Being an overtrained-ironman is so common that most first-time ironmen often leave their best effort out on their bike or run course back home. In some case they even leave much of their energy on parts of the Ironman course just days before the race is to take place.

An overtrained-ironman is usually in for a long day out on the course when Ironman day arrives. Usually about half or three-quarters of the way into the bike the first signs of an energy crash or “bonk” begin to surface. Once the energy drain begins, it’s pretty well impossible to get it back. Normally that means the marathon will be a death march.

However, lets take a step back and see what line of thinking causes so many triathletes, or any athletes for that matter, to end up over-trained.

It reminds me of when I decided I wanted to be a marathoner over 35 years ago. The running craze that swept North America was still about 6 years away from really taking off. The very first Ironman race had just evolved from being a topic of conversation between John Collins and his buddies to a race around Oahu that involved less than 10 people.I started running and never wanted to stop. I thought that every time I took a day off from running, I would lose all that I had gained. One year I ran 364 days, but was married at the time and my wife said I had to take Christmas day off. Against my better judgment I did, but felt sure I would be back to square one in my training. How screwed up is that line of thinking? I simply didn’t know any better. I was one of the first athletes in the country to have an arthroscope procedure on my knee. A few years later I had the other one done. Talk about over-training.

It carried over to my first run at the Ironman in Kona in 1984. The Wednesday before the race I was out running ten miles on the “hotter than Hell” king K. highway. Talk about being an over-trained ironman. There I was burning up energy and getting dehydrated at the worst possible time.

I certainly wasn’t the only one who didn’t know any better. There were actually many people who were entered in the Ironman that year who took part in a 100 mile bike race in Kona one week before the Ironman. They thought it would be a good tune-up for the real thing.Right.

We were not the only ones who went in way over-trained. There were around 100 Japanese entered in that same race and every day right up until Ironman weekend huge packs of them would head out on the King K. Highway for a 60 or 70 mile ride in the heat of the afternoon.

Much has been learned about the importance of resting and tapering in the quarter of a century since that Ironman in Kona. Now there are coaches, books, and many experienced Ironmen to fall back on for advice and direction. Back then the Ironman was so new there was nowhere to turn for help.

Still, I can guarantee you that you can go to any Ironman race in the world and drive out on the bike and run courses in the last few days leading up to the Ironman and see people putting in a last 100 km bike ride or 10 mile run. There will even be people out there plowing through the entire swim course just days before the race. It never fails.

There are many reasons why this always happens. First of all, many people train all on their own and really have nobody to guide them as far as how to train and how and when to rest. Others do it because they have not been training as much in the past month or so and actually start feeling really good, so they figure it won’t hurt to pound out one last bike ride. In reality what they end up doing is ruining the taper effect and becoming an over-trained ironman.

Some do it because they simply can’t sit still and relax and have to find a way to get rid of all the excess energy. Actually, there is no excess energy. You will need all that you have for race-day and the more that can be saved, the better you will perform.

The ideal lead-in to the Ironman seems to be at least a four-week taper. The last of your big training weeks should be all done in the final month leading up to the four-week taper. From that point on, it seems to work best if training is cut down by 15%-20% every week until Ironman week arrives. It doesn’t mean your usual training intensity has to be lowered, but the time actually spent training should be less each week.

By the time the final week before Ironman day roles around rest should be your best friend. Try out the water where the race will be taking place, but there is no need to swim every single day of Ironman week or to swim the entire course. Maybe on Wednesday take your bike out on an easy 20 or 25 km spin and make sure everything is mechanically sound. That same day, or Thursday at the latest, you could perhaps go out on an easy 6-7 km run early in the morning before the heat of the day begins. Basically, that should be it until race day except for Saturday morning if the race is on Sunday.

Pretty well all the rest of Thursday and all of Friday should be for rest. Dave Scott was a great believer in doing a little bit on the day before the race just to keep lose for the race and get rid of any excess fluid from all that hydrating you should have been doing for the days leading up to the race.

All you need is a 10-15 minute swim and an easy 10-15 minute run. Most likely your bike will be checked in or else you could do a short 15 minute bike as well. Do 6-8 15-20 second sprints at faster than your normal training pace. Take 2 minutes in between each short sprint and swim, bike, or run easily in between each one and that will be it. Mark Allen calls them “Pick-ups,” and strongly believes in doing this the day before any race. I started to do pick-ups before 10km races, marathons, and Ironman races for the last 10 years that I raced and it worked great.

