You CAN Train Less to Achieve Ironman Success

“Time is what we want most, but... what we use worst.”  

~Willaim Penn

Having fun on Alii Drive.

Long bike rides, runs and swim workouts blend together week after week as the training hours add up.  You review your training log notes and suddenly realize that, combining preparation and travel to and from workout venues, you’ve committed over 20 hours per week of your precious time to your training for your upcoming Ironman.  This happens week after week… after week. Have you ever asked yourself if you can train less and still accomplish your Ironman triathlon goals?

I used to ask myself this question frequently in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s when Ironman racing was considered extreme, even among endurance sports junkies.  I consumed article after article on long distance training and read about what the top pros were doing.  High volume was in vogue and the stars of our sport at the time were reportedly spending 40 hour (and more) weeks on the roads and in the water, swimming, cycling and running.   25,000 yds. of swimming, 400 miles of cycling and 60 miles of running were common weekly totals.  The more, the better... you had to pay the price.

And the truth is, in order to be successful at events like Ironman,  it does require boatloads of training and consistency… don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.  I discovered this first hand when I ramped up my cycling workloads in my late 20’s to see “what I could do” on the bike and it paid off… I finally cracked the 4:45 bike split barrier on a couple of occasions.  Higher volume works when it comes to Ironman training, but how much volume is ideal for you and what are the sacrifices you'll need to make?

The issue is time for the age grouper.  I don’t know about you, but nowadays as a father, business owner and generally all-around busy guy in my early 40’s, the luxury of “training lots” is out the window. And honestly, even if I had the desire to “train lots”, I probably wouldn’t out of fear of getting injured, an inability to recover well due to age and just plain old guilt! I mean, let’s face it…. your 7-hour long day of training could be spent doing much more rewarding and productive activities like: a. playing with your kids, b. volunteering to help others or working on your next business project or c. “smelling the roses” and relaxing after a hard week of work.  I hear rumors of top amateurs who train 25+ hours per week and I can't help to wonder if the sacrifices they make to go a little bit faster is worth it.   I need more results out of a lesser time commitment… and I bet you do too.

As a coach and long time athlete with lots of personal experience, I’m convinced that you can get pretty darn close to your athletic potential, within a few percent, with lower volume and more focused and consistent training, certainly in shorter races and even for distances as long as Ironman.  I just proved it to myself again in Kona this year as I posted a 9:22, only three minutes slower than I did exactly 20 years ago with just around half of the weekly training volume! Even my best time in Kona, an 8:54 in 1993, required a huge jump in weekly workloads to eclipse my time of 9:19 in 1991.  An increase in weekly training time of 30-40% yielded a result that was only about 3-5% faster on race day.   If I was racing as a full-time pro to put food on the table, that sacrifice might be worth it.  However, if you’re an age grouper training and racing for personal satisfaction, it makes less sense in the all important "time / pay back" equation.  How much is YOUR time worth on an hourly basis and what is the “cost” of training more than you need to?

I have compiled a list of a few “nuggets of Ironman Wisdom”  on the topic of training less and getting more out of it that you may wish to consider.  And if you find these compelling and thought provoking, you might want to consider some personal coaching down the road to help you execute them in your program.

Determine:  What size Engine is under your Hood?

Top Ironman Pros in the 8 hr 15 – 30 min. range have an 8-Cylinder with a Turbo.  Those from 8:30 – 9 hours have an 8 Cylinder without the turbo.  Elite Amateurs have an inline 6 with a supercharger and mid-pack athletes are sporting a nice, steady 4 cylinder.  We are all born with a certain number of cylinders and it’s our goal as endurance athletes to maximize the horsepower they can generate.  Come to grips with the size of your engine and do your best with it.  After a few years of consistent and steady Ironman training and racing, you’ll get a good sense of your time at the distance, or where you rank.   I've found it takes around 5 Ironman races to discover it.  At that point, if you’ve been training properly for Ironman all along, It’ll likely take huge increases in volume and intensity (or other extraordinary changes to your training plan, and lifestyle) to realize relatively small gains in performance.  Is it worth it?

Frequency Frequency Frequency Frequency…..

The best runners in the world, the Kenyans, run 3 times a day.  The best swimmers do doubles daily and the best cyclists spend 4-6 hours per day on the bike during key build phases.  Frequency is the key. Swim, bike and run…. In small doses each and almost everyday. 

