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Becoming One: How Training for a Full is Different Than a Half

By Brittany Vermeer, 06/01/23, 11:30AM EDT

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Our monthly columnist experiences the nuances of training as she builds towards her first IRONMAN.

JUNE 1, 2023

I’m a creature of habit and love having a schedule. When I open my training app and see a week’s worth of workouts planned, it’s like unwrapping a present on Christmas morning.  

Specific workouts vary depending on the race I’m training for, but this is what a typical week looks like.  

  • Monday: Swim or day off 

  • Tuesday: Bike/run  

  • Wednesday: Swim/strength or run/swim 

  • Thursday: Bike/run  

  • Friday: Swim/strength 

  • Saturday: Long bike 

  • Sunday: Long run  

When I start making the transition from IRONMAN 70.3 to IRONMAN training, my core schedule won’t change much, but there will be more flexibility built in to accommodate longer workouts. My coach might add an extra day of swimming or a stand-alone run, but most of the increase in volume will happen over the weekend.  

To learn more about the process, I spoke with my coaches, Jeff and Annie Bowman of Rev Tri Coaching, as well as my friend Mark Saroni of Paragon Training to get some insight.   

“Depending on the athlete, sometimes as we get further into training we have to break the long run into a morning run and an evening run on the same day," Annie says. "There’s a benefit to the double run day, because it creates added fatigue.” 

This is a strategy she also uses with athletes who have limiters when it comes to long distance running—things like being prone to injury, work demands, or family commitments.  

Training for an IRONMAN requires commitment, dedication, and consistency, but Mark explains that it’s also important to be flexible and adapt as needed.  

"Just because you’ve signed up for an IRONMAN doesn’t mean you magically have time for a 3-hour trainer ride on a Thursday,” he says. “One of the keys to doing an IRONMAN successfully is making adjustments to ensure you don’t hate the sport come race day.” 

Mark explains that one of the ways he likes to achieve this is by not giving an athlete a really long ride every single weekend. Maybe one weekend is only a 2 to 3 hour ride with a longer run. “From a time standpoint, this means you’re not gone all day long. If you can be home by lunch a few weekends during the build, that’s a big help in being present for the other people in your life.” 


The author on a training ride with friends.

When does the build start? 


The build period for an IRONMAN will look different for every athlete and is dependent upon one’s background in the sport, level of fitness, current training volume, and goals. For example, if Mark has an athlete who’s already familiar with a 3 to 4-hour ride and a 90-minute to 1-hour and 45-minute run over the weekend, then the progression to higher volume doesn’t happen until 8 to 12 weeks prior to the race.  

“If an athlete’s normal training week is 6 hours, we need to start building 20 to 24 weeks out,” he says. “We have to work that athlete up to a 3-hour ride and then a 4-hour ride, etc. If an athlete’s normal week is already 9 to 12 hours of training, we aren’t increasing that much until 10 to 12 weeks out,” he says.  

Think about it this way. If an athlete wants to go from couch to IRONMAN, it’s like starting at zero percent and working up to 100. But if an athlete is already trained for an IRONMAN 70.3, it’s like starting at 65 percent. Both methods are possible, but the process will look different for each. Since I’ve done five IRONMAN 70.3 races over the past three years, I fall into the latter group.   

Therefore, Jeff explains that I will do less of the traditional base building that happens early on in a training cycle and instead use a hybrid model that fluctuates from base to build and incorporates intervals to develop speed.  

“Everybody is unique, and you have to meet them where they’re at, depending how long they’ve been in the sport,” he says. “You want to focus on strengthening their weaknesses, but you don’t want them to lose what they’ve already got. You can have a basic model, but the base and build will depend on experience and goals.” 

Since I’m training for IRONMAN Florida in November, I’ll stay in the base-building phase well into August. Annie likens the process to building a house. First, we need to make sure there’s a good foundation, which means focusing on improving skills, strength, and muscular endurance. It’s also a great time to get a bike fit to make sure everything is dialed in before the big mileage starts.   

As we get closer to the race, training hours and mileage will increase and we will incorporate some intensity with a race-specific focus. I plan to compete at IRONMAN 70.3 Augusta on September 24th. This is about the time I would need to do a long brick anyways, and the structure of the race is a great resource because of the built-in nutrition support provided by aid stations. It also provides an intermediate goal to work towards, the opportunity to test out gear, and exposure to race day logistics and nerves.   