Before I learned better, I would always take the day before any race off completely. The main benefit of doing those very short sprints the day before the race is to remind your body what will be expected of it the next day. If you are “completely” inactive for days leading up to the race your body may tend to stiffen up. So there is a happy medium between over-training and being properly prepared.

It’s important to keep in mind that in the last month leading up to an Ironman there is very little you can do to make your endurance better. That is something you will not get in the last month if you do not already have it. It is simply too late. Endurance is built up over months and years, not weeks. If you can keep this in mind it will go a long way toward preventing you from becoming an over-trained ironman.

Perhaps you’ve recently finished your triathlon and you’re unhappy with your Ironman results. Perhaps you just signed up for an Ironman and you want better results. No matter what your level of triathlon experience is, these three crucial keys for the swim, the bike and the run will surely get you better results.

Get Ironman Results for the Swim: Swim With Attitude

Let’s face it – the emotions and experiences you have during the Ironman swim can significantly dictate your mental performance for the remainder of the entire race. If you put yourself into a swim position that allows you to become frustrated, you could set-up a damaging cascade of decisions that stays with you during the bike and the run. It may seem illogical, but you can find yourself riding above your goal bike pace by 1-2 miles per hour and destroying your ability to run off the bike simply because you swam 100m off course on the swim and you’re attempting to “make up time”.

So not only do you have to have an attitude during the swim that allows you to shrug off any frustrating experiences that come your way – such as getting kicked in the face, elbowed in the goggles or drafting off course – but you also need to make sure that you position yourself in the swim to decrease the chances of these events occurring. For example, you can swim to the inside of the marker buoys (most people swim to the outside), sight off stationary landmarks on shore (most people try to sight off buoys, which is much more difficult), and draft on the hips of the swimmer in front of you rather than their feet.

Make the proper swim decisions, and you’ll drastically affect your Ironman results for the rest of the race.

Get Ironman Results for the Bike: Gearing & Cadence

There’s nothing like mashing gears for 112 miles to leave your legs feeling like J-E-L-L-O for the run. But at an average Ironman event, 90% of the competitors are spinning at 60-70RPM or lower as they climb the hills. This is either the result of not knowing how to use the bike gears, not having the mental awareness to use the bike gears, or not having the correct bike gears. Don’t fool yourself – you may be able to do a sprint triathlon with a chain ring the size of Kansas and the cassette of a Tour contender, but that might come back to bite you 80 or 90 miles into the Ironman bike ride.

So in your practice rides leading up to the Ironman, attempt to ride a course that simulates your race course, and bring a cyclocomputer. Watch your cadence. It doesn’t matter whether you’re training based on heart rate, power, or “feel” – your cadence should be at least above 80RPM, and preferably 85-95RPM, even on the hills.

Get Ironman Results for the Run: Nutrition

If you’ve done Ironman before, then you know the feeling. About 6 miles into the run, each aid station becomes a blur of cookies, Coke, soup and gels – and you can’t remember what you already grabbed, why you grabbed it, how much you stuffed into your mouth, what time it is, or where your pace is at.

The truth is this: during the Ironman run you have to *own your calories*. This means that every bite of fuel that goes into your mouth is coolly calculated and stored in your mental computer that tells you exactly how much fuel you’ve consumed. There’s nothing like being doubled over with gut pain halfway through a marathon and not knowing whether it was because you ate too much, ate too little, mixed the wrong foods, or somehow grabbed a cheeseburger while you weren’t paying attention.

During your long runs, practice adding total calories consumed and maintaining a running tally of your fuel – the mind can be trained to do math during exercise, and if you do this step, your Ironman results will
rock.

With a proper swim attitude, smart bike gearing and cadence, and attentive run nutrition, you’re guaranteed to get better Ironman results.

The author, Ben Greenfield, is also the author of the highly successful Ironman training program, Ironman Triathlon Dominator.  You can click here for more information about Ben and his Ironman Triathlon Dominator Package.

When I began racing in triathlons about eight years ago, I made it a goal to finish an Ironman – the ultimate triathlon. 2.4 mile swim; 112 mile bike; 26.2 mile run. It sounded awesomely crazy. At the time, I was in law school and was studying for most of the day. Consequently, or so I thought, I couldn’t find the time to properly train for a full Ironman. In fact, the most training I could do was just enough to complete a half Ironman – not too shabby, but also not my goal. At the time, I didn’t realize the problem was in how I set up my training program, not how much time I had. The following four tips helped me on my way to becoming an Ironman:

1) Be Realistic

When I first started out in my triathlon training, I had this grand plan of training thirty hours per week, going on 100 mile bike rides every weekend, and training in each discipline (swim, bike, run) at least four times per week. With that plan in mind, I would need to double up on most days and go big on the weekends. I soon realized, however, that this type of schedule was simply unrealistic. It didn’t fit into my life schedule. I was never going to be a professional triathlete, so why would I need to train like one? This is a crucial realization for your triathlon training.

