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Outlaw 2014
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as a non-tri person this is going to be a really interesting experience. Though I've followed piratey pals over the years I've never really read threads in any great depth so will be interesting to see what training tips, etc. come out of this. As a pure runner I can, and do, blag marathons - even multiples. In the 30-odd marathons I've done over the last twelve months there's been a fair bit of blagging but to get the target I'm after now I really need to get my butt into gear and be more sensible about training. God I may even have to get a training plan again *shudder*
and I'm glad someone else asked that
It's not a knitting club.
Just worked it out
Doner, I was going to say the same as Mouse, Seren actually does a LOT of training.
And yes folks, despite the old Pirate joke about training being cheating... it really is the only way you can tackle an Ironman. Self belief isn't enough.
Also as others have said, lose the weight before training begins. It really is asking an awful lot of your body to lose weight while you are Ironman training. Ironman training is not a weightloss programme.
INAKC. It's not a knitting club
There are some pages in threads that really should be read every day in training
This is one of them
OC .. I think you have the website key, why not put this on the front page for a while?
I cannot agree more with what has been posted and especially with regards the cut-offs, train away from them not up to them
I was about 3 stone heavier in my 30s to 40s no exercise ( to be fair a lot of that time was spent in a submarine
) carp diet chips with everything and lots of curries, and beer I had a serious beer habit (as with many matelots borderline alcaholic if I am honest) woke up one day and didn't like my lifestyle anymore but it took a really massive effort to break out of that exercise was a part sure ,but some of it was breaking that social circle I was in that was so unhealthy
I have my weight and diet fairly controlled nowadays and love training on the lifestyle but I still love beer and have to keep a constant check on that that but it's deffo a mental exercise to bin weight
A lot of sensible advice guys, thanks. To echo what the guys and girls have said, it takes a lot of work and commitment, and if you don't get the work done, you won't get round. When I was training for Regensburg, I started off hitting the training numbers dead on, but then i'd get totally knackered because even the plan was too much for me. I didn't have the general fitness base to get me through. I carried on, but as the weekly hours ramped up, I couldn't always reach them, so it was kind if inevitable that I wouldn't make it, and I didn't.
Also, if you're carrying too much weight, get shot of it. This is what I need to do first and foremost. I did a lot of training for the marathon this year, but it still went to shit on the day, and in no small part because of my weight.
Being a pirate as part of an IM is an awesome experience, but all the more so when you're properly prepared, otherwise it is just an expensive and hellish day out. So i'd advise anyone chasing cut-offs to really think hard before signing up. Sort out your weight first, build up a fitness base and work on the stuff you're shit at (don't just do more of the stuff you can do to make you feel better). If you have a family, get their by-in because it won't work otherwise.
I'm not even signing up for another IM until i've sorted my weight out for starters, so that will take a while. Just not worth it.
And yeah Matt - you're not fat
what Doner means is that for the last 4 months I have been doing my long bike (70 -130 miles a week ),,,,,but then all the other sessions have been just about dropped........only about 7 open water sessions and no pool swimming.... only 3 long runs over 10 miles only and I only managed 1 other bike session a week.
so only managed about 4 not the 9 or 10 sessions a week........but I did do a lot of miles on the bike
Max - are you not still in your 40s then?
1940's ...
This what worked for me first time around, I was new to cycling and found it tough to build up speed and strength on the bike.
1) great advice from WW - always gets in the long sessions, the rest are fillers
2) it's all about the bike, so the bike sessions are the most important
3) I always did a long spin session every Tuesday , at least two hours, building to three in the last two months.
4) If you can't cycle due to weather then turbo
5) I did two 100 mile rides ( I also did Flat out in the Fens, a great training ride for Outlaw)
6) if you are slow ignore Fink, his number of hours is far too low
7) Due to injury I only ran once a week, my longest run was 16 miles.
8) I weight train religiously every week, I'm convinced that helps with injury prevention.
Afraid not
53 and counting!
Rule 12, you've got to back it up *nods sagely*
It is, basically, a volume game. Unless you've got a long-standing base, IM is too far to blag.
For a race on 1st September, I have done this year to date:
21.2 miles swimming
795 miles biking
780 miles running
28lb weightloss
The figures are skewed by a Spring marathon. I expect the running to go up by about 140 miles, the swimming to at least double and the biking to be north of 2000 by race day. I still think I'm light on the biking. I'm not a bad swimmer anyway. I'm running better than I ever have, so can afford to keep that ticking over. I'd like 11:59 on race day on a fast course (the danger is that it can be very hot.)
I've come into IMs stale and overtrained before, so it'll be interesting to see if a more minimalist plan works.
I would imagine that there aren't many first-timers that could expect to succeed if their training volumes are much lower than this.
And thanks to Flyers for pointing me in this direction!
And,of course, I should have added get lots of advice from here. I read nearly all the threads and received great advice from my mentor and also that wise old man Ridge
In the run up to outlaw i managed
28.8 miles swimming ~ (17:30)
1683 miles biking ~ (121:30)
238 miles running ~ (42:30)
1/2 stone put on
No idea how it stacks up against Fink time wise but I definitely put more effort on the bike. Part of me still thinks 'it's all about the bike' and to a degree it is as it's the largest part of the day. What I should have done was try to build far more run volume in with it. That goes into a lessons learnt for next year.
