Every year, the World Triathlon Corporation, producers of the Ironman race series, hold a lottery for 200 spots in the World Championships at Kona. They don’t release participation figures, but I suspect 40,000 or more people enter these. It costs $50 or so, and spots are apportioned among the US and the rest of the world. The lottery announcement in April of each year is watched keenly by that small sub segment of the triathlon world which cares about all things Kona. What follows is my on-going correspondence with one of those winner, a neurologist in my medical group whom I met 15 years ago in my previous life as Medical Director, but whom I have not seen for over 12 years. An epistolary post!
From: Truscott, Al M.
Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 9:36 PM
To: Scearce, Tim
Subject: Congratualtions, Ironman!
Tim –
I was prowling the web this evening and discovered you won a ticket to the big dance this fall. Glad to hear that!.
I’ll be there competing as well (I qualified, for the third time, at Arizona last Nov). I don’t know if this is your first trip to Kona, or your Ironman experience – I’d be glad to talk with you (electronically, phone, in person) if you’d like to take advantage of my experiences as an Ironman junkie for the past ten years (Kona this year will will be my 16th).
In any case, look forward to seeing you there; I’m sure you’ll enjoy yourself even more than you might imagine.
Al Truscott
From: Scearce, Tim
Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2009 11:29 AM
To: Truscott, Al M.
Subject: RE: Congratualtions, Ironman!
Hi Al,
Thank you for your encouragement.
I’ll consider myself an Ironman when I cross the line. But I will cross that line…
Yowza! You are my hero!
Seth Stankus told me you have done many ironman races. I was not aware you had been to Kona three times!
I would like to get your thoughts about training. My goal is to finish the race. I have no expectations of placing. But I would like to be in the middle of the pack of the other 150 lucky sods.
I am trying to find that elusive sweet spot between training, working full time, preparing talks and helping my wife raise our 3 year old. I have discovered that early mornings are my best friend… 🙂
I have also been in touch with Randall Colee. I have been reading Don Fink’s “Be Iron Fit” and another book by the editor of Triathlon Magazine (can’t recall the name). I am logging my training on MapMyTri.com and have been using a Garmin Forerunner 405 to log distance, heart rate and calories. If you have any recommendations for an online training program/diary, I would be interested.
Thanks for your words of support.
From: Truscott, Al M.
Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2009 1:07 PM
To: Scearce, Tim
Subject: RE: Congratualtions, Ironman!
Tim –
Anyone who can get through medical school and a neurology residency has the discipline required to train enough to finish an Ironman, and feel “good” about it (you’ll feel bad at the end no matter who you are.)
I’d recommend one of two options for training plans:
1) $15 option – you may already have this book:
This has training programs for all distances, all levels of experience. Drawback is, the plans are VERY BORING, basically the same thing every week, just a little longer or a little more intense over time. But if you follow, say the level 4 or 5 Ironman program, you will have no problems finishing with your head up in Kona.
2) $500 option – these guys may seem like clowns in Triathlete Magazine, but they have more collective wisdom than anyone else:
http://multisports.com/imhawaii.shtml
I have used both of these options while training for an Ironman, and have had my best success with Huddle and Frey. Their Kona program starts this week. You get three key things for your money:
A.. They have been in the coaching business for 20 years, and Ironman to them is their daily life. They are married to Heather Fuhr and Paula Newby-Fraser, who have collectively 32 Ironman victories between them, as well as having coached other Ironman winners over the years (Peter Reid, Michellie Jones, and others). In addition, they have been doing this (Ironman coaching for the masses) for over a decade, and take a very common sense approach to the whole thing, explaining their ideas in plain language.
B. They produce a very detailed daily training regimen, so you do not have to think AT ALL. There is enough flexibility in their plan that you can feel you are following their program, without over doing it.
C. They have an online daily training log feature, along with their “Ask the Coaches” forum (all their columns in Triathlete come from this), and will respond with thought and humor to any and every question you ask.
Since this is a once in a lifetime event, and you’ll be spending 10 x that much for travel and lodging, I think it is worth the investment. If I were you, I’d sign up today. It’s about the same cost as the Garmin 405 (I use the older 305 model), and worth much more to your success.
Thoughts on training in general: you have 24 weeks until the event. You need to work up to a weekly 2 hour run by the end of the 15th week, then do three more runs of over 2 hours (but none over 3 hours). And, you need to work up to a weekly long bike ride of 5.5 hours by the 15th week, with three more rides of 6 hours +/- after that. Don’t worry about a lot of high intensity bike or run work – you need miles, not effort, at this point. A little track or trainer work goes a long way for the Ironman. (Biking to work helps me, as well as being part time, and having our youngest off to college this year).
The most important element of training is to include a run within 10 minutes after biking twice a week, working up from 15 minutes to 60 minutes over the first 18-20 weeks, after the long ride, and after the most intense ride each week. Twice a week, every week.
Ironman is NOT just a half Ironman, doubled. The pacing and nutrition requirements are significantly different. But as far as training – it IS just more of the same.
There are specific environmental and course issues at Kona which are helpful to be prepared for. Let me know anytime you want to pick my brain more. One of the things I enjoy most right now is mentoring new Ironmen.
Al
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From: Scearce, Tim
Sent: Monday, May 11, 2009 10:25 AM
To: Truscott, Al M.