Instead of trying to accomplish unrealistic goals of winning the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, figure out how many hours per week you can devote to training. Take into account your employment, family, and social lives. Then mold your triathlon training program around the amount of hours you have identified. Anything above fifteen to eighteen hours, in the heaviest weeks, is just too much for those of us who work full time. Train smarter, not harder, is the mantra.

2) Be Specific

Because you have limited time, the key is to map out your workouts, each and every week. Be specific with respect to what you want to accomplish. Start by identifying the goal of the workout (i.e. recovery, speed, tempo, endurance, etc.). Then determine the makeup of the workout (i.e. bike 45 slow miles; or run 2 mile warm-up, 4 x 800 at 10K pace, 1 mile cool-down). Finally, determine the logistics (i.e. where you are going to perform this workout). We are much more apt to make progress when we follow a detailed plan.

3) Be Consistent

Consistent triathlon training is the key to continuing down the path toward the goals you are trying to achieve. If you can’t consistently do the workouts that you have specifically scheduled, then revise your plan. Consistently get your long runs and long bikes in every week. Everyone misses a workout now and then, of course. But if you make it a habit, then you won’t reach your goals because you will always be stagnant in your physical ability or, worse, always be catching up to where you want to be. Inconsistency leads to overtraining, which leads to injury.

4) Don’t Forget What Really Matters

Your family, your job, your happiness. These are the things that really matter in the overall scheme of things. You are never going to look back one day in the future and say, “gosh, I wish I ran an extra three miles on that day ten years ago.” There is no doubt that training for an Ironman triathlon takes a lot of time away from the people and things that you love. It is a sacrifice. So take time for your family and loved ones. Remember, you aren’t competing against anyone except yourself. Instead of running that extra three miles that you don’t really need, do the best you can with the time that you have, and be happy.

These days I am an Ironman. I am also a practicing attorney and I own a law firm. I have significantly less time now than I did in law school. But I make my triathlon training work by following the four principles outlined above when I put together my training schedule. The next question is what should go into that training schedule. But that is the subject for another Ironman training article.

author: David Marquardt

Ben Greenfield, the triathlon coach who created the hugely popular Triathlon Dominator program, focuses on getting the most gains from the least amount of time spent training.  Naturally I gravitated towards his plan when it comes to preparing for any length triathlon. We exchanged emails and a few phone calls and I really like where he is coming from with approach. As a coach I can’t train everyone and the reality is that, while my prices are a good value for what you get, not everyone can afford the cost of a personal coach. I was looking for a triathlon program that I could recommend that would allow you to get the best information in one package. Unlike many coaches, he deals with all facets of preparation including sport specific training, cross training, flexibility, daily nutrition and race nutrition.

Unlike a lot of books that talk about concepts, Ben lays out a 9 month plan to get you ready for your triathlons. While the theme is Ironman length, it is easy to tune the program for the shorter distance events. He even tells you how to do this as part of the package. Most books on training tend to overload people with information and you are left trying to figure out how to put it all together yourself. The Triathlon Dominator package takes the guess work out of the process. You are shown what to do in training, what to eat and how to approach race day.

Of particular note is how indepth he gets with daily and race nutrition. This is an area that a lot of people have confusion with so by just laying it out in an easy to follow way, Ben has made it simple for you to dial in your nutrition. He supplies you with shopping lists, menus and how to calculate how much you need. Your nutritional needs vary during the training season so he has tailored the diet to these needs. You will have a lot less trial and error and will see quicker progress. Nutrition makes up at least 50 % of your endurance performance so this is key area to get right.

By focusing on synergy he is able to guide you to good results without giving up the rest of your life. Each workout has a target to get the most out of your training without wasted time and effort. This is beneficial because you can fit it into your schedule and it gives you more time to recover compared to people doing 15-20 hours per week. Some of it is unconventional but that’s what makes it work. By increasing the workload through intensity and synergy.

In addition, Ben is really easy to reach so you can send an email to ask questions. He will get back to you quickly and is very helpful. He has a dedication to helping athletes improve their performance.

For additional information about the Triathlon Dominator training package click here.

Over my years of Ironman racing I’ve come to realize that attention to detail can have serious impact on how your Ironman race turns out.

