Mapping Out the Rest of 2015 to Ironman Hawaii (A Rough Outline)
Kona 2015 Planning
Goals are to have a truly complete race. This is the first time I will be on the island to acclimate to the conditions (usually arrive just 2-3 days prior), so excited to see what that brings. Plus the family gets to go, and that’s what it’s all about.
Experience has shown me that the run really matters in Kona…a good bike is nice but the run is where it’s at. I have done all kinds of bikes there, but my runs have always been sub-par. Much of this comes down to better execution, but that’s not something I need to focus on right now (although I am pumped to try the new aid station methodology you all helped me with and worked for me in TX).
For my training I will start with run durability and return to the split long runs that have helped me in the past. I will continue to push the steady work as it’s good for me, but I will be incorporating some more run strides as I feel my overall form has fallen off a bit. The broader goal will be to prepare for a bigger run block in September heading in to the final weeks pre Kona. I was about 40 miles per week before TX and I’d like to be at 45 per week for HI including a peak week of 50 miles.
To set up the run I will need excellent bike execution and swim fitness.
First and foremost is the swim so I am in a better group. I typically swim a 1:10 which isn’t terrible there but it does put me in a big bike group (non-swimmers who seek revenge on the bike). Without a doubt the biggest improvement I could possibly have is on the swim. Kona is a one-loop, non-wetsuit ocean swim with a mass start. Not only do I not swim well with others, but the ocean and non-wetsuit set up hurt me as well. I basically have 18 weeks to develop a solid open water swim stroke. I plan on revisiting Mike Robert’s swim thread to plan something out…in fact I might put him to work helping me out. 
I have learned tons on the bike, and I think I can have a really good split out there (bike wise) with a couple of key changes as I continue to improve riding steady and managing my nutrition. I think a critical aspect this year will be developing the ability to ride at 85% for key sections of a longer ride, and still recover. On the Kona course there is the climb to Hawi, the climb back to the Queen K, and then the Scenic Overlook…all three of these climbs are sustained and required a good effort (not too hard) but one that I can sustain.
My real focus is on Hawi, and in particular being able to stay on the watts both up and down (this seems to separate most of the race). All in this is 14 miles…7 up and 7 down; call it about 45 minutes of solid work to be safe. I will be working this into my “HI Block 2” bike rides from the 1:45 to 2:30 marks. I also need to decide what to do with my gearing. I currently have a 54/42 on the front with an 11-28 in the rear….I can fly on the downs / flats and in the tailwind…but with the few critical climbs it might be nice to have an easier gear to spin with…not sure If I should go to a smaller front ring in general or just mess with the rear cluster. I kind of am used to the rear…but not sure I can mess with the QXL rings either…any input here welcome.
HI Block 1 (June, 5 wks) = Run durability, Bike FTP, and Swim Re-Entry. Total volume per week will be approximately 12.25 hours outside of one bigger week at Placid Camp.
HI Block 2 (July, 4 wks) = Swim Volume / Focus (5x a week), Run 4x week @ 10miles per usual, Return to TriBike. Add Hawi Bike Focus to my longer rides, but long ride is still just 3 hours so I can keep intensity up (other than the volume of Placid week). Weekly volume will be about 16 hours a week.
HI Block 3 (August, 4 wks) = Good time to train in the heat here in RI, so make the most of it. Swim sets will move to being slightly longer (hopefully I’ll be in a place to sustain it). My split runs will be consolidated into a few long runs and my long weekly bike ride of 5 hours returns. Weekly volume will remain about 16 hours a week as the time spent swimming will shift to the bike.
HI Block 4 = (September to Race, 6 wks) = Total Tri Focus. Brick run it out. Longer swim sets. Consider a heat camp in Florida if stars align with family schedule. These will include some of my peak weeks. I estimate a few 20 hour weeks assuming I can recover enough. I rarely have this window for Kona training as I am usually coming off a July / August race and it’s more about getting my legs back vs building fitness.
