hi folks
really really want to do a HIM in 2010... not sure exactly how i'd get there...

aim at this stage is just to be able to complete the race, so not really worrying about pace, personal best times etc.

some silly questions from me on this..
- would i need a coach to achieve this goal?
- would following an online training plan be enough?
- or should i just focus on 10% weekly volume increase rule ?
- how should i incorporate HRM training in all this??

currently, bike leg is no probs... working on run leg (currently at just under 10kms)... bike leg is half way there..

plans are do to 3 bike, 3 run, 2 swims a week. (1 short high intensity, 1 med med instensity, 1 long, easy intensity)..

keen to hear peoples thoughts...

Thanks.

Assuming you mean HIM, why not aim for an OD tri first?
One leg being OK, swim (?) not having done half the run leg and "halfway there" the bike(?) seems like a big ask.
You could do it next year, no doubt, but a smaller goal initially would be better IMO.

[quote name='NvrGiveUp' date='Apr 26 2009, 06:45 PM' post='452336']
hi folks
really really want to do a HM in 2010... not sure exactly how i'd get there...





Hi there, 2010 is a long way off. We are doing our first HIM on Saturday. We have been training since November, initially focussed on the swim as we were doing the Rottnest Channel Swim and then focussing more on the bike and run legs since February. This is with fulltime jobs and 4 kids.

Our training follows the path of 5 times per week but it varies on what that is. Some weeks it is 2 rides, 2 runs, 1 swim but others might be 2 swims, 1 run, 2 rides etc. We too haven't focussed on times but rather on endurance, so just making sure we can do the distance.

Enter as many tri's as you can, there are always a lot of sprint tris and usually 1 or 2 Olympic Distance. Ours was approx 5 weeks ago and gave us a clear indication that we were going to be ok even if we weren't going to break any records.

Of course next time it will be about time however for now finishing is more important.

Good Luck

I'm a bit like Tyno and always encourage shorter distance race goals for the first few years. Even an Olympic distance will be a demanding race for new-comers

However, not wanting to be a wet blanket either - yes, you could certainly complete one in 2010. It may mean you sacrifice a few other things (club racing, socialising) along the way, but it's always good to have goals.

your balance of sessions is probably about right - but it's never the same for everyone. Continuing with the generalisations however, one rough guide that's worked for a few people is to try and achieve the Ironman distance in 1 week of training. i.e. approx 4km swimming, 180-200km biking, 42-45km running in any one week.

The actual distances aren't especially important, but if you're doing an approximation of them, then proportionately you'll be getting the balance of disciplines (swim .v. bike .v. run) about right.

thanks for the replies..

ive done a couple of sprints and 1 OLY...
so would like to have a crack at the HIM in 2010... ofcourse ill be joining sprints and OLY events when race season kicks off again later this year...

my problem is i dont know how to structure my training so i can do a HIM....

Have a look at trinewbies.com for some training programmes.

Absolutely essential. Both of them. Nobody ever completed a Half Ironman before the widespread deployment of triathlon coaches and online training three or four years ago.

You should have seen what the sport was like in the 1980s and 1990s!

So many athletes drowning on the swim. Swim course shores littered with bodies on the Monday morning. Decaying, wetsuited athletes resembling a pod of stranded pygmy minke whales, ghosts of the previous day's tragedy when exhausted swimmers unable to complete the 1.9km, were repeatedly "pushed out to sea" by well-meaning swim course marshals. The fetid corpses slumped on the beach or floating with their anonymous faces submerged in the murky shallows, prompted the practice of race organisers writing race numbers on the competitors' arms. It made the mortuary's task of notifying the next of kin so much simpler.

Carnage on the bike course. Unskilled cyclists crashing into each other like lotto balls in a perspex orb. Except with more blood and cleaved bones than your local butcher shop.

Runners dropping like mayflies, thoroughly spent and exhausted, before living out the last of their brief and transient lives in a rancid pool of their own puked gatorade.

Whatever you do, don't listen to Miners. It would all end in unmitigated grief.

well i havent done an oly and will be doing busso half in 5 days time.
i had planned to do 2 oly's this season but work conspired to put me out of town just at the wrong times.
ofcourse i've done more than the distance of an oly the last two long sessions ... and i'm not expecting brilliant times... and i'll have a sign saying "dont roll me back out to sea" for when i get beached.

i think you'll be fine.

reading some of these responses, I feel I am horribly unprepared for Saturdays Busso event. At most I have managed 15km swim, 300km bike and 100km run for the month, never mind a week. I don't think I will be beached, but feel free to pick me up somewhere along the bike path.

One of the guys at work was talking to a former IM champion, his traing for the week was as follows:

Swim - 20km

Ride - 500km

Run - 60km

Now this is for a former winner so may work off some of these numbers, hope you get to your goal of competing in one of these as it is also a goal of mine in a couple of years.

Cheers SB.

full IM is a very different kettle of fish than HIM. winning is a very different aim to completing.

best of luck... u are many steps ahead of people like me who currently can only dream of doing a HIM.



hm.... yeah ... i dont think these numbers will help much at all ... comparing myself against a IM champion is abit silly.

interesting information nevertheless! thanks for that..

I went from pretty much nothing to doing a Half Ironman last year. The best advice i ca give you is to GET A COACH! I can't stress this enough. I doubt i would have finished without my coach. He writes me a speicfic program, talks to me about nutrition, sleep and stretching. I get a swim squad, a track session and a cycle squad each week. He re-assesses my program, measures my progress and assesses my goals. Really, it was a vital part of me achieveing my goal.

The other thing is to commit! Sign up for it then you train out of fear.

Feel free to message me.

My hubby did Nepean Triathlon (1/30/10) in November 2007 and then did Ironman in April 2008 finishing in under 12 hours.

He didn't have a coach but trained with other members of our tri club who were also doing Ironman.

He did a few key races in between - Canberra HIM and Husky LC - and has since done 2 more Ironman distance races.

No a coach is not essential. Get as much information as you can and find some like minded souls to train with.

Don't let anyone tell you that doing a HIM in 2010 is not possible.

Cheers

kb

Brick sessions - running off the bike. It is the weirdest feeling. Just after your long rides chuck on your shoes and go for a run. Anything, just get used to the feeling.

How do you get to do a HIM in 2010?? Miss out on Noosa entry and you end up entering one in 2009 instead! Worked for me

YOU were the most vital part of reaching/smashing your goals Meg

Best advice I can give is take your training seriously and make sure you do the distances, whether it's with a coach or by yourself. I had a coach but didn't take it seriously enough and I struggled to finish a HIM last year. Having done that though, I have learnt from my mistakes and am determined to give them another go in the next 6-8 months.

I agree with kb that a coach is not essential. Personally, the coach/program thing was too strict for me, my life can be very unpredictable - with 3 kids, demanding job, part time uni and lots of travel time, it was just too hard to stick to it. But now I know what sessions I have to do, I do them when I can and it is working out really well.

Good luck and believe in yourself that it is entirely possible!!