Diet is no exception. There are lots of mistakes you can make in the final week, and during the race, that can lead to disaster.

Personally, I could never understand how people could train hard all year and stay with a proper training diet for months and then come to the race and stay in a hotel and eat restaurant food everyday. Especially in the final 2 or 3 days leading up to the race.

I’m all for supporting the restaurant industry of the host city, but usually restrict visiting restaurants to 5 or 6 days before the race and of course anytime after.

Every race I’ve ever done, including Hawaii, I made sure I had a motel with a kitchenette. My first day there I would go shopping for the week and cook all my own meals without straying from the diet I’d been on for the past 6 months.

I just can’t put into words how important this is. Its absolutely vital that when that gun goes off for the swim-start that you do not have a queasy stomach from screwing up your diet in the last few days.

Know “exactly” what your menu plan is before you even leave home. Know “exactly” what you plan to eat the day before the race and the morning of. Also know what “time” you plan to eat these meals. Personally, I always finished my last meal on race eve by 4 p.m. I always finished my race morning breakfast “3 hours” before the race start. This worked perfectly for me over and over again and I never had any sort of digestive problems when I stuck with this program.

Also, be careful at the carbo pre-race dinner. Choose your food carefully. In the later years of my career, I just stuck with salads and rolls and bottled drinks or else I didn’t go to the dinner at all.

Early in my career I had the misfortune of not paying attention and having pasta with a different looking sauce at a pre-race dinner. I didn’t realize that it was a “clam sauce” and I am allergic to shellfish. Needless to say, I became very ill and my race was ruined after training for an entire year.

So in case you feel I’m being a bit paranoid, I learned my lesson early and believe me, it never happened again. Don’t let it happen to you.

That final week, be aware of what you’re consuming.

That also applies to the race course itself. When you get to those aid stations(especially on the run)you will find cookies, oranges, power bars, power gels, grapes, chicken soup, cantaloupe and any number of things depending on the location of the race.

When you start running out of energy and feel you just can’t go on, the natural instinct is to try everything at the aid stations in search of the right combination that will make you feel better and give you some much needed energy. This is a recipe for disaster. usually the opposite happens and you just end up feeling ill, and in the worst possible scenario, can’t keep going and drop out.

My suggestion is to stick as close as possible to what you trained with. Go with what got you there. If you took power bars and gels on your bike and run training days, then stick with them.

It’s a misconception anyway that you have to keep eating all the way through the entire race. I believe the most important time to eat is at the start of the bike leg with the idea of keeping a steady balance of fuel for the entire 112 miles.

If you’ve done that, eating during the marathon isn’t really that important.

In my best ever Ironman marathon, I kept a steady pace without walking for the entire 26 miles and “never ate a thing.” All I took was 5-6 ounces of water at every aid station. That was it. My marathon time was 3:34 and I never remember feeling better out on the run course.

Ultimately, thinking through your diet leading up to the race can prevent any last minute problems, and ensure you feel great when that gun goes off.

It’s a rare somebody that straps on a pair of running shoes and finishes an Ironman without any Ironman training. It takes time and effort for a person to be ready to complete an Ironman triathlon. A lot of wasted time and energy can be avoided if the correct plan is followed and maintained prior to the race. The inevitable question then, where to get started?

Going from a beginner triathlete, even an advanced sprint or Olympic distance triathlete to an Ironman finisher can be quite a leap. Most of the time, someone who is training for his or her first Ironman overtrains because the typical advice available pushes and pushes a person to the point of overtraining. A better Ironman training schedule puts an emphasis on getting the most out of every workout, however few and far between a persons workouts are because of their schedule.

Focus On Proper Swimming Technique – You should already be aware that technique is the difference between a decent triathlete and a great triathlete. A person that has some level of fitness can trundle along, without technique, and finish a triathlon but won’t survive an Ironman. Proper swim technique, including proper hand entry and exit, breathing technique and proper kicking form not only makes a person faster but also leads to less fatigue. Essential to finishing an Ironman is coming out of the water without being overly fatigued. Investing in a professional swimming coach to watch your technique can be money well spent.

Bike Indoors For Heavens Sake – Yeah, its not as scenic or as fun but seriously, you waste SO much time setting up to ride outside every time. You can put in a lot of speed, endurance, cadence and time training on an inside bike. No weather restrictions, no traffic, very little set up time. It is also easy to monitor anything like heart rate in a controlled environment.

Bike Fitness Translates to Run Fitness – Don’t overdo your run training. Simply. It is necessary to do a good steady base run, one high intensity run and one nice long miler before the race but you don’t have to be treading marathons to get prepared. It is also essential to do a couple of mile or two runs post some of those long rides so that you can get used to the transition between the bike to run. But of course, you already know that!