Base is the Key

You are always building base.   Like bricks stacked one on top of another in strong building foundations, your aerobic base is accumulated through miles in the legs (and in the pool).  Year after year, you should focus on changing your physiology to get the most horsepower out of your engine as possible. Athletes I coach, especially newbies, see a focus on base early on... and often times comment how that approach helped them reach higher levels several years into their tri careers. 

Point of Diminishing Returns

Every workout has a point of diminishing return where the longer you go, the more fatigue you create and the more open you become to injury.  Of course, this is different for everyone, and only through trial and error will you discover that “point of diminishing returns”, but in my experience, most age group athletes go over it regularly.  Will a 4-hour aerobic run benefit you any more than a 2.5 hr aerobic run will? How about a 7 hour long ride compared to a 5-hour long ride?  Or, will the extra training break you down and reduce the quality of the workouts during the rest of the week? Remember, training adaptations are a result of chronic, cumulative stress/recovery cycles… as an age grouper, mega-workout sessions should be reserved for rare occasions and for race day.  For me, 4 hour rides tend to be my maximum “long ride” and 2 hours my maximum long run.  I recover just fine and can bounce back to train well for the rest of the week.  Find yours. 

Think about the Day before and the Day After

Always think to yourself, “how will this workout today be affected by yesterday’s workout and how will it impact tomorrow’s session.”.  Be aware of how one workout fits into your week, relates to the workouts around it and if it’ll set you back, or help move you forward.

Small Daily Doses

Try keeping your volumes lower in each sport while training each sport more regularly throughout the week.  Instead of doing three, 3000 yd swim workouts, try doing four or five 2000 yd workouts a week.  Or instead of riding your bike 3 days a week, ride 5 days a week for shorter distances while making your quality days even higher quality.  I know of these cool indoor workout videos called Spinervals, designed specifically for this purpose. ;)

Intensity Counts… but not Too Much

You don’t have to obliterate yourself every time you do an interval session! In fact, the rule of thumb is to always finish a quality workout feeling as if you could do a little more. Remember… think about how today’s workout will affect tomorrow’s workout (or the workout later in the day!).

Pay Attention to the Details

In addition to training smart, you need to focus on the other areas of your life that have a direct impact on your performance (and overall health) including your nutrition, recovery and your mental well-being.  By training with less overall volume and not flogging yourself constantly, you’ll find that your mind is clearer for other important things in your life, and your body won’t be tetering on the edge of breakdown all of the time.

Discipline Yourself to Go Easy

Aerobic training is not hard training, yet it’s probably the most important training sessions you’ll do as an Ironman athlete.   As a coach, the hardest part of my job is convincing a serious athlete to slow down!  Avoid allowing every aerobic workout becoming a race pace session somewhere in the “gray zone” and don't overdo the hard intervals.  This is counterproductive in developing your aerobic base for long term gains!

Train Year Round

After your season is over, give yourself a break of a few weeks. When it’s over, jump back on the horse and start building your base again.  Focus on technique in the area’s where it’s needed most. Near the start of your season, a training camp where you spend 4-7 days of higher volume training is a good idea to give you a 1-2% boost in aerobic capacity and set the tone for the rest of your season.

Have a well conceived Plan

Your Ironman training cycle should include a block of higher volume training sometime during the 8-weeks leading up to race day.  Workouts don't need to be epic, but a little longer than your normal workloads.  You'd be amazed of what even 3-4, 2-3 hr days in a row of aerobic paced riding can do for your fitness.  Again, consider how one day rolls into the next and impacts recovery.

Know Thyself

Dial in your paces and your zones. Know what makes you tick through using a HR monitor or powermeter to maximize the purpose of each session.  In Kona this year, I knew that I had to race within myself to achieve my goals and I leveraged my HR monitor as my personal tachometer as a result of training consistently with it... hitting my splits close to perfection on the bike and the run while staying within my engine size and not needing medical attention at the finish line.

Train Indoors More

Boring, yes. Effective, absolutely! That hour on the trainer or 40 minutes on the treadmill will force you to focus on what needs to be accomplished during that particular workout session.  Even here in sunny Tucson, I spend 2-3 days indoors on the bike and/or treadmill doing short, focused workouts.  It's amazing how fit you can become with a 45 minute trainer ride followed by a 30 minute treadmill run! 

Be clear, if you commit to Ironman training as your second job (or first job) and put in the big work, you will go a little faster... probably about 3-5%, and that might be what you're looking for.  However, I'm convinced that you can get pretty darn close to your Ironman potential (and meet your short course potential) while maintaining some balance with an approach that emphasizes smart training that's consistent and that maintains your health and life balance.  Good luck and feel free to contact me with any questions or comments. 