The year i PBed (by a significant amount) the only thing i did was binned most of the pool and swam 2 or 3 times a week OW for an hour each sesh and massively cranked up the overall bike mileage i did the same amount of long rides but basically i biked everywhere and the smaller trips were done at a good lick
yep she does consistant massive bike sessions - shes hasnt ran or swam a lot though
I have become a fan of Big days say every couple of weeks set s sundsy aside and swim bike snd run long but with an hour or twos rest snd refuel between each session
From the beginning of the year - in my training for my first Ironman (Austria)
I swam 47 miles
Ran 608 miles
cycled 2038 miles
I was following Fink intermediate but on a few key sessions I went by distance rather than time to make sure I was prepared. I do have 10 years experience in marathon running which I think helped me a lot on the run. I ran all but 3 miles of dehydrated dizziness and had bags of energy on the bike.
Many thanks must go to Seren because I read a post from her talking about fink being a bit light on the bike and I immediately upped my mileage
Todate for IM this month i have done
SWIM - 84miles
BIKE - 2161miles
RUN - 333miles
The run is light as ive been injured for last 11wwks and have not been able to run much
Some things I would say is ...
Living in the snowy north I did a ton of treadmill and turbo through the winter/spring/early summer when it was too icey to be outside.
Still managed to get the miles in and gain lots of bike strength. I got some great bike sessions from friends, tri-club and online coach. They were so very hard. I do also know a few who swear by sufferfest.
What made the difference for me was a week in Lanza on a tri-specific training course - we biked all day every day with a run after and then a swim. Over 20 hours over 5 days and learned SO much about hill climbing, pacing and digging deep. I think that is when my husband and I turned the corner and knew we were going to manage it. After a week like that - doing a normal Fink week felt like a rest
PS no winner or age group placer or anything but I did beat my expected finish time by over an hour
Anyone else get the sneaky feeling that the people who actually need to be reading this thread have gone off in a huff, or are re-grouping on more syncophantic threads?
It does, and it doesn't help, for everyone to post retrospectively what training they have done. The numbers in isolation are only half the story. Poor Seren has become a bit of a target, but to use her as an example - she has a massive base, of several years of long distance tri or running. She's a double ironman. If anyone looked at her training in the last couple of months (when she admits she slightly lost focus/ got bored) and thought, Oh, I can get away with only doing what Seren's doing, then more fool them. Speed does come into it, just churning out massive hours whilst covering hardly any distance still isnt going to cut the mustard, however, a quick look at the numbers and it should be obvious that you ought to be looking at around 1500-2000 miles on the bike in the 6 months prior to your IM. Less than this and you'd better have something in your past to back you up.
It is harder these days because there are a lot more Pirates, and a lot of the original bunch are bored of posting their training, or dont come on the forum much, but "when I were a lad", we used to seek out more experienced Pirates and see what they were doing, and from that, we would know what sort of volume we needed to be putting in. A thread aimed at a particular race is great for mutual support and making friends, but I think a lot of the newbies this year have been too insular. If you're only talking to a group of other newbies, who among you is going to recognise when you're not doing enough? Or when you're doing too much?
I've never liked Fink, for a variety of reasons and I dont understand how he suddenly became the be all and end all, but I bet my bottom dollar those who didnt make the bike cut-off on Sunday didnt actually follow the Fink plan anyway.
Big Weeks do work for some, but there's a risk of spending the next week or two recovering. I think steady consistency trumps everything.
Lots of good advice here, but you absolutely have to enjoy the journey. That's not to say you should relish the prospect of every training session (few of my swims fall into that category!), but there's only any point in planning if you have a chance of sticking to it, because it's basically enjoyable and satisfying. That satisfaction can come in all sorts of ways ( finding new routes, seeing training times come down or distances go up, not walking up that hill, entering low-key events, buying kit, finding new muscles.....), but if you don't want to ride your bike, lace up your trainers, or get in that pool at least most of the time, then it's never going to happen.
Flyers definitely knows what she's talking about - well done on an absolutely stunning bike split
!
While I'm here, as a veteran of 2 Outlaws as an individual and one relay, I'd be happy to mentor one or two folks for next year (or is there an official thread for that?)
Likewise ... ive been at ths for a while now ... i dont do fink ... I have a life that messes up normal training programs
but if anyone wants to PM me for support ... feel free
I'll be aiming for Wales 2014, i'm not dissapointed with my result in 2013 I hit all the training plans and if anything probably was one of the over trained. Will i follow fink again, no i don't think so, i think i learn't a lot this year but will try a differant plan next year. Oh and listen to the advise received.
Joddly .. I'm not taking you up on that offer, you'll make me do time trials
Hopefully this years mentee(s) will vouch for me, I expect I will keep one or two for the following year but I too will be on the end of an email for help/support and arse kicking if needed ..