IRONMAN

ultraman1

A question for d ironmen/women.How long would it take for someone(me) to get up to the swimmig standard required to finish an IM well.i dont do much swimming at the moment just splashing after a run.i have a preliminary target of nxt years IM at courtown..tanks

Izoard

Ultra,

I'm in the same boat, but having a crack at the full Eireman this year.
I did the Ireman (half) last year and did a max of 2,250m in the pool prior.

However, I was with a swim coach during the week and she said I needed to be getting up to 6,000m sessions!!!

My original plan had been to take a marathon-type approach (i.e. build up to 80% of the distance-3,250m or so, prior), but 6,000m sessions seem excessive, given my "just get around" focus.

I'd be interested to hear input from the main IM characters....

Abhainn

Heh ultraman, may I recommend "be Iron fit" by Don Fink which I am currently reading.
It details 30 weeks programs for Just Finish , Intermediate and Competitive based on training time available.
The greatest straight swim distance in a session is 3k for the first 2 while 3.5 k for the last.
I did up to 2.5k for the couple of tris I did last year but I suppose it all depends on how well you want to finish.

Hoping to do the the half IM in Courttown this year me self.

911sc

+1 for "be iron Fit". Great book.

May have a go at half IM either Ireman or Eireman.
So far my choice goes to Ireman simply because this event is not new and teething issues must have been ironed out by now (well hopefully, as i don't see myself climb rocks in the middle of the swim:eek:).
Having said that, Eireman is on closed road which is very appealing.

tunney

911sc wrote: »

+1 for "be iron Fit". Great book.

May have a go at half IM either Ireman or Eireman.
So far my choice goes to Ireman simply because this event is not new and teething issues must have been ironed out by now (well hopefully, as i don't see myself climb rocks in the middle of the swim:eek:).
Having said that, Eireman is on closed road which is very appealing.

Usually I'd agree with your comments on old versus new events but the route in Eireman is vastly superior to the Ireman one.

I've ridden and run both.
On the bike Ireman has busy open roads with major roundabouts and busy towns on the bike course. Eireman has the N11 (which rolls very nicely down that way).
On the run Ireman has rock pools, bogs and broken ground. Eireman has roads and trails.

If I was picking I'd go Eireman.

Izoard

tunney wrote: »

On the run Ireman has rock pools, bogs and broken ground. Eireman has roads and trails.

+ 1 on this.

While I enjoyed Ireman, the run was *very* tough, and there is no way I could contemplate a marathon on that course.

The swim appeared to be much better last year (no rocks!), although a number of people reckoned it was well over 2km.

As Irish long-distance goes, Eireman looks the best bet from a course perspective.

transport747

As the swim is the first discipline it is vital to give it a lot of attention. I feel it is important to cover the the full 3.8km in training or you might not get the chance to see the bike or run course. I noticed a few swimmers being pulled from the water over the years as I tend to be in the last wave to start. The sea in Barcelona was so rough the day before and after race day that I would not have finished. For this reason I say you can't [as such] do too much swimming unless it is at a cost to your cycle and run.

shotgunmcos

Izoard wrote: »

but 6,000m sessions seem excessive, given my "just get around" focus.

I'd be interested to hear input from the main IM characters....

The max I swam in any one session in the lead up to Roth was 4.2k pool set or a 4k straight OW swim.

6K would be overcompensating in a good way. As in your swim fitness would be high enough to get through the swim section very comfortably.

However building up to a 6k swim would more than likely sacrifice too much time vs the time required on the saddle for a rookie IMer. That of course is all relative. Its all about how much time you can give to training per week.

My training split for the 3 disciplines in the 3 months before the event was 16% swimming, 46% cycling and 31% running, the rest core

The winter split was 20%/35%/38% and the rest core

As it turned out in the IM event itself I spent 10% swimming, 50% on the bike and 40% on the run


Ultraman, if swimming is the main concern then my 2c would be build up to 3.5-4k set in the pool after the winter and then do your long swims in the wetsuit when the water is warm enough in May or so

So the stepping stone would be to hit 3.5 or even 3.8k in a pool There is a certain confidence boost that arrives with putting down 3.8k in the pool...

A smaller stepping stone is getting to 1km, then 2km.

You have lots of time so being able to do 2.5k sets by next winter would put you in a good spot

RacoonQueen

3 year old thread... :pac:

shotgunmcos

ah well, might be a plan for you so

Izoard

RacoonQueen wrote: »

3 year old thread... :pac:

True....but ultraman's immediate "thanks", suggests he's still plotting IM glory after 3 long years in the wilderness:)

ultraman1

Izoard wrote: »

True....but ultraman's immediate "thanks", suggests he's still plotting IM glory after 3 long years in the wilderness:)

was gonna have the time 3 yrs ago to do it,but decided to keep the wife and kids....and u dont ignore the legend that is Mcos(first man to welcome me to boards by calling me lazy)and u need at least 6 yrs to plan anything properly

911sc

RacoonQueen wrote: »

3 year old thread... :pac:

and we are all 3 years older, but still swimming,cycling and running:)

Interesting to read what we posted at the time.
As far IM/HIM is concerned, i just did Eireman IM and Galway 70.3IM.
I must be the laziest boardsy.
Plan this year to do Athy double olympic and Galway 70.3 again.