Last year I did IM Wales and I followed the FINK plan that everyone raves about. I picked the competitive plan with a view to dropping to intermediate plan if I needed too.. well my competitive streak didn’t allow that! The peak week of 20 hours training on top of work 3 weeks out nearly killed me. It is also run heavy and I think I could train better and smarter!

Anyone got any other good simple, IM training plans they have used? I like the training being time based as then it’s clear and easy to fit it in around work and family life!

I always said I’d always do one .. but after a year of just enjoying myself I fancy giving another one a go and getting faster! Anyone done IM Maastricht-Limburg yet .. that’s the one I’m thinking of! A bit different to Wales!

Thanks!

Probably best get yourself over to the tritalk forum for a specific request like that.

20 hours … damn … that’s a lot… fair play

Ride a really long way, slowly
Run a really long way slowly
Swim.. well you get the idea.

I just put my own plan together for Outlaw last year, combined the various ones on the magazine websites, and built it up to suit the time I had avaialable.

I also found Endurance Corner very helpful for core strength, nutrition and race planning. Have a look in the library there.

I found “plans” to be a bit too prescriptive, hence putting my own together and being prepared to be flexible.

Ro5ey ha ha kind of why I mentioned the dirty word!

Molgrips it isn’t as simple as that!!!

MaryHinge kind of what was I thinking of doing from taking various bits from various recommended training plans. I didn’t follow FINK as planned as doing shift work meant I couldn’t do long bike and run on the weekends, so I jigged it about a bit. I’m happy to do some moving about and write my own but I wanted a few more plans to look at and steal bits from! I shall look at that website though that’d be great! How was Outlaw?

Just heard about a local club rider who collapsed and passed away last week after completing an Ironman in Germany, only 30 years old. Apparently he died due to mineral depravation. Keep on top of your nutrition.

Very, very sad indeed.

IM taupo or Challenge Wanaka both great events albeit a long way away. Perfect winter break 😉

Yeah that’s just too far to travel! Hence Wales and Maastricht!!! Not that keen to spend thousands doing it!

I have atarted to do higher intensity workouts for my half ironman dream next year.

Lots of interval and tempo based stuff. with just one steady run and bike per week.

Not a fan of generic training plans really, but I have one from maccax as they are the type of workouts I was looking for.

Just heard about a local club rider who collapsed and passed away last week after completing an Ironman in Germany, only 30 years old. Apparently he died due to mineral depravation. Keep on top of your nutrition.

Not enough salt or too much water, depending on what you subscribe to.
http://www.slowtwitch.com/News/Athlete_dies_after_IM_Frankfurt_5190.html

Sad ether way.

Outlaw was great. Very well organised, great venue for spectators. They also bus spectators out to locations on the bike course.

Good price too compared to bigger brands.

Just looking at options for next year. Moved house at the end of last year so not enough training time to do it justice for this year.

That IM Germany death is the training parter of my colleague, who finished the event after collapsing in last years IM Germany.

There were two deaths on the event and this third one post event. One heart related, two electrolytes/hydration. Sad stuff.

I’m following ’24 weeks to an endurance triathlon’.

Can’t comment cos it’s my first one and I’m week 12/24.

It sounds like you could do with a coach who could tailor a plan around your specific strengths / weakness?

I can email you a few pages out the book if you want to get an idea of a typical week.

Edit: for me me a typical week is:

2 swims (technique and css or technique and long swim)
2 run (interval / long)
2 bike (turbo / long)
2 t run off both bike sessions
2 gym.

I skip / don’t have time for some of the optional sessions (to be fair they are recovery sessions anyway)

Thekingisdead which IM you doing? Sounds great if you don’t mind, email in profile. Got a few new books to read and see what I fancy!

Hulk, Thor, Ultron… For starters. 😈

Oh, wrong one sorry. 😉

Munqe-chick – YHM

OP what time did you get off of 20hrs?

I’d like to-do another but too lazy to train enough to improve my time.

Maastricht looks good, kinda considering this now too. What areas did you think from your last IM needed work on?

TheKingisdead, I got your email thanks just been busy!

YoKaiser you done one before? There’s still spaces for this year in 2 weeks time! I like the look of it being relatively local and being able to drive there and do a recce of the bike course etc as a long weekend away in April/May.

Got some good books I’m reading now which are helping so the plan is slowly coming together 🙂

From last year’s IM I would bike MORE and run LESS. Despite my bike being the strongest area it is where you spend the greatest amount of time. A few more shorter brick sessions and some more specific tailored swim work outs but not necessarily 3 x 3500m every week! Oh and incorporate strength training, that went COMPLETELY by the wayside, so even if I do one strength session a week instead of one of my runs I think is the aim!

From last year’s IM I would bike MORE and run LESS. Despite my bike being the strongest area it is where you spend the greatest amount of time. A few more shorter brick sessions and some more specific tailored swim work outs but not necessarily 3 x 3500m every week! Oh and incorporate strength training, that went COMPLETELY by the wayside, so even if I do one strength session a week instead of one of my runs I think is the aim!