Train smart, 

Coach Troy

Troy Jacobson is the Official Coach of Ironman, creator of the Spinervals Cycling series and the head triathlon coach for Life Time Fitness. A former pro in the 1990's, he now competes as a Masters athlete while coaching other age groupers throughout the world.  For other Ironman related articles and race reports, browse this website. And for more information about his training plans and personal coaching, visit www.coachtroy.com

Improve Your Cycling Efficiency to Ride Faster

"Efficiency and energy conservation are keys to faster cycling." 

Have you ever experienced riding behind an accomplished road cyclist or mountain biker and marveled at the smooth, effortless and fluid manner in which they pedal the bike? As with anything in life, those who excel in a particular area make it look "easy," and we tend to forget the hours and hours of time and effort that went into perfecting their craft.

To the average person, pedaling a bike might seem like an activity that requires little skill or technique development. This is far from the truth, however, for the competitive cyclist or triathlete who depend on efficiency and energy conservation in order to generate maximum velocity at the lowest possible metabolic cost.

As with any skill set, the more you practice good form and technique and ingrain those movement patterns into your neuromuscular pathways, the more you are likely to perform at a higher level on race day. There are several things to think about when the goal is to improve your cycling efficiency. I've listed a few of them below for your consideration.

1. Bike Fit: The lightest, coolest and most expensive bike on the block doesn't mean a hill of beans if it doesn't fit you properly. Saddle height, fore and aft position, reach to the handlebar, cleat position on your shoes and even crank length will all play a factor in your pedaling efficiency.
     
2. Aerodynamics vs. Power: This is an age old question that all triathletes must deal with at one time or another. Cycling fans might remember Miguel Indurain (i.e. "Big Mig") time trialing in the TDF(Tour de France) on his steel Pinarello bike almost looking as if he was sitting upright on his aero bars. On the other end of the spectrum was Hour Record Holder, Chris Boardman, the creator of the now-banned "superman" position, which stretched him out on the aerobars as if he were flying, cutting a hole in the wind while low to the ground. Big Mig chose to produce more power instead of trying to get his 6'2" frame lower to the ground in an aerodynamic tuck; whereas Boardman leveraged his smaller stature and flexibility to maximize his aerodynamics. During your bike fit, determine what's best for you in terms of power output and comfort or aerodynamics.
     
3. Cadence Range: Let's face it... some athletes are "mashers" and some are "spinners." Research shows that most inexperienced cyclists tend to pedal bigger gears at lower cadences in contrast to more experienced riders who tend to pedal at higher cadences (85-95 RPM or Revolutions Per Minute). Former TDF champ and Team Telecom Rider, Jan Ullrich of Germany, was famous for mashing a huge gear-inch as he blasted to 30+ mph average speeds during Time Trials, earning him the description as a "Diesel Engine." Seven-time TDF winner, Lance Armstrong, proved that riding with an exceptionally high cadence of 100+ RPM was a good way to race a bike and win. Different athletes, different riding styles. I encourage most athletes to find a middle ground and typically, a cadence range of 80-90 RPM works best as a "sweet spot."
     
4. Drill, Drill, Drill: Perfect practice makes perfect. Every time you go out for a ride, think of good form. Focus on a fluid pedaling action with a relaxed upper body and a flat back. As the road tilts up or as you ride into a head wind, think about pulling back and up a little more, using the entire pedal stroke, which serves to unweight the opposing leg. Allow for your knees to track naturally over the pedal spindle and not to splay out. Incorporate high cadence drills of 20-30 seconds at 110+ RPM into your weekly training plan. Get very comfortable riding on your aerobars for hours on end.

I encourage every serious cyclist and triathlete to invest time and energy into improving their technique and efficiency by using the ideas listed in this article. You'll be very pleased with the results come race day!

Train smart,

Coach Troy

For several excellent indoor trainer cycling workouts designed to improve skill and technique, check out www.spinervals.com and in particular, Spinervals 38.0 - Develop Technique and Power

Three Breakthrough Strategies to Set your Ironman PR!

I often feel that your first Ironman is the best Ironman racing experience you'll have throughout your racing career.  You have no lofty expectations other than to finish and since you don't yet understand or have experienced how badly you might feel during certain stages of the race, your naivete and ignorance help you get through the bad spots. First times for almost anything are usually always memorable, especially when it comes to ultra endurance sports racing.

