Total Hours: 124
This plan has been modified so the weekday training is held to no more than 90 minutes per day. The weekends have training on both days and there are a few overload weekends with long rides on both days.
This plan assumes that you have completed one of my Base modules and have established your endurance.
While the average training load is 11 hours per week, this plan is challenging because the key workouts are very specific to your needs as a Half Ironman athlete. Where appropriate, I have explained how experienced athletes can beef up the plan a bit.
Strength training is not emphasized but I have placed one strength session per week into the plan.
There is an important Half Ironman simulation workout that falls six weeks out from your goal race. You can substitute a B-, or C-, priority event for this race. An Olympic Distance race would be the most appropriate choice. If you are new to Half Ironman racing then, I believe, you will get the most benefit from following my race simulation workout that weekend.
The swimming program is focused on distance freestyle improvement with main set distance capped around 3000 meters (3300 yards). Where appropriate, I have explained how to dial the program up, or down.
The plan is appropriate for athletes racing all distances with weekly volume ranging from 8 to 13 hours per week.
Swim - up to 3,300 yards / 3,000 meters
Bike - up to 40 miles / 65 kilometers
Run - up to 10 miles / 16 kilometers
I hope you enjoy,
gordo
After purchase, your plan will be available in your own private online training log account. You'll enjoy these benefits and more:
Sample workouts:
Planned Time: 1:00:00
Pace Change 200s 12x50 all on 10s rest with this pattern • Steady • Mod-Hard • Fast • Easy +++ 4x200 Steady on 10s rest 3x200 Mod-hard on 10s rest 2x200 Fast on 10s rest 200 Max This swim can be shortened by dropping the 4x200 line. +++ Cool Down
Planned Time: 0:30:00
Lighter today.
Planned Time: 1:20:00
Warm-up with 10 minutes easy running that builds to Steady Then do 6x 75 meter Strides with walking recoveries Main Set is 6 x 10 minutes Pattern is 2/4/3/1 • Steady • Mod-Hard • Steady • Walk Moderate your fast running so that you are able to recover while running Steady, not Easy Watch how your mind will tempt you to hammer once your heart rate rises Learn how to manage your pace effectively
Planned Time: 1:00:00
Choose one (or more) of the following and insert them into your ride: • 1-3 x 8 minutes at 92-94 cadence, take 2 minutes relaxed between if you are doing more than one interval • 5-10 x 1/1/1 minutes – 1 minute left leg, 1 minute right leg, 1 minute both legs • 3-10 x 3 minutes as 30 seconds super fast cadence (keep effort/HR moderate, make sure that your hips are stable and you are not rocking wildly!), 2:30 normal cadence • 2-5 x 5/5 minutes – 5 minutes at 92-94 rpm and 5 minutes at 65-70 rpm Single leg work only done indoors. Don’t one-leg-it down the road outside. Overall, aim for a steady effort – avoid your Mod-Hard zone.
Planned Time: 1:00:00
This workout is scheduled for an hour but what counts is getting about 20-40 minutes worth of training around the bottom of your Steady Zone. I'm going to lay out a main set but the main thing is getting out the door! So if it feels like work to get started then ease into the session. You might surprise yourself once you've warmed up. Start with ten minutes of easy running. The main set is 5x8 minutes continuous: if everything goes well you'll have each eight-minute interval done slightly faster. However, I do this workout 2-3 times a week and I only get it "right" a couple times per month! So... 5x8 minutes, or 5x a distance that will take about 8 minutes. If you subscribe to my Twitter Feed (endurancecorner) then you'll see that I run laps of a local lake. For me, each lap is 1,850 meters so I can check pace. The name of the game is: Lap 1 - Easy pace Laps 2 & Laps 3 - Steady pace Laps 4 & 5 - Sit just under the top of your Mod-Hard HR zone While I track pace, I don't worry about it. In other words, you can spike your HR if you are worried. So relax, accept pace and get the work done.
Planned Time: 1:30:00
Warm Up with 10 minutes Easy cycling (10x) Alternate 30s Fast with 30s Easy 10 minutes Steady 5 minutes Easy (5x) 8 min Big Gear (65 to 75 rpm), Mod-hard effort on 2 min Recovery 5 min Easy NOTE: If you have extra time then you can extend this workout by placing 15-30 minutes of slightly easier then Steady effort/watts following the last Big Gear interval. POWER USERS: Mod-hard effort (with low cadence) should roughly equate to slightly UNDER FT power. I recommend that you stay under FTP for this session.
Planned Time: 1:00:00
This entire swim is Easy to Steady effort on 10-15s rest 2x25, 100 2x25, 200 2x25, 300 2x25, 400 2x25, 500 2x25, 350 2x25, 250 2x25, 150 Focus on relaxed swimming with three-stroke breathing. Swim can be extended by inserting “2x25, 450” immediately after the 500.
Planned Time: 3:00:00
One of the most important data points to know is your pace/power at the bottom of your Steady zone (HR/Power/Pace). Whether you choose the benchmark HR, or Power, the goal of this workout is to do the majority of the ride sitting at the bottom of your Steady zone. If you have a powermeter then I recommend that you choose a flat ride and average the bottom of your Steady power zone. Watch your heart rate, review in 20 minute intervals. What you want to see is how stable your HR is over time. This is a good benchmark of the depth of your fitness. In my own training, I will build this workout up to four hours total duration. However, the four hour main set is a bit of a special occasion! More typical is 40-120 minutes of benchmarking. As you gain fitness you can make this main set progressive, moving through the bottom/middle/top of your Steady zone to see how you tolerate increases in training load. If you don't have access to power then you will need to focus primarily on the breath markers discussed in our training zone summary. All athletes, if you make a mistake then start too easy!
Planned Time: 0:30:00
A Steady paced run. What counts is getting about 20 minutes worth of training around the bottom of your Steady Zone. You might be tempted to push the pace, not today! Stay in the bottom of your Steady zone and accept the pace that results. When I do this workout, I tend warm-up very easy for ten minutes then build into my Steady Zone for 40 minutes. I then have the option to keep it rolling or back it off and cool down with easy running.