Speed work during Ironman training- 19 weeks out

How is your bike fitness?

You need to bike A LOT MORE.

My advice is to not worry about speed work run training while training for an IM.  Just run and run frequently to build the volume.

Back to the biking a lot more statement -- I'm going to be very blunt here... your speed work will be meaningless come race day as your current bike fitness will preclude you from running fast anyway.  Even if it wasn't I wouldn't recommend it because just about everyone excluding pros and elite AG'ers are reduced to the IM shuffle and slowest run you'll ever do.  You're already noticing you can't really handle the speed workouts while training for an IM.

You ask what I do for speed work for an IM.  The honest answer is nothing.  I just go out and run 4-6x per week.  I have a set time I'll run each time but I pretty much run at whatever pace I feel like.  I ran 47 miles last week (6,6,9,13,13) and 60 miles in 8 days.  I'm not sure I ever looked at my watch for pacing.  This week I'm not running and doing a big bike training week (14 hours on the bike) to give myself a huge bike fitness boost.

If I had to put a hierarchy of the three disciplines (S/B/R) for IM training it would be ranked:

1. Bike
2. Bike
3. Bike
4. Run
5. Swim

I kid put you get the picture.  I'm not saying it's all about the bike but it's all about the bike.  You need to be properly trained for the swim so that it doesn't take a ton out of you at the beginning of the race.  Your run training and run ability don't mean squat if you don't come into the race with excellent bike fitness and bike execution (pacing and nutrition).  I know several Boston Qualifiers who thought they could run themselves into a good IM finish time only to watch their IM marathon take two hours longer than their open marathon time.  People over concern themselves with the run while they should be over concerned with the bike.  It's funny how the swim and run are what terrifies people about Ironman when the make or break leg of the race is the bike.

If I were your coach getting you through your first IM I would have you biking 4-5x per week.  I wouldn't concern yourself for one second about track speed work.  I'm not saying to run all your runs at some stupid slow pace.  Feel free to mix in some mile repeats but nothing too fast.  The IM training equation is part injury prevention and recovery almost as much as it is training.  Just remember that.

^^^^^^^   'zactly why I asked him how was his bike fitness  

Glad to see that you've taken the input to heart.  Remember, the key to the IM run is not to go fast, but to slow down as little as possible for the duration.

Jen, definitely agree with the other guys on working on the bike. I'm not as big as others on having a singular long ride, but look more at riding "lots". As in how much overall is being done during the week. Several good sized rides would help, but it's often hard for people to get another several hour ride in during the week. Leaving them with one bigger one during the week. If I remember correctly, you come from more of a running background and it's not necessarily *that* different. Keep going with the occasional short intervals, like a few minutes or less. This is like the track work. Also see about adding in some strong tempo work. Pushing yourself for a few repeats of 10,15, or 20 minutes each. I couldn't  tell if that was being done very often.  The harder work should be done by everybody, but it'll be especially important to get in for someone with less time.

And don't worry about what the running group. They have very different goals than you. Is it really that much of an issue the way they talk to you? In the masters group I'm with, they're very encouraging about getting out to do swimming events, but they don't single people out to put pressure on them and are very understanding about doing other things like triathlon. They actually like seeing some of the stuff I do outside of the water.

As for what you could do with running, mostly just keep getting in a bunch of running. Keep putting in mileage consistently every week how it fits best. And for faster work, you could (and probably should) do some things like strides, as they're helpful and low stress with the short duration. You could probably figure out how to get in a faster workout maybe every few weeks too. Be it a designed workout or maybe get into a local 5k event. Just consistently running a decent amount will be the priority in your run training though.

Well that's good to see most are supportive. Some single sports can have a more difficult time understanding the compromises that need to be made in order to have the best overall time. I think you're getting it that while the run is 26.2 miles it's not a marathon. It's not run with the same intensity (though it will likely still hurt) and it has two other big activities that can severely drain your energy right before. Some of what you're feeling in running slower could be just from the fatigue. Being on tired legs more often, or just tired in general from all the other activity. I still like the idea of getting in a few strides fairly regular, like a few times a week, as they are low total stress and can help with running economy. Then an occasional run including something faster than easy pacing. Being a better runner will certainly help the run go better, but no need to do everything a marathon plan would have. Most important for you will be to keep being active, so keep it up with the training!

I agree 100% with what Jim and GMan posted above.  I'd even go as far as editing the statement like above.  This is one of the first concepts I teach all new endurance athletes.