All sounds sensible to me. 3 x 3500m swim sounds way OT on top of everything else. There’s so little time to be gained from improving your swim (as you’ll already know).

I did a 32minute swim for 1900m which as a non-swimmer I’m more than happy with, not gonna bust a gut trying to get than any lower (5% improvement would be 90 seconds?) when I can work on the bike / run and (hopefully) gain serious time.

I had never done an Ironman before so followed a plan (Don FINK) and I was very stringent in following my plan for the first time so stuck to it! I imagine I did a lot of “junk” swimming too, grey pace nothing was particular. So next time a variety shorter faster swims, longer endurance swims etc and mix it up. I had a phenomenal swim in horrific sea conditions as well so I was over the moon with my time!

OP what time did you get off of 20hrs?

(the OP’s OT) She got 14hrs 5mins – this was at Tenby which has a gnarl rep (loads of climbing on the bike, and on the day it was 3 foot waves and approx 100 people were pulled out of the sea by the lifeguard boats), a clubmate who did both Tenby and Bolton was 2hrs quicker at Bolton.

Maastricht also gets my vote as support crew, cos I get to go ride the nearby Belgian cobbled Bergs, and drink decent beer 😀

As a non-triathlete supporter, Tenby was all kinds of awesome though. I was amazed how the whole town and the locals got behind the event and it was basically a 3 day festival. The nature of the bike course meant with a little bit of organisation we were able to spectate at more than one spot, and most of club members who go along to support end up entering a following year.

My colleague who has been doing them for the last 5 years ( trying to qualify for the worlds) is a member of a club and has specialised training plans suited to him. Seems like a worthwhile investment given all the pain involved 😯

He does the Nice event every year and did Wales a couple of years ago ( smashed his derailer and had to ride in one gear 🙁 ) With regard to locals he was very impressed with the B&B owner who got up a stupid o’clock to prepare the eggs and porridge breakfast requested. He said the swim was tough on that one, some comeltitors where getting sea sick !

Jambalaya yarp last year there was something weird, the easterly winds combined with a super moon caused some crazy currents, if you watch video’s as you exit to run up the beach and go back in to do another lap people couldn’t physically get into the sea! Yet I still produced a blinder of a swim having never sea swum before so I was well chuffed!

Maastricht looks good as Crashtest says for some pre race recce of the route, including Belgain bergs and cobbles and beer! See I’m not taking it that seriously to pay for a coach as I’m never going to qualify for the worlds but a sub 13 hour maybe even closer to 12 if I get my butt in gear would be mega 🙂

Munqe-chick, Maastricht will be my forth, since my last post I’ve pretty much convinced myself to enter for 2016. Not this year though! I’m a loooong way off Ironfit. I’d say your plan sounds fair too, though I’m pretty rubbish with plans, more a general progression than anything too structured.

See you there YoKaiser! Just following some girl from twitter who failed at Wales last year and got pulled out on bike! she started the run and estimated finish time was 17:02 (heart breaking) but she’s currently at 16:53! wowzers! Tracking people at IM UK today has got me fired to enter another one.

Having done a 100 mile sportif with a PB 5:40 i did find myself thinking how do I now run a marathon.. but something just happens and you do!

Was anyone at Outlaw last weekend? I DNF’d due to knee problems which started 20 miles from the end of the bike. Grim weather and pain don’t make a great combination. Managed to hobble my way round 13 miles on foot with the pain getting worse before decided to throw the towel in. Towards the end of the bike my idea of success had changed from completing in less than 17 hours to merely hitting T2 before the 4pm cutoff.

Durhambiker oh no how disappointing how is it now? do you know what’s up with it? I had 2 friends competing there in their first 140.6 distance one didn’t make the cut off on the swim, the other completed it in 14:18! I mean WHAT horrific weather I think I’d have woken up on race day morning and gone back to bed.

On the other hand maastricht looked beautiful yesterday! Friend wants us to enter on Wednesday ready for next year eek!!! Still trying to get my foot plantar fascitiis sorted out1

@munge-chick it looks like Maastrict opens this afternoon from this link:

http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/events/emea/ironman/maastricht/register.aspx#axzz3hkkgueX9

I’m currently building up to challenge Weymouth, and contemplating going back on my word not to do one next year, mainly because Maastrict looks so good/convenient! Even a 30km run this morning didn’t put me off!

It’s not too bad at the moment but going to rest it a while before trying to put it through much. Might book in to see a physio as I’ve had problems with the same knee before and wondering if it’s linked. Also going to work on getting a load of weight off, as that’s not helping.

Conditions were horrible aye. I signed up for Outlaw as the weather is always brilliant… Looking back I still had a good day though, just not at the time. Proper “type 2” fun.

Thanks Alwillis.. I have entered! Now to find a nice apartment as close to the finish as possible!! 🙂