Triguy

So I am not going to be really hitting the IM training until July, but I want to get a feel for how hills plays in to my power and so forth. I found a fairly hilly 50 miler around my house, the total elevation gain is 1600 feet. Not bad, but in the grand scheme of things it's about 1000 feet short of being on par with IMWI. Either way, a good ride if it weren't for the cold weather as of late.

This summer I'm going to find something more in IM WI range for hills but for this spring local should be fine.

dogpound

be warned: that course it tricky. THere really aren't any huge hills, it's rolling the whole was and can really kick your butt.

Triguy

Thanks for the tip, Thats actually the type of hills i've been riding. Into and out of valleys, 200 ft of elevation gained and lost over and over. It's good to have a powermeter for this type of riding.

enginerd

I'm doing IM WI too this year. Thought I heard it was hillier than that though, more like 7000' cumulative, which is a decent amount.

Triguy

I have heard 6000. Or about 2600-2750 per 50 miles. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

Either way. A big part of it for me is getting my swim and run in check. If I can be confident of those times, then I can just cruise the bike. This is my first IM and I'd really like to be able to ride 70% of my FTP(fairly slow) to give my strong suit(my run) a chance to shine. If I can get my FTP to 250, I should be able to ride a 20mph ride.

goalieMN

I don't know if I'll be ready, but I will be there doing it with you.

CoreMS

I did IM Wisconsin last year......let me give you the deal on the bike course. First of all....I like and am pretty good at hill climbing - I've climbed Alp de Huez and other large mountains in France. Cycling is my strength and IM Wisconsin is a TOUGH bike course. It is very deceiving - we drove it the day before and it didn't seem to bad....it is harder then it looks. I agree that the elevation gain is more like 7000 feet of climbing. The second loop is tough. Don't underestimate your hill work. Also, why are you waiting till July to really hit the IM training? I would say you should be hitting it right now.....she should be getting in at least some four hour rides and increasing them week after week. You should have multiple centuries under your belt for the season and leave plenty of recovery time. Good luck.....it's a great course...lots of fun. We had amazing weather last year.

Triguy

Why wait until July? I think that most people train for IM the wrong way. Up until July I will be training the way I would for any season, A ton of intervals, biweekly 3-4 hour rides with tempo and 60mp pace thrown in. Quite a bit of racing. In general this will make a person the best cyclist they can be.

I've always been a believer in the fact that doing 5 hour slow rides, will make you really good at riding slow.

Recently on another forum someone stated the best way to train for IM is like a 40k time trialist until 6 weeks out. Jordan Rapp(a good pro triathlete) whole heartedly agreed.

Up until July instead of wearing myself out with 100-120 mile rides evey weekend I can be increasing my FTP(power I can put out for one hour) which is one of the key determiners of a cyclists overall ability. Once I hit July I will only need three or four practice runs where I am able to nail down my nutrition, pacing, and of course gear placement. The only way to improve your long distance speed, in long distances, is to really push the line on those long rides. The only problem is how fatiguing it is to not just ride long, but also hard.

I should state this is my first Ironman, but I also should say that I have talked with about 10 guys about this who have all gone between 9:30 and 10:30 and numerous more who thought they should have been able to be sub 11 and blew it. I would say the highest rate of success comes from people who prepare more in the last six-eight weeks leading up to the event. They haven't spent all year worrying about IM so their mentally prepared, they race more so they are in better shape, and finally, on race day they are more consistent because they don't do a big massive taper which is a huge hit or miss I believe.

I'm no coach, I'm not a fitness expert but I am a fan of the sport. I do believe I can hit my goal on race day and have no doubt that this training strategy is the way to do it.

cjbruin

Everyone has their own way and the only way to really figure it out is to do it and learn. I agree that people tend to start their IM-specific training too early but I don't think doing intervals this early is the way to go. Mark Allen was a big believer in the Maffetone Method where he did the majority of his workouts at very low heart rates. He only started doing intervals a few weeks out...and after he had developed a bullet-proof aerobic engine.

I don't think you should change a thing based on my opinions. I'm quite certain that Macca, Norman, Ferris and all the rest have their own ideas of what is best for them.

In the end, I think a successful Ironman comes down to two things...#1 Nutrition during the race and #2 Plain old stubbornness.

Triguy

cjbruin. If I were only racing IM, I would probably be approaching it differently. However, I like my racing and the little bit of cash I win. Not to mention, nothing makes a better racer than racing. I will be taking a short rest break in early July to reset my mindset for September.

I have done some other long races, and I agree 100% about nutrition on race day being as important as about anything you do before hand. Not sure I agree about #2 but I'll know better in September. I am ordering some Infinit that I think will fulfill all my nutrition needs on race day. 350 calories per 24 ounce bottle. one bottle per hour.

cjbruin

Cool! I forgot to add that I'm sincerely pulling for you to do well in your first IM. Can't wait to read your race report.