I am both excited and scared about these weeks. Please feel free to post your feedback and input...and if you are Mike Roberts, time to put you swim thinking cap on!!!
Comments
Patrick, as you may know, I just did Honu, and don't have another HIM scheduled until late Sept. You summer plan helps me start to focus on what I need to do to have a great race. Your's looks good and with your experience and drive, I am confident you will rock your AG. Good luck!
Hey P, As a first timer at Kona I'm very interested so please keep us updated here! After Eagleman in 2 weeks I've been thinking of a similar buildup as yours including 3 "camp week style" weekends during weeks 15 thru 17 if I can handle it. Very interesting what you say about the run there. It's my strongest of the three but I'm now thinking about making some changes after reading your thoughts.
PS Well done in TX (no surprise)
Hey Coach,
Looks great. I really appreciate the insight into what makes a regular KQ athlete. Especially, for me, your work on the run. I'm doing IMFL, which is a few weeks after Kona, so our schedules aren't too off. Coming off of 10 weeks of bike focus (lots of sweat and tears), I too will be returning to run durability in a few weeks. After a vacation.
Re swim, my focus right now has just been on getting faster over the 100-300 distance. 3 x week @2k~ each. Exactly like the run, there are only three mechanical factors that contribute to speed: form, stride length and turnover. The best possible scenario would be that you have a glaring problem in one or more of those areas, giving you low-hanging fruit to knock off (the worst case scenario is you have perfect form and a long, powerful stroke at 85 strokes per minute - but I'll wager good $ you don't
). So, I would start by measuring all three. Take video to check form. Get a wetronome and measure stroke rate (Garmin doesn't work in short course b/c the turns ruin it - Garmin says I do 52 spm when wetronome says 65). And do a TP test to see your starting point (I like the CSS test - wu, 400 all out, rest, 200 all out - because it's easier than 1k and the pace differential between your 400 and 200 times will show where your aerobic engine is along the way - you'll want the drop-off in pace from the 200 to 400 to be 4% or less by race day).
Earlier this year, I got my TP down to 1:27/100yds eight weeks out from NZ. I then reduced my TP WKO pace every two weeks by 1 sec/100 and went into IM with a 1:24. Threw on an awesome wet suit that fits perfectly, and I did both my RR and race at 1:18-19.
I tested two weeks ago at 1:24 (PRs in both the 400 and 200, drop off of 3.8%). SPM is up from 62 (pre-NZ) to 66-68. My goal is to try and get my stroke rate up to 70 (without compromising form) and my TP to 1:20, prior to my 8-week FL build. Maybe too lofty, but it's fun setting goals and chasing numbers.
For you, if you can be at TP 1:30 (just like the Oly bike, the IM swim is tailor-made for one-hour TP effort) after the build with good volume, that translates to 1:03 in a pool or smooth open water, maybe 1:06-07 in typical Kona conditions. Depending on where you are now, a 1:27-28 TP or so would definitely give you the speed to hang with a new crowd (need sub-1:26 to go under an hour). I know you too are a goal setter and numbers chaser (like your bike 2x12s and 5x5's during your TX build), so I would definitely recommend setting up a routine that allows you to frequently see real swim data and then chase for faster. Happy to chat about my plan or brainstorm specific ideas for you. You know where I am.
Mike
"Goals are to have a truly complete race." I'm not sure what this means for you. You do describe things qualitatively, but maybe it would be a good idea to think long and hard about just what this means, and how you will know if you achieve it. Is it relative AG and/or OA placing? % relative to the average of the top five male pros? Specific actions (e.g. negative split) on the run? Conditions are so variable and unpredictable that time goals are probably not helpful, either overall or for any individual leg. But without some hard numbers to race against, even if you won't know them until it's over, you may lack the final 2-3% motivation to be satisfied at the end of the day.
