All Blog Posts (587)

Having used your Ironman program for two IM events, my daughter wishes to follow the same program as I have in the past. Where the program says ride 5:15 as the longest ride, how is this calculated for distance i.e. average 30+km/hr? The same question applies to the longest run of 2:45, how is this calculated for calculated for distance i.e. average 5:00/km? The reason I ask is that she is targeting a bike average of 25km/hr and a run average of 7:00/km and it would seem that the duration of…

Just a quick reminder that for anyone looking for a great training camp experience, I direct one that is coming up in June at Lake Placid NY. We train on the Ironman Course, and support training for Olympic to Iron distances and novice to elite levels. This year, we'll be adding a LONG DAY training option for people preparing for a mid to late summer IM. We have 4 slots left until we sell out and we'll have 4 certified coaches supporting the weekend. Here's the info:…

Wanted to share a recent email I sent to my friends at the Wyckoff Y Tri Club earlier today:

With IM-Boat Basin (NYC, NJ, whatever) 19 weeks from tomorrow (no, that's not an early April Fool's joke! :), next week is the right time to start to take the party outside.

The bike course profile shows 3900' of total climbing, which is WAY more than most IMs, so training in Harriman will be a great recipe for success.  Add a Harriman loop before riding…

As we're inside 21 weeks to IM-NYC, we're going to be posting regularly here about relevant topics designed to help you attack your key race this season, including:

• sport-specific workouts
• local club activity in North Jersey
• nutrition and fueling
• active recovery & proactive health management
• strength training, and 
• race updates

I'll also be highlighting events, clinics, and announcements associated with my favorite…

There are two types of triathletes around Northern New Jersey: those who know who Claudia Kretschman is, and those who should.  Seriously, Claudia is the most decorated triathlete in the area, male or female, with two top-15 overall finishes in Kona and a top-3 finish in Penticton.  Still raging and still qualifying for Kona, whenever she wants, nearly 20 years later...

The big news about Claudia is that she's launching a coaching service, aimed at triathletes of any ability across…

Hi Mike

I think this is a great plan and I have been using it a lot over the last 4 years as well as many friends of mine.

I think that if you make an update for Powermeters user, it would be perfect. Infact so far I have been updating it with %FTP instead of the %HR which is quite aleatory.

Usually I would say 75% HR works ok for 75% FTP but for higher intensities it doesn't work so easily.

Don't know if you use a Powermeter but it is nowadays very popular and…

Feel free to use this worksheet.  You may have to tweak it a bit based on individual needs.  I will provide the document in 2 formats...one for MS Excel and the other for Macs...Good luck and let me know if it's useful.

Nutritional%20Planner.numbers…

Disclaimer:  I found this article online at - http://www.runtri.com/2007/05/everything-you-need-to-know-to-finish_25.html

Although I am still an Ironman rookie and only have been training for IMLP2012, I thought this article would be helpful for future reference, as race day gets closer...

Before the start of a recent Ironman triathlon, the race announcer noted that…

Hi

I am new to the site and have just started (5 weeks in) the 36 week Ironman training plan.  As well as training hard and with Christmas approaching, I am looking to buy myself some time and was wondering if anyone had any experience with Rotor Q rings or oval rings.  

Thanks

Phil

Every now and then I get a question 2-3 times in a couple of days, and realize that my answer might benefit the group -- here's one that comes up around this time every year:

"Do you use a powermeter for your training?  I focus more on my watts during training, rather than heart rate.  For some reason, I can never get my heart rate high enough when riding on my indoor trainer.  Now with the colder weather, I will be doing most of my rides indoors....any…

Yesterday marked the first day of training for Ironman Lake Placid 2012!  I decided to use a free online program from an elite age grouper, Mike Llerandi.  A fellow triathlete from my area recently used the program to get ready for IMFL and had a very successful debut...in fact he placed 16th in his age group 45-49 with a total time of 10:10:03.  That's crazy fast, in my mind. 

Not sure I have anything profound to say for my first blog post.  I guess I am hoping to use this…

This is the last post of background material related to developing an optimal triathlon training program -- at a high level, it's helpful to keep coming back to the idea that you're becoming a more complete athlete, and not the sum of a swimmer, a cyclist, and a runner.

The five main areas that comprise a complete athlete's overall condition are: general health, cardiovascular fitness, power & speed, functional strength, and mobility.  This is the list that I like to refer to…

So far, we've highlighted the need to take a different approach to your training, particularly as you get older, and to apply that approach consistently as you move through your season.  Before we dive into the specifics of your actual training plan, I want to point out the need to focus on your triathlon training as a single pursuit.

Successful triathletes recognize this intuitively -- the pitfalls of overtraining and creating an imbalance among all three sports generally comes from…

If you were going to incorporate one quality to your training, you would gain the greatest benefit by following whatever program you had with consistent discipline.  But be careful: "Consistent discipline" doesn't mean having a 24x7 focus on more volume and harder work -- in fact, I'd say that as long as your training paid some attention to high quality and overall volume across all three sports, you'll end up with positive results, provided that you can maintain some consistency…

For too many people, from age groupers to dedicated pros, performing better in triathlon is merely a function of doing more work.  "Tell me what to do, and I'll do it" is the call for help, and the focus is on doing more: more volume, more fatigue, more focus, more time devoted to a singular pursuit.  This approach has proved to be successful for many, so why wouldn't it be the formula for success for everyone?

As I'm sure you know intuitively, too much focus on any one aspect of…

I've been putting a lot of thought into what an optimal training program should contain, and after reading up on a bunch of current material I think I have one that I can share with the group.  My plan is to organize my thoughts into bite-sized topics that I'll present in a blog post, and then ultimately I'll have the…

Hi Everyone - the free 26-week training program designed to help you prepare for an Ironman 70.3 race is complete and posted.  Feel free to access it at http://opentri-training.com/ -- just click on the link for the "Free Training Plan for 70.3 Distance".

Enjoy!

Mike

http://www.youtube.com/...t=PL72E7A5FA87A9794F

I am a two time Ironman finisher just clipping at the heals of a Kona slot. Last year I was on pace to be in the money when my back , glutes and hammies went into spasm.

The lack of core conditioning forced me to walk/jog most of the marathon at IM CDA finishing in 10:55.. well over an hour slower than my goal time.



This season I have been…