Vineman 70.3 Half Ironman Training Thoughts
Posted on Jul 26, 2011 under Articles, Misc, Training | No CommentMoving up from international (Olympic) distance to half Ironman distance triathlons is a big leap. It can sometimes mean going from 2 ½ to 3 hours for the event up to 6 to 7 hours for the event.
When you are training for a half Ironman or 70.3, you can do an international distance triathlon on Saturday and still have to go do a long training day on Sunday. To maintain a happy family life, I had to make a deal with my wife that Saturdays would be my training day and Sunday would be my day for her.
The time commitment is huge. I had to invest a lot of time and effort to finish in 6 ½ hours. If I want to finish in 5 ½ hours, I would have to make another huge time investment. Make sure your significant other and family understand the time and dedication required to successfully complete a 70.3 event.
Finishing in 6.5 hours was a big success for me. I started serious training six months before the triathlon. When I started training, I could do all of the events individually. I could not do them back-to-back but I could do them. I started out by building for three weeks and resting for one week. The rest week would be about 50% of the total workout time of the training week.
Swimming – A typical week would entail of mornings swims four or five times a week varying between distance and speed work for a total of four swim miles per week. I would occasionally add a weekend long swim in the bay to keep the open water swimming skills up.
Running – I would run at lunch from Monday to Thursday varying the distances from four-to-eight miles per day. Some weeks, I would forgo the long run and do a faster tempo run instead. On Saturdays, I would do a long run of 6-10 miles followed by a short bike ride of less than 50 miles. Some weeks, I would do a half marathon with no bike ride after.
Cycling – I am a reluctant cyclist, so I always looked for an excuse to get out of riding but I forced myself to do a long bike ride on Saturdays. I usually did 50-100 miles per week on the bike. I never did speed work. I just got on the thing and rode.
There is a lot to training for a half Ironman. I woke up before 6:00 AM, almost every day of the week. Some Saturdays, I would leave my house at 8:00 AM and get home at 8:00 PM. During the week, I was in bed before 10:00 PM.
To learn how to train for a long triathlon, I read a lot of books on training and nutrition. My physiology likes to stop eating while I am doing long distance training. Poor nutrition on long training days has bad side effects.