Ironman Marathons

I recently read and article by Matt Fitzgerald called "How to Nail the Ironman Marathon" you can read it here, that provided some really good insights into running the best you can at the end of a 180km ride.

Coming from an endurance background of elite competitive open water swimming, the ideas are not that far removed from what I have already done through my career, but its very interesting to see the cross over.

Matt suggests the following tips;

Get as strong as you can on the bike
Run long, but don’t run a lot
Do frequent transition runs
Don’t waste your energy on speed work
Do a metric Ironman
Don’t banquet on the bike

Strength on the bike is the most important part of running a good marathon in the Ironman. Funny that?! Pretty much it’s about making the ride fast, but as easy on your legs as possible, so it would seem logical to do this you must ride and ride and ride! I guess the aim is to ride a great 180km and get off like you haven’t done anything - fresh legs. I found it very interesting that this point has been made perfectly in 2002 by an experimental coach,

"A couple of elite Kenyan runners did the race. I’m talking about sub-2:15 marathoners. The story was that some coach had recruited these guys as a sort of experiment. Anyway, not only did the poor guinea pigs get crushed on the swim and the bike, but they also ran terribly. This unique example demonstrates that the first key to running strong in an Ironman is not pure running ability but strength on the bike."

I don’t really want to touch on it all, I would just be rehashing his words. A few things though, from my limited experience I would disagree with slightly. Run long, but not run often. I agree with running long, but I think it is important to run everyday, even if it is just a little 5km run. Now of course it depends on where you are as an athlete and if your body can take it. I guess his reasoning is the bodies’ ability to recover and deal with the breakdown. Sure if you can only run 3times a week, do so. But if you body can deal with the workload (adequately, not for a month then breakdown) then more running would make sense. Read Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner . Now I'm not saying that’s what we should all do. But if we worked on his bike, can you imagine what he would run?! Sub 3 marathons are nothing to him day in and day out. He shows your body can deal with it, if you build into it.

Speed work is pointless - completely agree. In my training for 25km open water swims I use to come in and Dean would say go 5km, 3km, 2km straight. Not time cycle I just feel it out, listen to my body and go as fast as I was able to. That’s what a long race is about; going the fastest you can for the longest time possible, not short sharp abilities to sprint.

The only other point I would like to mention is his of not banqueting on the bike. Yes don’t banquet, but you really have to be mindful of your body and what it needs. Those figures he quoted for me are too low; I know that from 25km races. Practise in training on long rides, learn what your body needs rather than going off a formula!

Just some light reading, a good little article with tips on putting together the best IM of you life!