Disclaimer: We are not projecting this as the ONLY way to train for an IRONMAN or 70.3. There are different ways to prepare and every athlete is different. Many of our athletes won’t follow this exact progression because of their athlete age, goals, and differing race schedules that requires different progressions. There is no ONE way to train. Leading into Block #1, you will want to have 6-12 weeks of general endurance training in the body. What the heck does “general endurance training” mean? It is a period of time where most of the workouts consist of Zone 1 and 2 training. These workouts feel easy and are critical for teaching your body how to handle the physical impacts that swim, bike, run have as well as getting athletes back into a consistent rhythm.
Block #1 is commonly the phase that most triathletes don’t do, don’t like doing, and honestly don’t think about doing.
Speed and Vo2 Max work doesn’t look like IRONMAN training so it’s viewed low on the priority list, however we routinely see huge improvements in athlete’s speeds that translates into faster IRONMAN/70.3 times. Every athlete has a ceiling of current potential, and when you work these intervals hard enough, you increase that ceiling to new levels.
Do you feel like you have plateaued and are no longer seeing the consistent improvement? If YES, you need do this block. You can only do so much volume before intensity is your next dial to turn.
Also, for races that are hilly like IMWI, doing intensity helps build stronger muscle and tendon strength. When you are racing a hilly course like IRONMAN Wisconsin, the relentless hills take a toll on your body and often leads to cramping. One reason for cramping is under training the course demands… and doing intervals that replicate similar muscle loads help improve your strength. There is more to IRONMAN than training easy.
The length of this block is the shortest of the four phases. Your body responds very quickly to higher intensity training! This is why you cannot do Zone 5 training year round, because the stimulus will run dry and not be effective. We recommend a minimum of 4 weeks and a maximum of 8 weeks dedicated to this style of training.
Template Training Week
Swim Workout Example: Skill and Speed
Key Bike Workout: 3 Rounds of 10x 30”/30” Zone 5 Tabatas
Key Run Workout Example: Skill and Hill Sprints!
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Did you know that our head coach Cindi coached at the London Olympics? Coach Jess is an IRONMAN Wisconsin Age Group Champion! Coach Steve guided the 2019 IRONMAN Wisconsin Overall Age Group Female Champion? Check out our awesome coaches here!
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