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My Training Plan by John BeckerMy primary objective was to comfortably complete the 1997 Ironman Canada. After eleven months of training and planning, I finished the race in 12-hr 38-min. What an incredible experience this was! Figuring out how to do it was a major problem. The race is held at the end of August, every year. I could find very little information on training for an ironman distance triathlon. Most books and magazines focused on short distance training or told me what the pros do during one particular week of their life. I knew this would not help me at all. I read a lot and finally developed an eleven-month training plan based heavily on Rob Sleamaker's training theory. I highly recommend his book, "SERIOUS Training for Serious Athletes". It has been updated in 1997 with input from Ray Browning. I train by time (not
distance) and heart rate zones. As of April 30, I felt I had built up the run distance. I tested myself by running the Vancouver, BC Marathon on, May 4. I had been backed off the bike riding for four weeks to allocate the extra time for the run. Legs got a little sore, but generally my body felt fine. I also started doing run intervals now. I do these at or around my AT threshold every Friday afternoon at the local High School track. This has improved my overall endurance. After running the May marathon, I scheduled an early June century ride. This caused a big jump in my bike riding time. I had not ridden further then 60 miles before the century, but the ride ended up going quite smooth. This was fun because you could ride with groups of people, had rest stops with food every 25-30 miles and traveled a planned route through the beautiful Willamette Valley in western Oregon. Next step is to participate in a half-ironman distance event. The one I selected was the Pacific Crest Half Ironman in Sunriver, Oregon. This race takes place at a higher altitude then Portland (4500' vs. 90') and takes place the last weekend of June. The lake swim is cold, the bike ride has a net altitude drop of 600 feet, and the run is done entirely on bike paths through a beautiful mountain resort. This is a good confidence booster if you can finish it comfortably as I did. After the half ironman, I took two very easy weeks, then planned three very hard weeks. This includes two 100+ mile bike rides, race distance swims in Vancouver lake, and as much long running as I can tolerate. Three weeks before IMC, I did my final long brick - 4-hour bike, 2 hour run. At this point, I should be ready!!! The last three weeks are called the ironman taper. There are several different variations of this going around, but the consensus seems to follow the following plan. Three weeks before the race, cut training volume by 30%. Keep doing hard workouts; just reduce the amount of time spent by 30%. Two weeks prior to ironman, cut training volume 50%. Again, keep intensity workouts in your plan, but reduce the amount of time. Final week was spent as follows: (Ironman Week) Mon - Off |