As to your training plan ... IMO at this point in your career 80% of your training has already happened for this race. You are sharpening the edge now for what you've been doing since, oh, 2010 (when you broke your pelvis?) You can't cram for this; now you're basically just reviewing your notes. I hate to use this word, cause I get a little tired of Mike Reilly saying it at the start of every IM swim, but it's really all about your attitude. Commitment to quality each and every day (including rest/recovery days) of training. Commitment to dropping your ego, and letting the internal machine take over on race day. Especially on those 14 miles into and out of Hawi (my own bete noire as well.)
a. You’re right about the run being where it’s at for you (and pretty much anyone doing the race, except former cycling pros). If I had to goal-set, the best case scenario is for you to have the kind of run in Kona that you have in other cooler (or condition-neutral) races. So, the single impediment to that is running in the heat. Not even “running in the heat after riding in the heat;” just “running in the heat.” Show up as lean as possible and as fit as possible, and you have addressed two of the biggies. And nail the acclimatization with 10-12 consecutive days of training in the heat, and full-on living in the heat (no AC in the condo; no AC in the car, etc) but not more. If you won’t be on the island that long , make your immediate pre-departure days heat-like with indoor treadmill running with no fan and layers, and indoor biking, no fan. But only start this stuff at two weeks out – a longer heat period isn’t going to create any deeper or superior adaptations, and will only impair the quality of the workouts. Do these as usual with an aim to the highest quality possible. The FLA work in September isn’t going to make you more acclimatized unless you are planning to go direct from FLA to HI. Just training in the heat on its own isn’t going to improve race outcomes, unless it’s directly leading up to the race.
b. I’ll leave the swim plan to Mike, but strategically, I would say the preferred way for you to go from a 1:08 to a 1:03 swim is drafting. Do a really deep dive (no pun intended) on this topic, work around with the numbers and the RPEs, and I think you might find that a swim execution that focusses on a very hard 800m start with the 1:03 guys, and then staying on feet or hips with perfect drafting at that pace (but only putting out a 1:08 effort) is where the money is going to be. So, you effectively have three swim speeds: (1) stay with the fast guys sprint speed; (2) race speed of getting pulled along in a draft, making a 1:08 effort; (3) a legitimate “hard” 1:03 effort for those moment when you get bumped off your draft, and have to get back on or find someone else. All of this is going to require a new skillset and becoming good at drafting, and very attenuated to what these paces feel like. Practice them with faster buddies, at the RR swim on course, and any upcoming camps.
c. I don’t agree with the emphasis on Hawi – I believe the real money in a “set me up for a good run” and a quicker arrival at T2 comes at Mauana Kea all the way back. At least this is where you see a lot of races start to splinter and the day really start to wear people down. As you have pointed out in the past , if you have set things up to arrive here with the ability to ride it in at steady watts in aero, you’re all set. The climb and descent from Hawi are non-events, and I believe are standouts in people’s minds and strategies only because they are ups and downs, with some greater speed variation. As for the gearing: don’t sweat it. If you wanted to get uber technical, post your wko file that shows your speed distribution from last year (windy) and the year before (calm), and look at the amount of total time you spent at 35mph+, and 40mph+. It’s probably a very brief period in the total bike split, and I would wager that the additional gear on the bike would yield a few seconds overall, and cost a good number of watts. If you wanted to get really fancy, have someone with bestbikesplit model out what kind of watts you would need to push in the descents for what kind of gains. (There’s probably a good reason why you saw Kienle, Van Hoenacker, Twislek and others coasting it out along this stretch).
As for bike training, I think whatever you can do to prep for staying in position for the return to Kona is key. Last year, my approach was to ride a big bike weekend on Labour Day, with the emphasis on flatter terrain, abp, in the aerobars no matter what for the last 2.5 hrs in each ride. I’d also include a longer pull earlier in the ride to give some effort stim of the climb, but I was mainly doing this to “front load” some riding fatigue, and prepare to ride aero while feeling the wear and tear of a tough day. As I mention, the second half is primarily on flat, nowhere-to-hide roads.
Swim- getting there early this year will give you a lot more practice in Hawaii OWS ... DONT miss the practice Hoala Swim the saturday before...