Getting professional advice from trained, professional Ironman triathletes is probably the best tip anyone could give to someone starting an Ironman training program. Ben Greenfield and Kerry Sullivan are two world class Ironman triathletes that offer some of, if not the best Ironman triathlon training on the planet. Check out their recommendations at http://www.RockstarTriathlete.info

In triathlon and ironman, mental toughness is one of the key criteria for success. All competitors will make mistakes, have unfortunate or even unfair things happen (for example bad referee’s decisions and opponents’ gamesmanship) and have disappointments. That’s part of the fun! Without them, how would we grow and learn? How would we truly savour the taste of victory?

This is the first a series of articles for coaches and players/athletes, regardless of the sport you play or the level you play at, on developing Mental Toughness in sport.

Why Develop Mental Toughness in Sport?

Apart from the reasons mentioned above, being mentally tough will help us perform better under pressure, and make it more likely that we will win, or at least perform well. Also, we can often replicate the mental toughness skills in other areas of life, especially work, so that they become resources we can draw upon whenever needed. Remember, “It’s not what happens, it’s how you deal with it that counts.”

The Main Types of Disappointments in Sport

Here are some of the main types of disappointment and challenge in sport where mental toughness is useful:

1. Defeat, especially when it is unexpected
2. Poor performance and/or mistakes
3. Injury, especially long-term injury
4. Difficult relationships, for example with coaches and team-mates
5. Poor decisions by officials

The remainder of this article will touch on some tips on dealing with points 1 and 2. Future articles will deal with and expand on these, and cover points 3, 4 and 5.

Dealing With Defeat and Poor Performance

There are several approaches. Probably the simplest is to treat it as a learning experience. Often the reason athletes struggle to overcome defeat or poor performances is that they become emotional about it.

Rather than remain upset, it is more useful to step back (mentally) and ask ourselves, “what can I learn from this situation, such that if I learned it and incorporated it into future situations I would improve my performance?” If that is too difficult, the athlete can ask themselves what advice they would give someone else who was experiencing the same situation.

It is probably also useful to do some mental rehearsal, seeing themselves in that future situation doing it perfectly. The subject of mental rehearsal, a major element of successful sporting performance, will be covered in another article.

Whether you are a player, athlete or a coach. Regardless of your sport and your current standard. Find out how your can make massive improvements in your sporting performance and results.

For free resources and all the information you need, go to: http://www.WinningAtSport.com

Recovery is an essential part of any triathlon training program. Far too many triathletes do not give enough emphasis on their recovery a phase, and it is costing them considerable improvement, injury and fatigue. So I guess the real question is; what is the best way to recover? but first I’d like to look at the definition of recovery:

Recovery is the overcoming of the effects of fatigue caused by activity and restoration of the body to its full performing potential.

Active VS Passive Recovery. Which is better?

Passive recovery is mostly used for short events e.g. 100m, to replenish energy stores( PC stores). If you use a passive recovery for long events, you would eventually recover but it would take a lot longer.Therefore for Triathlon Training, an active recovery is best. The problem with a passive recovery for Triathlon, is that after training there will be a lot of metabolic by-products such as lactic acid which have built up. Active recovery maintains blood circulation which gets rid of these by-products, i.e. venous pooling (see another article posted in the recovery section for explanation) and all the other nasties. The increased oxygen that is used in active recovery is great for recovery. Also, this type of warm down includes muscle contractions which tenses the veins and capillaries to get rid of your body’s waste products.

Warm down should be at low intensity, but continuous. It should last long enough for your heart rate to lower itself to around 100beats per minute (BPM).

HOT TIP: Good Test. If your heart rate is not under 100 BPM in 5minutes then you may be training too hard or you may even be coming down with a cold. When you are unfit, it will naturally take you longer to get your heart rate down after exercise, however, if it is taking a very long time to get your heart rate down and you are not feeling the greatest this could be an indication that you need to take a day off training.

Warm down should be assisted by stretching. Stretching helps reduce muscle soreness.

For long endurance events e,g a triathlon it can take 24-48 hours for you to fully recover and get your fuel stores back to normal. This is because most, if not all of your stores will have been depleted by the event. Your recover time will depend on the intensity of the event and the length of it.

Active Recovery:

Heart rate is between 40-60% of heart rate maximum or 30-40% of Vo2 Max

Passive Recovery:

Heart rate is less than 40% of heart rate maximum or less than 30-40% of Vo2 Max