Subject: RE: Tom Holland's The 12 Week Triathlete. It depends on how you look at it. I used Gale Bernhardt's 13 Weeks to a 13 Hour Ironman plan this year. With that, I finished in 12:34.
What's misleading, is when people hear that, they think all the training was only 13 weeks. The reality is that the plan notes the following prerequisites:
"Athlete Profile. You are an experienced triathlete. You have completed sprint and Olympic-distance races. Life, however, has your clock in a stranglehold and training time is at a premium. Before beginning this plan, you are capable of swimming three times per week, about an hour each time. You estimate you could hold a 1 minute 45-second to 2-minute pace per 100 yards, for the 2.4-mile swim (total swim time of 1:12 to 1:25). Cycling currently includes being able to comfortably go an hour and a half or so. You're thinking you could average somewhere between 15 and 16 mph for 112 miles (total bike time between 6:15 and 7:30). Your long run is in the 1:15 to 1:30 range. You think you could manage a marathon pace of 10- to 11-minute miles (total run time between 4:15 and 5:00). up to this point, you've been training around eight to 10 hours each week, which is very comfortable. Your typical training week is fairly light during the week, due to a long list of commitments. However, weekends are open for longer training hours. You need at least one day completely free from training each week because it keeps you healthy and in good spirits."
I actually trained nearly constantly for 2 1/2 years before my IM, and in the months leading up to it, followed a HIM plan up to a HIM in early July, then after about a 1 week recovery period started on the 13 week plan for an early November IM.
IMO, it's a mistake to hear "12 week IM plan" and think you only need to train for 12 weeks. You still train for months in advance, and only follow the IM plan for the last period right before the race. This is similar to BT's 12 week HIM to IM Bridge Plan. |