The Ironman Training Plan

This page will detail my 30 week training plan that will hopefully see me complete Ironman Germany in one piece. I have adapted this plan to suit my needs from the book “Be Ironfit” by Don Fink, a multiple ironman finisher and coach to some of the sports major stars.

As a runner I have always trained in milage e.g. “I’m going to do an 8 mile run today”, this plan will see me changing that mind set to train in hours, so instead it will be “I’m going for an hours run. As Andy is fond of telling me it’s “Time spent on your feet, and time spent in the saddle that counts”.

The Plan falls into 3 ten week phases designed to get me to the start line in perfect condition, and works on the principle of quality rather than quantity so there should be no injuries. Each workout will be placed in a sequence to hopefully allow muscle repair and recovery. There will incremental changes in training times and intensities as the days and weeks pass, and this is known as Periodization. The 3 phases are : Base – establishing technique and aerobic capacity, Build - building the intensity to prepare for the final phase, Peak - hitting peak fitness and race sharpness followed by a calculated taper as race day approaches.

Throughout I will be working on 8 principle workouts:

1. The Long Run
2. The Long Ride
3. Transition / Brick sessions
4. High Intensity Runs
5. High Intensity Rides
6. High RPM ( Cadence ) Spin sessions
7. Swim Sessions ( Technique Orientated )
8. Rest Days ( esssential – and not to be missed ).

All of these sessions will be completed using my Heart Rate Monitor and the majority of them will be completed in different zones to allow specific training benefits such as speed and endurance to develop. Using my HRM I have worked out my maximum heart rate of 185 bpm, and from this I have worked out the 4 training zones that you will see in the plan :

• Zone 4 – 90-95% of 185 BPM = 166 to 176 BPM
• Zone 3 – 86-89% of 185 BPM = 159 to 165 BPM
• Zone 2 – 75-85% of 185 BPM = 139 to 158 BPM
• Zone 1 – 65-74%  of 185 BPM = 120 to 138 BPM

Cycling is less stressful than running on the body so as a general rule I’ll be reducing the BPM by 5%  for each workout. In other words you get the equivilant training effect at a HR at 5% slower than running.

I shall also be fitting in two strength / weights and core exercise sessions a week.

BASE TRAINING PHASE – WEEKS 1 -10.

Begins with 6 hours a week and concludes with 11 hours a week ( averages 8.5 hours per week ).

Week 1 ( 08/12/08 -14/12/08 )

• M : Rest Day
• T : Swim – workout 1, Run – 0:30 in Z2
• W : Brick 0:30 bike in Z2 followed by 0:15 run in Z2
• T : Swim – workout 2, Bike 0:30 Z1 (100+ RPM Cadence )
• F : Run 0:30 in Z2.
• S : Bike 1:00 in Z2
• S : Run 0:45 in Z1 to Z2
• TOTAL 6:00 Hrs : SWIM 2:00, BIKE 2:00, RUN 2:00

Week 2 ( 15/12/08 -21/12/08)

M : Rest Day

T : Swim – workout 3, Run – 0:30 in Z2

W : Brick 0:30 bike in Z2 followed by 0:15 run in Z2

T : Swim – workout 4, Bike 0:30 Z1 (100+ RPM Cadence )

F : Run 0:45 in Z2.

S : Bike 1:30 in Z2

S : Run 1:00 in Z1 to Z2

TOTAL 7:00 Hrs : SWIM 2:00, BIKE 3:00, RUN 2:30

Week 3 ( 22/12/08 -28/12/08)

M : Rest Day

T : Swim – workout 5, Run – 0:45 in Z2

W : Brick 0:30 bike in Z2 followed by 0:15 run in Z2

T : Swim – workout 1, Bike 0:45 Z1 (100+ RPM Cadence )

F : Run 1:00 in Z2.

S : Bike 1:45 in Z2

S : Run 1:00 in Z2

TOTAL 8:00 Hrs : SWIM 2:00, BIKE 3:00, RUN 3:00

Week 4 ( 29/12/08 -04/01/09)

M : Rest Day

T : Swim – workout 2, Run – 0:30 in Z2

W : Brick 0:30 bike in Z2 followed by 0:15 run in Z2

T : Swim – workout 3, Bike 0:30 Z1 (100+ RPM Cadence )

F : Run 0:45 in Z2.

S : Bike 1:30 in Z2

S : Run 1:00 in Z1 to Z2

TOTAL 7:00 Hrs : SWIM 2:00, BIKE 2:30, RUN 2:30

Week 5 ( 05/01/09 -11/01/09)

M : Rest Day

T : Swim – workout 4, Run – 0:45 in Z2

W : Brick 0:30 bike in Z2 followed by 0:15 run in Z2

T : Swim – workout 5, Bike 0:45 Z1 (100+ RPM Cadence )

F : Run 1:00 in Z2.

S : Bike 1:45 in Z2

S : Run 1:00 in Z1 to Z2

TOTAL 8:00 Hrs : SWIM 2:00, BIKE 3:00, RUN 3:00

Week 6 ( 12/01/09 -18/01/09)

M : Rest Day

T : Swim – workout 1, Run – 1:00 in Z2

W : Brick 0:45 bike in Z2 followed by 0:15 run in Z2

T : Swim – workout 2, Bike 1:00 Z1 (100+ RPM Cadence )

F : Run 1:00 in Z2.

S : Bike 2:00 in Z2

S : Run 1:00 in Z1 to Z2

TOTAL 9:00 Hrs : SWIM 2:00, BIKE 3:45, RUN 3:15

Week  7 ( 19/01/09 -25/01/09)

M : Rest Day

T : Swim – workout 3, Run – 1:00 in Z2

W : Brick 0:45 bike in Z2 followed by 0:15 run in Z2

T : Swim – workout 4, Bike 1:00 Z1 (100+ RPM Cadence )

F : Run 1:15 in Z2.

S : Bike 2:30 in Z2

S : Run 1:15 in Z1 to Z2

TOTAL 10:00 Hrs : SWIM 2:00, BIKE 4:15, RUN 3:45

Week 8  ( 26/01/09 -01/02/09)

M : Rest Day

T : Swim – workout 5, Run – 1:00 in Z2

W : Brick 0:45 bike in Z2 followed by 0:15 run in Z2

T : Swim – workout 1, Bike 1:00 Z1 (100+ RPM Cadence )

F : Run 1:00 in Z2.

S : Bike 2:00 in Z2

S : Run 1:00 in Z1 to Z2

TOTAL 9:00 Hrs : SWIM 2:00, BIKE 3:45, RUN 3:15

Week 9  ( 02/02/09 – 08/02/09)

M : Rest Day

T : Swim – workout 3, Run – 1:00 in Z2

W : Brick 0:45 bike in Z2 followed by 0:15 run in Z2

T : Swim – workout 3, Bike 1:00 Z1 (100+ RPM Cadence )

F : Run 1:00 in Z2.

S : Bike 2:45 in Z2

S : Run 1:45 in Z1 to Z2

TOTAL 10:00 Hrs : SWIM 2:00, BIKE 4:30, RUN 3:30

Week 10  ( 09/02/09 -15/01/09)

M : Rest Day

T : Swim – workout 4, Run – 1:00 in Z2

W : Brick 0:45 bike in Z2 followed by 0:30 run in Z2

T : Swim – workout 5, Bike 1:15 Z1 (100+ RPM Cadence )

F : Run 1:00 in Z2.

S : Bike 3:00 in Z2

S : Run 1:30 in Z1 to Z2

TOTAL 11:00 Hrs : SWIM 2:00, BIKE 5:00, RUN 4:00