if an athlete is doing three sessions per discipline, I would usually programme one faster interval-based session, one longer endurance session and one easier session. If two sessions per discipline is the goal, one endurance session and one interval-based session would be the norm.
Four Weekly or Three Weekly Cycles
I tend to plan in either three or four weekly blocks, using some building weeks followed by a recovery week. Some athletes build for two weeks, and then have a recovery week. For others it is three build, one recovery. Others, two and a half weeks build, a few days recovery.
A recovery week sees us drop volume slightly (not much) and reduce the intensity, often taking out the interval sessions and replacing them with an easier session. Most athletes also have a recovery day (day off) each week, though not all.
Progression
Sessions – as with fitness – develop over time. We want the athlete to progress, to keep moving forward, so we set sessions that are challenging but achievable.
For example, our long run might be 60 minutes long in the early stages (and seems like a challenge to the athlete), but we progress it slowly to around 2.5 hours as we approach race day. Same with the bike – we often use short sessions focusing on strength and speed in Winter, coming outside for longer rides and longer intervals in the Spring and Summer. Our interval work has a similar feel. We may do 4 x 1k run intervals around threshold pace to start, progressing to 8 x 1k, then to 4 x 10 minutes, finishing on 2 x 20 minutes.
As an athlete, you do not need to be able to be ‘Iron-fit’ at the start of the programme. The training will get you there. As a result of the progression within the programme, you will become more comfortable training for longer, pushing for longer, going faster for longer as time goes by.
Repeating Sessions
Through the programme, we often repeat sessions over several weeks. This is not a lack of imagination or laziness! A repeated session gives the athlete a chance to learn and master the session. For example, the first time through, the athlete might start too fast and fade as the session goes on. Next time they do it, they start slightly slower and maintain the pace throughout. The third time through, they start at the same pace as last time, but increase pace as the set progresses, finishing strong. The same session, but done slightly differently, seeing the athlete progress over the weeks.
Some Training Approaches That Have Worked Well
As well as the sessions that you might expect to do (long bike, long run), some of the approaches that have worked for our athletes – and we like to use – include:
- Big gear, low cadence sessions on the bike – building good strength and developing power.
- Progression runs and long tempo runs have brought improvements to athlete pace and efficiency.
- Run-walk for long endurance runs – either 9 minute run, 1 minute walk or 14 minutes run, 1 minute walk – all of the endurance benefits without the need for long recoveries.
- Mini bike blocks – three days of moderate volume. Adds up to a lot of bike miles in a short space of time.
- Long weekends – long swim, long bike, long run on consecutive days
- Using 100s in the pool – increasing volume of 100s and reducing rest as we progress.
There are more sessions, obviously, but these are some of our favourite types of sessions at the moment.
What To Expect If You’re Coached By Us
- A training strategy that fits your lifestyle and your goals.
- An understanding of what it’s like trying to fit training into a busy life.
- Recognition that there are many different ways to get to an Ironman finish line.
- A flexible programme that takes account of your needs, from one week to the next.
I hope that gives you an idea of how to train for an Ironman. Not the content, necessarily, but the approach we take, the methodology we use … and why. I also hope it dispels the myths that you need to be super fit and ready at the start of the programme, that you need loads and loads of time available to train, and that every session is a long one.
An Ironman triathlon is in the reach of most athletes. If you want to give it a go but have always been a bit daunted, then I hope the above article has helped. If you would like to chat about your training or want to discuss some coaching options, just get in touch and I’d be delighted to help!
Here are some of the Triathlon Coaching Packages for you to look at.
