Question:I did my first Ironman last July in Lake Placid, finishing in 13h40. I was
actually really thrilled with that time (my goal was to finish before the
cut-off at 17 hours), had a better than expected swim and a really, really
great marathon.
But the bike was a different story. I struggled in the hills, felt tired
easily in spite of good nutrition, and was pretty weak overall. I picked up
the intensity in my training afterward and did much better at the Timberman
Half-Ironman.
Now that it's 2006 and I'm getting ready for Ironman Canada, I wanted to
know what other people have done to their Ironman training programs to
improve their bike splits. What kind of workouts did you do? How long?
How did the intensity vary during the week? Do you normally bike fairly
hard or easy on the long bike rides?
Answer:
Don't know what the Ironman Canada course is like but if it's hilly and
you struggle on the hills then make sure you get some hill work in
early in your training program. Find some good long, steady hills and
try motoring up them in a high enough gear that you have to work hard
to maintain a reasonable cadence (at least 50 rpm or so). Supplement
it with some leg weights if you feel you're lacking power.
If speed's your problem then incorporate some speed work into your
workouts - try spinning at a higher cadence in a lowe gear until it
gets comfortable. Throw in some really high-cadence work. If you're
comfortable with the distance then maybe you need to work harder on
your longer rides or maybe you should throw in some shorter, more
intense intervals.
For an Ironman bike leg, there's no substitute for putting in the miles.
And, for 85% of the time, don't think about average speed at all. Time on
the bike at any speed develops the core strength to keep you going for 112
miles. If you develop that, you'll have no trouble maintaining a
respectable pace.
You mentioned that you struggled in the hills. I have two words for you
with regard to Ironman Canada - Richter Pass. You will want to spend about
10% of your bike time doing hill repeats. 2/3 of your hill repeat time
should be simply spinning up hills in a comfortable gear. For 1/3 of your
hill repeat time, upshift to where you are grinding away at about 70 to 75
rpm. A moderate grade will do - you need not find a hill that only mountain
goats would love. Climb mostly in the saddle, with short out-of-the-saddle
episodes.
The remaining 5% of your time should be spent doing intervals at slightly
faster than your IM target pace.
