How to Prepare for an Ironman Properly

Get Fast Podcast, Ep 123, with Gerard and Jordan Donnelly

Preparing properly for an Ironman comes down to being strong enough to hold your pace in the back half of the day, and knowing how to ride in the right zones. Gerard Donnelly, head coach of TriVelo Coaching and a former Australian Ironman champion, says the athletes who get it right hold their pace while the field around them slows down. This episode was recorded after Ironman Australia at Port Macquarie, where Gerard says all eight TriVelo athletes achieved what they set out to do.

Why does an Ironman deserve so much respect?

It's a 3.8 km swim, a 180 km ride and then a marathon. Jordan finds that people often say they're doing one without knowing what's involved. Gerard says you can get through with poor preparation and poor execution, and he thinks most of the field does. The cost is high: it can take weeks or months to recover, and people who don't prepare and execute well can be damaged for a long time and never ride their bike again.

When someone tells Gerard they want to do an Ironman, his first move is to try to talk them out of it. He wants to know their family is on board, their work allows the training, and they're committed for the whole build. If they can convince him, he's all in.

What does holding your pace look like?

Gerard's measure for the marathon is simple. Fade 10 seconds per kilometre and you've had a good day. Pick 4:45 pace and finish at 4:55 still running, and that's outstanding. Pick 4:45 and finish at 6:20 or 6:30, and something went wrong in your preparation, your plan or your execution. Blowing out like that in the last 10 km can add half an hour to your finish time.

When Gerard won the Australian Ironman, his bike splits for each quarter were within a minute of each other, and he held his marathon pace from start to finish. Better runners couldn't hold in the last 10 km what they ran in the first 20.

"If you can hold your pace from start to finish, you'll pass hundreds of people," he says.

Why should your long rides be done on your own?

Most Ironman athletes do long endurance rides. Gerard's question is how. In a bunch of 20 mates, only the rider on the front gets full value from the ride, and you can't ride in a bunch on race day.

The bigger problem is fuel. If you're meant to ride 200 watts on your own, sitting in a bunch might cost you the equivalent of 150 watts. You burn far less fuel, so you never practise your race nutrition. Gerard calls this the make or break of most Ironman results: athletes who did all their long rides in groups are the ones who bonk on race day.

You can still keep the social side. Meet at the coffee shop, start a minute apart, ride your own session and meet up afterwards. Riding with a group that's much stronger than you can work, as long as you're holding your race power.

How do you prepare for a hilly course?

Port Macquarie had more than 2,000 metres of climbing on the bike, a hilly run and rough roads that bounced bottles out of cages. One athlete lost a bottle on a descent and had to walk back up the hill for it.

Gerard's advice:

• Train with elevation similar to your course, and on rougher country roads if your race has them.
• Check your actual climbing in TrainingPeaks instead of guessing that a ride felt hilly.
• Train in the hills even for a flat race like Busselton. Strong legs on the bike are what let you run well.
• Build hills in gradually. Get fit on the flat first, then add hill runs a bit at a time. Jordan nearly gave himself an Achilles injury going straight back to hill running after months on the flat.

How should you ride the hills on race day?

Stay out of the high zones and you'll stay out of zone one. Riders who smash the climbs have to coast or soft-pedal on the way down. TriVelo athletes kept even pressure on the pedals over the crests and rode past them. Most age groupers should spend the majority of the ride in zone two, while stronger age groupers can sit more in zone three. Training is where you learn to measure your effort in wind and on undulating roads.

What should be in place in the final months?

• Race-specific rides on your own, on out-and-back courses, holding the power you plan to race at, so you know what speed it gives you.
• Midweek sessions at or above threshold, so the same race effort turns into more speed. Gerard's example: if 200 watts gives you 30 km/h and you want 31, you need to lift your threshold.
• Nutrition practised at race intensity.
• Some big days that combine a long ride with a run.
• A swim you can complete at your pace. The bigger gains are on the bike and run, but you still need swim fitness.

If you haven't done the ideal training, your race plan needs to be more conservative.

How do you build a race plan you can trust?

Gerard says almost every athlete overestimates their first race plan. He asks athletes to send him their plan with evidence from training for every power number and pace. That usually makes them rethink. His line: "Don't get your ambition and your ability confused."

Conservative works. Gerard says he was the most conservative person in the race he won, and he endured better than everyone else. His last words to athletes before a race: have a great day, and don't forget to enjoy the experience.

Related

• How we coach Ironman athletes
• How we coach triathletes
• Real athlete results
• About Gerard Donnelly
• Apply for coaching