An EN athlete who raced @ Kona last month via one of the super-slots from Lake Placid last year asks how he can drop his time by one hour after a slightly disappointing race in Florida two weeks ago. He wrote:
I raced Ironman Florida two weeks ago which resulted in a PR with an overall 11h33 race (1h13 swim, 5h37 bike, 4h23 run, 20min transitions).
I finished 11th, there were 4 KQ slots in my age group, the roll down went to #5.
“The last guy who got a KQ (with the roll down) raced in 10:48, the 4th and last KQ (before roll down) was 10:31… so how do I get to 10:31? I need to shave an hour and I have a year to do it.”
Here are my key parameters:
· I’m 55 years old, 6 feet & I raced IMFL at 175 pounds (~ 79 kgs)· I’ve been with EN since mid 2019. I’m very consistent with my training and follow the plans to the letter. Swim: I’m faster in the pool than OWS, my best IM is 1h10 with wetsuit in a lake, Bike FTP is around 270/280 watts. Run PRs: 47’ for 10K, 1h42 for half marathon (both last year), 3h52 for marathon (two years ago racing at 165 lbs at the time)
If my goal is to KQ next year and if it means shave an hour on the race I just did, what is the training strategy I should follow? What should I focus on and how should I structure my 2023 season?
My reply:
V…first off, if I didn’t think you could do this, I wouldn’t sit down to write what will probably be a fairly long post.
To start off, a few general thoughts. Number one, drop the quest for a specific time drop. Rather, focus on some sport-specific goals, some changes to your racing strategy, and modifications to your long-term plan. Then, your time and place will take care of itself.
The goal is “Get Back to Kona.” Adding a required race time and doing it within a certain time frame (one year) increases the degree of difficulty. You may or may not accomplish everything in one year, but you should not give up if you fall short the first/next try. So this might be a multi-year project.
The project will require a high level of focus and commitment over an extended period of time. It’s complicated by the reality that running a marathon after a 112 mile bike is something you can only do in the race itself. So I suggest adding a spring IM to your plans, and stay with the two-a-year plan until you get back to HI. This hastens the necessary learning process of racing (more on that later), and forces you to IM-specific train at least six months out of the year. I don’t know the IM schedule anymore, but I’m thinking a May-June race (Coeur d’Alene?).
Swim: Chattanooga and Callifornia are both downhill swims. And your wetsuit/fresh water time of 1:10 is perfectly adequate. Working hard at improving swimming, at the expense of the other two disciplines may net you 2-4′ at best, not worth the effort. So think of swimming 3x/week year-round, 250-300,000 meters for the year, and take what you get from that.
Your FTP is 3.5. Getting that up to 4.0 should be your main goal. 300 watts divided by 75 kg = 4.0. Both of those are achievable targets over the next three months. Use the OS to work on losing a pound a week, and increasing your FTP by 10%. But don’t dig yourself a hole. Getting sufficient nutrition during and after workouts, and getting enough rest in between them will help prevent that.
Dropping the weight will help with the next goal…getting your VDOT to 50. That’s a 20′ 5k, or 1:32 half marathon. It’s a bigger stretch than the FTP target, so it might be a multi-year effort, requiring you to “become a runner” during the winter of 2023/4. This time around, I would see what the weight loss and following the OS plans followed by two IMs next year does for you.
Transitions…I did Florida in 2000, so the course may be different. But 20′ seems awfully slow to me, “baking cookies” slow. Look at the transition times in your AG in whatever race you will be doing, and make it your goal to have the “best in class” times. There are numerous suggestions in the EN wiki for becoming more efficient. Recognize that this is not “free time”. The less rest you get in the tent, the harder the next leg becomes. But you will be fitter, so it all evens out. Practice, practice, practice.
For the same course (FL), the above might garner you a 1:07/5:10/4:00/10′. You do the math…
Now, racing strategy. I saw you race in Kona, and was impressed by how you were still going strong last the end, along Ali’i drive. Maybe too strong? Meaning you have room to work a little harder during the day. You should think of the swim not as a warm-up (except for the first 3-4′). Rather, feel like you are working as hard as you can while keeping you stroke under control. On the bike, after the first 45′-60′, concentrate on keeping that power as close to an IF of 0.72-4 as you can, with a VI of 1.03. And don’t ease up in the last hour. On the run, learn how to ratchet up the effort level (not the pace) during the course of the day, Start out easier than your long-run effort level, and work through marathon (miles 6-11) to HM (12-17) to 10K (18-22) to 5k (23-4) to “I’m gonna faint” effort levels by the last mile. You probably won’t go any faster as you proceed, but you will keep yourself at the fastest pace possible.
I would defer to Coach P on what plans to follow. But OS from Jan-Mar, and IM Apr-June, July Transition, July-Oct IM is what I would follow. Then Run durability Nov-Dec, and back at it in Jan…
You’ve taken the hardest step – defining your dream. And you are capable of the work required. Allez, allez!