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Ask the Experts: Long distance triathlon training with Gordon Crawford
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IM racers
If you are interested I have included a link to a piece I did with Tobias Mews, October 2011, for IM racers and my top ten tips.
http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/triathlete/triathlon-racing/ironman-ambitions-ten-top-tips/7414.html
Thanks for the info! If you're using HR data what approximate zones would you aim for in each discipline? Also, on race day how much food and drink do you think is needed on the bike leg? Say in a small race where you might need to be self sufficient, what would you bring with you?
If I don't have a coach, what extra work do you think I need to put in? I keep a lot of records of what i'm doing, what I plan for the week, what my aims and PBs are. I wonder do you have anything else that is necessary to keep track of?
B_Kins
Zone 1
Most of your training -- and some of the race -- should be done in Zone 1, or between 50 and 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. The reason is because this keeps you at a pace where your body is using your fat stores for fuel, which is more likely to sustain you for the long hours required. It may seem too slow for race training, but that's what training is for -- to teach you to go faster while maintaining a lower heart rate. The Ironman is about endurance, which is the ability to maintain higher speeds with less effort.
Zone 2
About a quarter of your training time and most of the race should be done between 70 and 80 percent of your MHR. During training, you'll use this pace to do longer speed work and your easier long runs, and this will be your "base" pace for the race itself. Zone 2 is still aerobic, using your fat stores for energy -- but it is just on the border of your anaerobic threshold. Going any faster during the race will force your body to use your carb stores for fuel, and they will be depleted within a couple of hours.
Zone 3
Zone 3 is between 80 and 90 percent of your MHR, and you shouldn't use this pace in the race at all if you hope to finish. In training, however, this is the pace to shoot for during sprint intervals and other speed training. Although it doesn't translate directly into the race, it teaches your body to become more efficient at using energy at higher speeds, and it trains your muscles to perform explosively. This helps you improve your overall speed, which helps you go faster at a lower heart rate.
The food and drink on the bike leg will depend on the heat, your size/body mass and your rate of sweating. There is no general answer to this but it should be specific to you, the event and the weather.
I would keep a track of your rest and recoveriy sessions in the week and month. You body needs time to rest and adapt to ironman training.
Thanks for all your questions, and a big thank you to Gordon for joining us today - loads of great advice there.
Katie RW
Thanks Katie.... shame there wasn't more interest, but great answers to the questions asked, and it looks like I need some sports reading glasses!! Luckily there is an appropriate smiley
There might well have been more interest during the week had the thread not been hijacked
Sadly I couldnt get here today .. I wonder if there is a call for some of these Q&A sessions to be done of an evening as more and more people are unable to access at work ?
Hi M...eldy
That's a good idea. What does everyone else think - would evening webchats be preferable? We can definitely give it a trial if our experts are open to it too.
Thanks
Katie RW
I think it would be worth a try .. mid week 6 or 7pm ish?
I can access web at work no problem - but it depends on the individual day. I wanted to partake today but the day was stolen by the manic work beast. Evenings tend to be less busy but I should be training (if I didn't have the lurgy)
Evenings would be easier to manage.
M..eface
There is some good info in those answers, nice one Gordon.
I agree on the evening sessions too
another vote from me on doing this sort of stuff in the evening...
if there were people on line then you can have a more interactive "webchat" rather than just a series of typed answered questions... Some webchats get very lively and can be great fun.
On on...
agree PSC......
Thanks for the replies. We can definitely give an evening webchat a go sometime soon if our experts are willing & able. Watch this space...
Great answers - even if I am a bit late in just finding this thread. One in particular was exactly what I would have asked - so good result.
Evenings - definitely. Accessing the web during work time is frowned upon and controlled by our company's "IT police", so not always possible.