As you dive further into the sport, you start developing expectations of yourself based on previous results, as do your friends, family and training partners.  You begin to analyze every detail of your training plan, race and nutrition strategy and figuring out ways to shave a few minutes off here and a few minutes off there.  Your fitness evolves quickly and you go faster as you build more aerobic base, lean down, muscle up and get dialed in on all of the latest "Go fast!" equipment.  After several years of steady, purposeful training and with around five or so Ironman distance races under your belt, you "get it" and you start to see the fitness improve at a slower rate as your results begin to level out in your "home range" of a few minutes. Sure, conditions on race day will always change a result, but the athlete who consistently finishes at around 11 hours has discovered their "Home" and will always be finishing around that same time... unless they do something extraordinarily different.  The same principle applies to even the top tier athletes.

There's a definition of insanity we all need to remember..."Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."  If you're ready to break through your plateau and go to another level of performance, it's time to do something different, NOW!

Barring the unrealistic notion for most age groupers of quitting a high paying job, packing up the family and relocating to Boulder to train 'full time' with the sport's best, I have compiled three key ideas that might just help you experience a breakthrough to the next level.   (CAUTION!: The ideas expressed here are only for experienced Ironman competitors and should not be attempted by athletes new to the sport or without an appropriate training base.)

The Breakthrough Strategy Three Pack

1.  Run 7-10 Times a Week:
Frequency counts when it comes to endurance sports training. Just ask the top world class runners who run two and three times a day during certain stages of their training cycle, logging weekly mileage totals of over 120 miles.  Experiment with committing 2-3 weeks in a row with running shorter workouts of 20-40 minutes, but lots of them, including a couple days a week of "double runs" (one in the morning and one in the evening.).

2. Ride 15-20 hours in a Week:
As with the running Breakthrough, the same can be applied to cycling. If you can find the time, ride 3-4 hours daily at an aerobic endurance (zone 2-3) pace for 3-4 days in a row, take a day or two to recover and then repeat. Do this same routine one to three more times consecutively and you'll see why pro riders use stage races to 'race' themselves into peak form for the Grand Tours like the TDF.

3. Taper Longer and Harder:
I know this isn't as extreme sounding as the first two Breakthrough Strategies, but it's incredibly effective nonetheless.  Most triathletes go into their key Ironman race overly tired and feeling flat, especially the busy age group triathlete over the age of 35 who is starting to battle with father time.  Try to extend your taper a week more than normal and cut back on weekly volume more too.  It's no wonder that many athletes feel 'peaked', not on race day... but the week after the race.

Try to incorporate one or more of these three ideas into your Ironman training plan and let me know how it goes.  Remember that sometimes it's important to shake things up.  I have a strong feeling you'll experience a breakthrough performance!

Good luck and train smart,
Coach Troy
troy@coachtroy.com

Troy Jacobson is the Offical Coach of IRONMAN, the Head Tri Coach of Life Time Fitness and the creator of the Spinervals Cycling video series. A former pro triathlete in the 1990's whose "home base" was around 9 hours at the Ironman Distance, you can learn more at www.coachtroy.com

Long Distance Tri-Training Tip | "MUST DO" Interval Sessions to Avoid the Rut

While training for long course triathlon competition, falling into a training rut can be easy to do.  Long, steady-state aerobic endurance workouts in the saddle or on the run become monotonous both mentally and physically, and after awhile, motivation wanes as you ask yourself, "do I have to do yet another 3-hour bike ride?".

Building your endurance with extended moderate intensity workouts is important.  These sessions build stamina and metabolic efficiency, while also preparing your brain for the demands of an arduous day long race experience.  However, too much of a good thing can backfire on you, as some athletes discover with too many consecutive long steady-state training workouts.  It's important to mix it up and keep the body guessing  and adapting to new levels of training stress.

This is why interval training should be an integral part of your weekly long distance tri-training plan, if even in small doses.  Not only will going hard shake things up and give you much needed variety from monotonous, steady-state training, it'll also target key energy systems and recruit muscle fibers/motor units necessary to boost fitness to the next level.  The good news is that an almost endless number of interval sets can be created.  Here below are examples of a swim, cycling and running interval session I have found to be effective for long-course athletes, when performed once every seven to ten days in the 10-weeks before race day.  You can also find several other free workout ideas by clicking HERE.

Swim Workout Description
(Note: 100 base pace is the interval you can hold when swimming moderately hard/ consistent for a set of 10x100's.)