Subject: RE: Congratualtions, Ironman!
Hi Al,
I have been reading Don Fink’s book “IronFit”. Randall Colee in Spokane recommended this book. The Ironman training program seems pretty detailed. I would love to sign up for the class but I just don’t have $500 to spare right now. I rode 2 hours on my rollers last night (I was on call this weekend and couldn’t get out for a ride, but did get a 1.5 hour run around my neigborhood in on Sat). Tonight I plan to run for an hour then go to the pool for some base-building level intervals (See below)
I would very much like to talk with you about the course (particularly the swim) at some point. I am hoping to get in to Vineman (July 17th) for my required 1/2 ironman qualifier. I am just under 300 on the waitlist but here that is not so bad. I have a slot at Lake Stevens to fall back on if need be.
Tim
Distances are in yards:
300 warm up
8 X 50 Drills (Drill = 65-70% perceived effort)
3 X 125 sets ( Set = 80-85% perceived effort) with 20 second rest between
2 X 175 sets with 30 second rest between
3 X 125 sets with 20 second rest between
8 X 50 Drill
200 cool down
~2500 yards total
______________________________________________
From: Truscott, Al M.
Sent: Monday, May 11, 2009 3:24 PM
To: Scearce, Tim
Subject: Ironman Swim
All right, so you are going to follow a published training plan for an Ironman. That book is as good as any other. All of the information you need is actually in there. Sometimes, though, what seems simple and obvious to those of us who have experienced or watched others experience numerous ultra-distance triathlons, may not be so obvious to those just starting out. In other words, if it doesn’t seem to make sense, it’s probably important!
A general rule of thumb is that, several months from now, you should be able to swim about 2000-3000 yards, broken into smaller distances (like, say, 5 x 500), with 5-10 seconds for each 100 as the rest period between intervals. You should be swimming these sets at the effort level you will do in the race. You should also be able to do a “warm-up” of easier swimming of 400-800 yards before that, and a cool down of 200-400 afterwards. Hopefully, your program will get you to that point.
If you have done other triathlons, the swim for you probably was characterized by: wearing a wetsuit; less than a mile in length; in a lake, with no waves or currents; start on the beach in a group of fewer than 100 people. None of these things will be true in Hawaii.
In Kona, the water is 79-80F, so no wetsuit. Salt water adds a little buoyancy compared to a pool, but much less than a wet suit does. So if you can do 1500 meters in, say 30 minutes, expect to do 3800 meters a little less than three times that. I would multiply my 1500 meter wet suit time by 2.9 to determine how long I would be in the water in Kona. That’s your goal for at least one of your swim workouts by the end of August – be able to swim in the pool for about 5-10 minutes longer than you expect your swim in Kona will be (the 5-10 minutes is for the rests you will be taking during the course of your swim workout). Time is more important than distance when gauging your workouts.
If you have access to open water swimming this summer, for sure use a wet suit, and try to swim as continuously as possible for 3800 meters. Say, 6 x 650 meters with 30-50 seconds rest (I pick that number because it is the size of the little lake where I swim in the summer.) Do this at least once by the middle of September.
There are no real “waves”, like breakers, on the west side of Hawaii, but there is a current going against you as you are coming home, and there can be a swell, which, for the seasick among us, can produce nausea. YMMV.
But the swim should really be viewed as the warm-up for the race. Your whole goal for your swim training should be to develop tolerance for the time and distance, and feel confident in completing it without spending too much energy. 2 beat kicks, slow strokes, ability to breath on both sides (to avoid sun in your eyes, or swell in your face) are helpful.
The start is a deep water start. The eager among us go out and tread water once the pros have taken off at 6:45 AM. Others will wait on the “beach” (wait till you see “Dig Me” beach – your office may be bigger.), and then head out at the last minute, letting the rest take off first. There is no real issue of bumping and hitting in this race, for several reasons: the deep water start forces each person to start up slowly; these are all experienced Ironmen, who do NOT want to get into a shoving match with their peers, and place themselves properly to avoid that and usually know how to swim in a straight line; and it is a one loop swim (out and back along a buoy line) so no real fighting to turn at buoys. For those finishing slower than 80 minutes, it is sometimes hard to find anyone to draft off of for the return home.
Assuming you arrive in Kona at least 3-4 days before the race, you will get into Kailua Bay several times. You should pay attention to the landmarks on the shore (on your left as you go out, and your right as you come back) so you will know where you are. And, get comfortable with missing your buoy sightings, as the swell will take them in and out of your horizon line. You can swim the whole course one way (half the distance, as there is a beach – actually, just past the condo where I stay – about 1.2 miles south of the pier) once or twice, to get a feel for each direction. Avoid the cruise ships and swim IN THE MORNING!!! getting out by 9:30 at the latest.
One final thing to consider – what will you wear? Options abound, and there are changing tents for each gender. In the last 4 years, many racers at Kona have started buying swim specific suits which can be worn over a tri suit (or exchanged for one in the tent at T1). These cost $75-300, and mimic the suits seen at the Olympics. When Normann Stadler dropped his swim time by 4 minutes, and won the race in 2006, they become almost de rigueur. Now, they are made out of very thin neoprene, like the slick outside of a wetsuit, and may provide a tiny bit of buoyancy. Or, you can just swim in a Speedo or other swim suit, and go from there.
Hope this helps a bit.
Al