first ironman, need coaching advice

[triguy10]

Looking for some advice on my first ironman (wisconsin) coming up this September. A little background, I ran DI track and xc for 4 years so running is by far my strongest event. I have a marathon time of 2:35.
I dont think I am a bad swimmer but I know I have a lot of work to do to get where I want to be. I swam, 2.5 miles in a 25m pool in 61 minutes, without flip turning a couple weeks ago pretty comfortably.
Biking will probably be my worst event since I have never ridden a tri/road bike before this past fall. I have only been out a couple times and can ride at 20 mph for about an hour without too much effort.

I really want to be somewhat competetive and I have a goal time of 10 hours. Im hoping to go 65 min for the swim, 5:30-5:45 on the bike and 3:00 for the marathon. I know its lofty but its what im going for.

I am 25 years old, 5'10 and 140 lbs.

Since January, a typical week for me has been:
60 miles of running
80 miles of biking
3-4 miles of swimming

Thats about 10-13 hours a week. Yes, I know I need to get more biking in, the weather is finally starting to warm up so that will be possible.
This is what I am thinking as for as a schedule for the next couple months.

Mon: am: swim, pm: run
Tues: am: run, pm: bike
Wed: am: swim, bike pm: run
Thur: am: bike, run
Fri: am: swim , pm: bike
Sat: pm: long bike, short run
Sun: am: swim, pm: long run

My goals distances each week from here on out are:
Run: 65-70 miles/week
Bike: 150-200? miles/week
Swim: 10k-12k/week

Does this seem reasonable for me to meet my goal. Should I adjust my training at all being that I am a stronger runner? Should I play really hard on my running strength or on my biking weakness?

Any and all advice would be much appreciated. I plan on doing some olympic distances throughout the summer to get a feel for transitions and open water swimming so hopefully that helps. Thanks guys!

[DesFlurane]

And your rest/recovery day is when?

[Triguy]

In general, you can probably ride more, run less and you'll be fine. Sub- 10 is a very lofty goal for your first IM, but not out of the question. I've known similar in history(collegiate runner, fairly good swimmer) and ability to you who said there was no way they could have been prepared for IM without never having done one.

I think your training will be sufficient. But here is two considerations:
1. Nutrition- knowing how to feed your body for 10 hours is a struggle.
2. Burn out- september is a long ways away.

[labrat_62]

Not just rest day, but are you planning recovery weeks as well? Both for fitness progression and the burn out factor?

[triguy10]

thanks to those who have gotten back to me. my rest days come as i need them. i generally take off a day every 2 weeks. up to this point i havent had to because the training has been mostly aerobic. that is a good point about recovery weeks though, i guess i never thought of that and will definetly plan on putting some into my training. and to address the issue of burnout, i have been running competitively for 10 years, training 100+ miles a week at times without a problem. im a very firm believer that burnout is a mental state. yes the ironman is in september, but thats 5 months away, not that long of a time to be training for a day when you are stressing your body for 10+ hours.

[dogpound]

burn out for an ironman is NOT a mental state.
Rest day, at least one a week, easy week, every 3rd week.
IM MOO is HARD. It's deceptive. I did it it's first year before there was anyone to tell me about it.
The bike is 112 miles of rollers, there's no break. Ride it too hard, and you'll fall apart in the run.
That's key, do not push yourself too hard on the bike.
Sub 10 is lofty, though doable.
My suggestion for your first ironman is to just cross the finish line. You'll be putting your body through something it can't even imagine.

[triguy10]

when you say rest day, i am assuming you mean completely off?

[dogpound]

when you say rest day, i am assuming you mean completely off?
I mean laying on the couch and the only physical activity is fork to mouth.

[triguy10]

haha, i think i can handle that. besides my need for a day off and weeks of recovery, does my overall setup of what to do each day and the weekly amount look alright?

[dogpound]

yea, it looks pretty good.
remember to practice eating. its best to eat as much as you can onthe bike as it can be hard while running.
And listen to your body.
skipping a workout won't ruin a race, though doing too much will.

[brock1234]

Dude, you've got the potential to go a hell of lot quicker than just sub 10. I would swim 3 times a week, bike every day - aim for about 300miles a week (or 400-500km), this might seem daunting, but it adds up pretty quick if you bike 50km a day on your work days and a couple of longer rides in the weekend. Except for your long run, all your runs should be straight off the bike, or at least within a few hours of finishing a bike.

The reason I say your runs should be straight off the bike if that I have no doubt your a good runner when your legs are fresh, but you want to get to a point so that you can run just as comfortable off the bike as without a bike.

Running speed will mean nothing if you can't bike, and i'm sure you'd hate to see your time closer to 3.20 than 3.00 (take those kenyan sub 2.15 marathoner's that bombed in Kona a few years back). The reason that so many pro athletes do insane bike mileage is because if they don't, 1. they won't keep up on the bike, and 2. their legs will be too tired to run properly in the marathon.


So get that biking up to speed and i'm sure we'll see you down in the low 9's in the no time!

Mark.