How many months to train for an Ironman?

[watchman]

Could someone give me an idea how many months should be used in preparation for an Ironman?

in general what is a typical week look like swim ,bike , run what days, how often ect.

what do you do in winter in Cleveland for training?

mike

[JenCollister]

It is probably different for everyone, but I can share my experience.

I trained for 9 months for Lake Placid this year, but I did it on 2 years of half-Ironman base training and three years of Olympic/Sprint training before that.

Typical week:
Monday: day off
Tuesday: swim 3000-4000 yards in morning, bike 60-90 minutes in evening
Wednesday: swim 3000-4000 yards in morning (once lake warmed up - swam 60 minutes in lake instead), lift weights at lunch, run 45-75 minutes in evening
Thursday: bike 60-90 minutes in morning, Yoga in evening
Friday: swim 3000-4000 yards in morning, lift weights at lunch, run occasionally 45 minutes in evening, but mostly off
Saturday: long brick (bike of 3-6 hours, depending on time of year, followed by 30-45 minute run)
Sunday: long run of 90-150 minutes, depending on time of year

Of course, swimming was my limiter, so we practiced that a lot. Also, there were recovery weeks where the volume/intensity was lighter. And, weight lifting went to the way side two months before the race.

Winter in Cleveland? Swim in pool, bike on trainer and run outside (even in crazy temperatures as long as there is no ice, otherwise, run on trainer).

Just my experience. I'm sure yours and others will be different.

[watchman]

I was wondering if doing sprint/Olympics for a year or two then Half I.M.
Before I go for an I.M.
I like your example

I think that will be the plan.

My goals is to do an I.M. someday but I do not want to be stupid about it
mike

[benmiralia]

I think that is a good idea. I know many people who'se first real tri was an Ironman. I think they miss out on so much by skipping a few years of international distance or even sprint distance races. There is not that much fun involved in an Ironman although the satisfaction you get from finishing is unmatched. However, the shorter races are all about fun and excitement and tearing it up on the course. I think everyone should do at least a few of these just because they are so much damned fun!

[Brandon]

I'm new to the sport and have never done an IM...but here is my $.02 on your plan. For me the toughest and most time consuming thing with moving to long course racing is my run base. I came into the sport this summer with no swim base, a good cycling base, and a moderate run base. The swimming came along fine, the cycling has further improved, my running has improved.....but not proportionate to the others.

I jumped into a HIM this year and I was hurting on the run.....big time. I'm going to focus on the HIM distance next summer as well, and am thinking about scheduling an early season marathon next spring, unless I can find a 30K to run. I don't like training indoors much, and plan to run outside in the cold as much as possible over the winter.

My winter will also include some indoor cycling to maintain fitness there, and regular swimming with hopes of becoming a more effecient swimmer, which should increase my swim splits, but more importantly save energy for the bike and run.

[MattCollister]

Trick question. It's a lifestyle choice.

[watchman]

mattcollister said:

Trick question. It's a lifestyle choice.

very good

such wisdom ....and at such a young age!

[Charlie]

In addition to the 9 months of IM training I used my off season(prep) to work on my swim tech.
I think the years spent in short and half distance teaches you how to train and how your body responds. Being able to recognize normal pain and fatigue and distinguish it from over training is a skill that takes time to develop.

[gvale]

Or you can take my approach.

Sign up for one..... that will tell you how many months you need to train.

[Aussie Rob]

I've spent all of 2007 just trying to build a base on 8 to 10 hours a week, did a sub 6 HIM in Aug, and am heading up to Wisconsin this weekend to sign up for 2008. By the time the race rolls around that will be 20 months of real training, and only now after 8 months do i feel like im ready to start slowly adding more training and stretching out the distances beyond 60-70 miles on the bike, and 10-12 mile runs. Im lucky that although im only middle of the pack speed wise in the water, i can swim a long way without feeling fatigued. At GCT i got on the bike still fresh and only then did i feel like my race was really starting.

Many would argue that im ramping up too fast, and i might be. We'll see.

[RoviChris]

One book says just 12 Weeks to be an Ironman others insist it's 12 months of training.
Depending on your body type, current fitness, background and goals both of these may be correct.
These variables make everyone's journey to IM different.

Mine was a pretty simple plan as I couldn't find the time to make it more complex.

I tried to get in at least 2 sessions of each sport /week, with an extra session if I'm focusing on a particular sport that week.

My duration for most swim, bike and run sessions was 45-60mins.
Add in a long run of 1-2 hrs, and a bike session that slowly builds from 1hr to 5hrs.
Adds up to 8-10hrs typical week with just a few more hours as the bike increases to around 3-5 hrs.

I also did 2 HIM's for experience and confidence the year of my IM.

Based on the Base, Build, Taper, Peak periods. I probably never left the Base period. All about endurance for me, with little concern for speed.

Rob, think you're very well prepared to start ramping up, but that's just my opinion.

[jetlink]

Hey Mike,

Assuming your talking about an IMNA race then that'll give you 12 months to focus on this one specific event.

So, I think that at this point you have to try and gauge what your goals are and then you can begin to put together a plan...........obviously the more aggressive your own goals are then the earlier you prolly have to start but I'd say to plan at least 3-4 months of FOCUSED effort towards this race.