Bike- Totally agree with Dave... IMO Hawi is overrated and seems so easy compared to the return trip on the Queen K... I looked at my Hawi climb/descent combined times between 37-39 minutes for both 2013 and 2014... sure your even faster.... Agree to push a little higher watts on the climbs but not to worry about the descent... I think the key to KONA bike is staying strong the last hour or two... Of course this can be said for any IM but as you know you are pretty much absolutely guaranteed a demoralizing ridiculous headwind for that last 1-2hrs right when the heat starts to take its toll on the body! Having said all that... If your truly racing , you should google and study some of the power files from the pro's... Almost every single one of them I have looked at ,they have biked much harder on that first half than the second half... Some of that is just trying to beat the winds before they pick up and of course each other !
Run- You already handle the heat amazingly well for such a big guy.... Climatization and getting leaner than you have ever been will the ticket to success !
Mental Game .... Its already strong but start thinking about it now...
@Mike, thanks for checking in. Yes, durability in all three sports helps, but I have found that a sustainable run volume is just as good a predictor of race performance as a vDOT (and a more likely contributor). I am happy to talk to you about it. As for the swim, I am happy at about 62 spms, so I am working that up. All your stuff is pertinent for me, and I LOVE the idea of moving the threshold time down every two weeks - it’s already in my plan. Believe it or not my TP is actually 1:28…I really suck at open water swimming. So I aim for Level 1 to be 1:28 on all my swims, even the long stuff.The biggest change will be following a plan with threshold swim / endurance swim. I do very similar work all the time…excited to see what it can bring. Thanks for the push!
@Al,I appreciate that insight re goals linked to motivation. I feel like my swims have been survival, bikes have been really solid (top 10%) but then I just fade/melt on run to a 3:3x…so for me a complete race is a performance where the run is consistent no fading…but that’s not “motivational” when the shit hits the fan…I’ll have to dig into that.
@Dave, thanks for the contributions. Questions for you…on the heat workouts, you say don’t start until 2 weeks prior…you mean 2 weeks pre race or 2 weeks before my 10days in Hawaii (as in 3.5 weeks pre race)? I agree 100% on the group swimming skills…my fitness is pretty good (overall, not necessarily in the water) but I can do better with others. We have a Monday night OWS here that I will work to attend.
Re the ride from Hapuna Prince (last 33 miles), I already feel pretty strong there. In years past I have passed almost everyone here; one year I was passing the marshall on the moto as well…I feel solid on the bike here but I am riding a low-5 split with folks who are riding a 5:20-5:30…the low-5 folks are 15-20 minutes up the road here. My goal with HAWI is to be able to keep the effort up here vs defaulting to damage control…I hope to make up a few more places from my swim in this critical area, with the goal of having me in a better group for the final 33 from the Hapuna Prince.
@Tim, the Friday arrival is explicitly to make that swim (plus plenty of dig me beach time). Yes to the mental game…I will need to look at my power files for the final parts of the ride just to make sure my memory isn’t deceiving me…
Patrick - Dave is referencing the science behind heat acclimation - both what happens naturally and what can be "made" to happen. The conclusion is that about 80-90% of possible physiologic adaptations occur within the first two weeks, with 95% occurring within the first three weeks. So stuff done before three weeks out from the race has minimal value. But, the final week before you leave, you should try to do some of that heat adaptation work - running in extra layers or in the heat of mid-day if you've got it; time in the sauna; etc. It would prep your body to really start working on adaptations once it gets on the island. Remember, adaptation doesn't make things any easier - its still hot and you're still miserable. But you have a fighting chance to do well as long as you attend closely to cooling measures and hydration while biking and running.
I've posted this link before; it does provide a dated, but valid summary of evidence:
http://www.sportsci.org/encyc/heataccl/heataccl.html
Comment on this summary: he states "complete adaptation occurs within 14 days", but subsequent studies which I've heard about at the Ironman Medical Conference (held the week before Kona), which I attended three times in the 00's, refined that to the timing I reviewed above.