Warm up 200-300 yards (or Meters) Freestyle
Drill Set: 6 x 75 (25 right arm, 25 left arm, 25 swim) @ 10 sec. rest
3 x 50 kick (25 front / scull, 25 back / arms over head) @ 10 sec. rest
Main Set: 6 x 200 (at 100 base pace)
3 x 50 fast @ 30 sec rest
3 x 25 sprint @ 30 sec rest
Cool down 200


Bike Workout Description
(Note:  This workout can be done on a flat or rolling stretch of road but is best performed on the trainer when using a heart rate monitor or power meter.)

Warm up 10-15 minutes easy, 3 x 30 sec. 'openers' @ 30 sec. rest
Main Set:  3 x 2 min. tempo (95-100% of Lactate Threshold Heart Rate) @ 1 min. rest
1 min. recovery spin
3 x 90 sec. tempo (95-105% of LTHR) @ 45 sec rest
2 min. recovery spin
3 x 60 sec. hard (100-110% of LTHR) @ 30 sec rest
Cool down for 10-15 minutes easy


Running Workout Description
(Note: You can do this workout on a flat or rolling section of road, on the track or on the treadmill.)

Warm up jogging for 5-10 minutes easy. Perform some dynamic stretches, then jog and perform 3 x 30 sec. striders @ 30 sec. rest
Main Set: 4 x 90 sec. (5K race pace) @ 30 sec. rest (jog easy)
Jog easy for 2 minutes.
4 x 1 min. fast (10-15 sec. faster than 5K pace) @ 1 min. rest (jog easy)
Cool down 5-10 minutes easy

Hit the turbo switch weekly with a dose of interval training and you'll take your performance to the next level by avoiding the rut associated with long-distance endurance training!

Train smart,
Coach Troy

Coach Troy is the Official Coach of IRONMAN and the Head Tri Coach of LIFE TIME FITNESS. For more free sample workouts, click HERE or visit www.coachtroy.com. And to learn about the leading indoor training video collection of cycling and running workouts, go to www.spinervals.com

Self Awareness | Key to Tri Success

What's a primary difference between the experienced triathlete and the newbie? A keen and highly develop sense of self-awareness.  It's that intangible quality that's critical to success in long distance endurance sports events that often times makes or breaks a result.

Self awareness is trainable, just like lactate threshold. And just like training other components of fitness, developing a highly tuned sense of self awareness takes practice and patience.

Now with modern training technology, you can monitor every fitness metric and analyze it to death with sophisticated software. While this data crunching is effective (if used properly) and plays an important role in learning more about how your engine runs, it's still important to not overlook signs that your body is plainly communicating to you... signs of fatigue, over use, burn out and just plain 'blah'.

The self-aware athlete is the one who notices the twinge of discomfort in the calf while warming up for a track workout and decides to go easy with a zone 2 aerobic run workout instead, and then stretches and rolls it out post workout.  She's the athlete who notices a change in appetite and increases or decreases caloric intake to meet daily energy demands from training.  And on race day, she's the athlete who knows how best to 'burn through her matches' to suit the distance and difficulty of the race course and conditions.

Self awareness is a key component to success in triathlon and all endurance sports. Listen to what your body is telling you regardless of what's on your training schedule that day or showing up on your power meter. It's usually right on task.

Train smart,
Coach Troy
www.coachtroy.com

Ironman Training Tip | 10 Weeks until Race Day!

Training for an Ironman is really a year-round process. The best athletes commit several years to perfecting their 'craft' before reaching their true potential.  Long course endurance athletes need to develop their physiology to handle the stresses of training and racing the Ironman (or other long distance tri's) and it takes time and patience.


In this short video, I talk to my athletes as if they are 10-weeks from race day and discuss the need to develop a consistent weekly pattern of training, as well as to monitor themselves carefully for signs of over reaching and over training.  It's a delicate balance between pushing to achieve your potential and getting sick and injured.  Sometimes, it's better to toe the line healthy and slightly undertrained than to be on the edge and overcooked!

I hope that you can use this tip and the many others out there that we offer when navigating the rough waters of Ironman distance training and racing.  If you'd like more information about my affordable 16-Week Ironman Distance and 70.3 Training plans leveraging the TrainingPeaks coaching platform, click here.  Feel free to email me your ideas, fears or thoughts at troy@coachtroy.com.

Train safe and Train smart,

- Troy
www.coachtroy.com