How much time do I need to train for an IRONMAN?
2021 is on the horizon and things are looking promising! Vaccines are starting to roll out and within a few months time, the likelihood of an amazing 2021 season is looking more and more likely. Perhaps it has got you thinking: ‘I’m really motivated this year and I want to push myself – I think I might do an Ironman!” but you aren’t sure how much time it will demand of you. Here, Coach Alan helps to answer that question.
How much time does it take to train to confidently complete an IRONMAN or Long Distance Triathlon? Firstly, we have to look at the demands of the distance:
Swim 3.8k > Bike 112miles > Run 26.2miles
The distance demands that we are able to maintain an efficient aerobic effort for between 7.5 and 16 hours. But in truth race day is the easy part. Completing the training required for these distances to feel achievable is really tricky on a training-time budget. It has been shown repeatedly that the accumulation of training stress or load is a significant predictor of race performance. It isn’t the only one and things aren’t that simple but for the sake of this article lets go with it. A range of CTL* values can be targeted and the bottom end of this range would be 85 CTL point.
*CTL or Chronic Training Load is a rolling average of the daily training stress score normally over the last 42 days used by Training Peaks
We can use this CTL value to understand how much training stress you may need per day. A CTL Target of 85 equates to a total of 85 x 42 = 3570TSS over 6 weeks (42 days). We can subsequently work out that on average, an athlete would need to accumulate 595TSS points per week or 99points per day over a six-day training week with one rest day.
99TSS points equate to 1hr40 of aerobic effort. Multiplying this by six gives us an average training week of 10 aerobic hours. That is;
Week 1 - 10hrs
Week 2 - 10hrs
Week 3 - 10hrs
Week 4 - 10hrs
But in reality, probably looks like;
Week 1 - 6hrs
Week 2 - 10hrs
Week 3 - 12hrs
Week 4 - 12hrs
Although it is feasible, it would be incomplete of me to not mention the fact that your individual starting point as an athlete has a huge impact on the usefulness of these calculations. Data needs to be interpreted through the lens of the ‘real world’! Depending on if you are an athlete who currently rides for only an hour or two of a weekend or if you are an athlete who regularly rides for 3 - 4 hours at a weekend has a huge impact on the realism of these numbers. Clearly to race a long-distance event, doesn’t mean you start at 10 hours per week for 6 weeks – you are asking for an injury that way! You have to work out the plan for you. The longer you leave it to build up to that magic 85 the stronger you will be.
The second question is: “What do you with those 10hrs?” Firstly, recognise that not every week needs to be the same. Some weeks could be 8hrs and more swimming focussed and others it could be 14hours and more cycling focussed. Key sessions will need to be ticked off and there is no avoiding that these will take up some time! For example, here are some key workouts:
Swim – Key Open Water Endurance Session. A continuous 1 - 1.5hr swim.
Bike – 5hr Ride with focussed work at race pace there is no need to be out there for hours and hours. Effective training across disciplines can trump the psychological benefits of doing a 6 - 7hr confidence ride.
Run – 2hr Run the minimum duration of run to practice time on your feet. This can and should include race pace intervals you can run repeats of 9min on 1min off for example.
I’d also add that at least one longer run done whilst carrying significant fatigue can be beneficial to specifically prepare for race day. (This means running for (say) 90 mins after a 3-4 hour bike ride.)
All of that adds up to a possible peak week of 8.5hr in just three training sessions! How can you possibly fit everything in with only 1.5hr to spare after only three sessions? The trick is to rotate discipline focus with different weeks. Weighting your weeks more heavily with certain disciplines allows you to make gradual consistent progress in load across the board and also likely helps you to manage fatigue from how you spend the rest of your time (likely working or with a busy family life all of which is tiring too!).
Week 1 - Swimming with a slight reduction in load on legs, this week is active recovery rather than completely off
Week 2 - Weakest Discipline whilst you are fresh, more intensity than weeks 3 and 4
Week 3 - Cycling Focussed
Week 4 - Run Focussed
As the saying goes “Anything is possible” but it really does depend on where you are now, how patiently you can apply yourself and what your expectations are on race day.
Normally, my stock answer on this would be that 12 - 15hrs a week can get you near to your potential but it has to be remembered that this too is an average: some weeks will be less and some will be more as I have illustrated above. If you want to pin to me to a number for the sake of a snapshot answer its 12.
Yet all of this means you are only physically prepared to survive the race, whether or not you have the required skills, experience or psychological attributes to reach the finish line is a whole different question.
After all, highly experienced aerobically fit athletes from other sports can cross over to triathlon and complete an IRONMAN but they bring a whole host of skills with them. It would be remiss of me not to point out that some of the best value a coach can add to a training programme is how to make a programme fit into your lifestyle. If you have limited time, but want the maximum gains from your training time, it is always best to work with someone who can show you how to use your time efficiently and help you make your race day a lot more comfortable!
Good luck!
Alan has worked with Tri Training Harder since 2014. During this time working with a wide spectrum of athletes from beginner, to youth and junior elite athletes through to 70.3 and Ironman AG winners and Ironman Kona Qualifiers.
An active Triathlon coach since 2007 Alan has been fortunate enough to work with athletes, peers and support staff who have continutally challenged him to evolve and develop. Building on a solid foundation in swimming teaching, Alan has specifically developed swimming coaching experience having worked in High Performance Swimming environments. Alan's other passion is all things fast on a bicycle!
Since 2015 Alan has worked in conjunction with the other Tri Training Harder Coaches to significantly develop collective coaching practice both on camp and online.
Visit Alan's
Coach profile
We’re here to help
Tri Training Harder are one of the leading Triathlon coaching providers in the UK, using our wealth of experience to unite scientific and technological research with already well-established and successful best practices, to create a formula for triathlon and endurance coaching that works.
The result is an honest, dynamic yet simple new way of constructing an athlete’s training to allow them to reach their potential.
If you’re planning your next season, just starting out in the sport or are looking for extra guidance at the very top end of the field, we are here to help, and our coaches would be delighted to hear from you. You can contact us via the website and one of the team will be in touch.