Mark encourages his athletes to do an IRONMAN 70.3 or an Olympic-distance race in the build to an IRONMAN to go through the motions: setting up your bike, getting new tires, and making sure Di2 batteries are charged. It also provides exposure to race day logistics, like having to stay in a hotel, organizing transportation, and deciding what you’re going to eat for breakfast on race day.  

“From a training standpoint, it’s a good opportunity to rest up a bit before doing a final build for an IRONMAN,” Mark says. “If you’re just building for 4 to 5 months straight, you’re continuing to load fatigue. Throwing in an IRONMAN 70.3, with a rest week before and a rest week after, can unload a good amount of fatigue. You can even see it in training metrics that drop and then stabilize.”


The author training at the pool.

Making the mental shift 
 

A few friends will be joining me on this journey and will do their first full-distance races at IRONMAN Florida as well. During a recent long ride, one of them asked, “If I feel like this at the end of an IRONMAN 70.3 training cycle, how on earth am I going to get through one for an IRONMAN?!”  

It’s a pretty common thought. But just like in the race itself, you have to take training one step at a time. Jeff suggests coming up with intermediate milestones that will help guide your progress and increase confidence.  

“Looking towards November, you aren’t thinking about an IRONMAN at this point. You’re building base with intermediate goals knowing it’s down the road,” he says. “Think about where you want to be two weeks from now, whether it’s with speed or distance, like your first 100-mile ride or 4,000-yard swim.” 

A great way to gear up for those milestone workouts is by incorporating them into fun events. For example, I plan to do an open water swim race in August and a local century ride in September. It’s a great opportunity to compete alongside friends, get in the necessary training, and have some fun at the same time.  


The author racing IRONMAN 70.3 Chattanooga.

Your most common training questions answered 

 

Which is more important: training hours or mileage?

Quite predictably, the answer is, “It depends.” Both coaches I spoke with favor a focus on hours of training over mileage completed, for the most part. Sometimes it’s important to hit a mileage marker on the bike or run. However, placing too much emphasis on miles over hours can be detrimental to your training.  

For example, consider Triathlete A, who averages 8:45 minutes per mile for a 20-mile run. That person will finish the run in 2 hours and 50 minutes. Now, think about Triathlete B, who is running the same distance but with a run/walk plan that averages a 12-minute mile. It will take Triathlete B a full 4 hours to complete the run. Is Triathlete B going to see far-reaching benefits from running an hour longer than Triathlete A? Probably not, but there’s greater potential for burn out and injury. 

It’s a bit different with bike training, because cycling is a non-impact sport and a safer way to accumulate mileage, but the same methodology still applies. “For some people, I may give a goal, like a 6.5-hour ride or a 100-mile ride, whatever they can get done first,” Mark says. “This creates a bit of an incentive to stay on top of the pedals to get it done. Also, the bike is the largest percentage of the race, and it’s the best way to simulate duration from the standpoint of exercising for a lot of hours, safely.” 

Do I have to run a marathon before doing an IRONMAN?

Again, opinions vary on this topic, but both of the coaches I spoke with said many people who do an IRONMAN will run their first marathon during the race, and that’s perfectly fine.  

“It’s definitely not necessary, unless the person feels the need to do it for some mental reason,” Jeff says. “The marathon and the IRONMAN marathon are two different things.” 

A max long run of 18 to 22 miles is pretty common for most athletes. Beyond that, Jeff explains there’s diminishing return and an increased risk of injury. Also, the recovery time needed before the next run is too great. 

Pro triathlete Haley Chura also coaches age-group athletes. She explains that people often get hyper-focused on the marathon, when they really should concentrate on the part that comes before the run—the 112-mile bike ride.   

“For myself, and most of the athletes I coach, I usually don’t have a specific run mileage to aim for in training,” she says. “I think people get really caught up in run mileage, but they forget that if you come off the bike feeling really tired, then the run will be very hard, regardless of how much run training you’ve done.” 

What about doing a century ride (100 miles) before an IRONMAN?

Jeff says some athletes will do anywhere from three to six century rides during an IRONMAN build, while others might do only one or two. “Four is a good compromise, but again it depends on your own personal strengths and goals,” he says. “Some athletes don’t do any century rides; instead they rely on a steady diet of 75 to 90-mile rides.” 

Be sure to tune in next month when we will discuss women-specific training strategies, fun science-y testing (VO2 max and lactate threshold), explore recovery techniques, and get some insight from pro triathlete, Lauren Brandon. 

Brittany Vermeer is a writer, photographer, and triathlete who chronicles her triathlon adventures in her blog, Triple Threat Life. Follow along on her IRONMAN training journey here monthly.


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