BT Training Plan Question

Don't stress over the distance of your longest workouts.  Do the time your plan says and you'll be okay.

There's nothing magical about riding 112 miles in training instead of 95.  17 miles in one workout won't be the difference between finishing and missing the bike cut.  It might make you feel better mentally, but it's not THAT important.

I'm notorious for doing very short long runs compared to most people's Ironman training plans.  This Saturday is the longest run my coach has ever given me: 2 hours.  Previously I've never run more than 13.1 miles in trianing for an IM.

Follow your plan and we'll see you at the finish line.

I would have posted in the plan support, but I'm not a gold member.  Hopefully this is general enough of a question not to cause problems...

I'm following an IM plan based on time and heart rate.  Longest ride is 6 hours.  At my pace on my hilly route, that's only 90-100 miles.  Was this time based on an assumed pace so you exceed 112 miles once or twice?  Or is 90-100 several times before the race good enough?  Maybe I should go longer than the plan to get 110-120 miles once or twice?

Same for the run.  Longest run is 2:40.  At my pace, that about 16-17 miles.  So same question.  Was the 2:40 selected with the assumption that 20+ miles could be finished?

For the swim, I'm usually lots faster than the time provided, but could my pace be too slow for the bike and run portions? 

Jim

Hi- and good questions! Since I wrote the plan I thought I'd chime in. The bike is really about getting time in the saddle - rested and tapered on race day you'll be ready to tackle 112 miles. And you can certainly do it in training as well - if you feel you need that confidence booster, by all means do it. I don't think I've ridden over 100 miles but a few times in 9 IMs. Quality workouts are much more important in my opinion.

On the run - 2:30-2:45 is about the cap I give people on the run training. Chances of injury go up greatly the closer you get to that 3:00 hour mark. I would rather see an athlete run 16-18 miles, get some food, stretch and hike for 1-2 hours more after the run, than run 3:00. You are going to be on your feet for 10+ hours on race day so your long days should be long. Not many people run every step, so working in some walking in training is good and will teach you what a long day on your feet feels like.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.