Image from www.andhawaii.com
For most triathletes, the Ironman World Championships in Kona represents the pinnacle of personal athletic achievement. Having endured years of hard work and sacrifice en route to qualifying, these lucky few are now faced with a daunting task: Training up (again) for an Ironman. Only this time they’ll be competing against the best in the world.
Elation quickly fades as reality sets in. After all, it’s really, really hard to get fitter in the second half of an Ironman season. After having coached many athletes through their qualifying race, then managing their recovery, and finally rebuilding their fitness for an assualt on the Big Island, these are our tips for you:
Post Qualifying Tips
Perspective
How many other times in your life will you be able to toe the line and at the end of the day say “I was XXX in the world!” The opportunity to participate in a World Championship Anything is extremely rare and unique. If you are a Kona Newbie, we recommend your first goal should be to enjoy the experience of participating in the Ironman World Championships. We would hate to see that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity tarnished by setting, and then not accomplishing, performance goals. It’s a pretty special day. Enjoy it!
Rebuilding Your Fitness
You built your fitness up to it’s peak, tapered, and raced. Now you need to recover while simultaneously beginning to train for Kona. How to manage it? This is the structure we’ve found to be most effective:
- Week after the race: Swim for recovery Monday through Wednesday, then get back on your “normal” swim routine by Friday. No running at all this week. No cycling until the weekend and then only one or two very easy rides.
- The following week: Normal swim frequency and intensity; normal bike frequency, but greatly reduced intensity and volume. Listen to your body. First run, post race, on about Thurs or Friday of this week. VERY easy, just run.
- The next week: Normal swim schedule, normal bike schedule, normal running frequency but reduced volume and intensity.
• Four weeks after the race: everything back to “normal” and you can begin rebuilding your fitness for Kona.
• With this schedule above, eight weeks is probably the minimum time required between Iron distance races for you to expect to improve on your performance.
Kona Specific Race Tips
The Swim
The one-loop, non-wetsuit ocean swim in Kona is one of the toughest in the sport. The ever-present swells and chances of choppy water can really wreak havoc with your stroke. Don’t forget the tidal current that typically pulls swimmers out, leading to a fast first half and slow second half of the swim. With swim training for one Ironman race under your belt, endurance shouldn’t be your biggest limiter. The conditions/competition in Kona require multiple pace changes as well as the ability to close strong against a potential current.
- Work on Muscular Endurance by doing medium length repeats 200s-400s with pace changes included.
- Boost your cadence by doing repeats at different speeds; a higher turnover means reduced hip drag due to a slower stroke / fatigue.
- Keep longer swims to a minimum, choosing a good 1500 TT effort over 3800 long and slow in the water.
The Bike
As anyone who looks at the bike course profile will tell you, the race doesn’t look that hard from the bike. As anyone who has done the race will tell you — that profile is the least of your worries. On top of the terrain you have the heat from the lava fields and road radiating up at you, as well as the potential for incredible wind gusts sweeping down the mountain. And don’t forget that as the day progresses, the trade winds typically shift, making the slight headwind you faced on the way to the turnaround at Hawi into a strong headwind on the way back.
- Sustained climbing at tempo effort. None of the hills in Kona are that tough, but they do require continuous pressure to keep up your speed through the body of the hill and over the top. Find hills that take 8-12′ to climb and get to work!
- Tempo Finish workouts – Kona rewards those who are able to maintain their speed in the second half of the race; practice this on your longer rides by starting conservatively and then finishing strong.
- Master your aero position. Not being able to stay aero in Kona could well be the end of your (competitve) race. Spend lots of time in your aerobars getting comfortable and prepare for the climbs and winds of race day.
The Run
The run course in Kona is a tale of two courses. You have the incredibly humid 5 miles out / 5 miles back stretch along Alii drive, and then the hot and hilly 8 miles out / 8 miles back on the Queen K to the Energy Lab. This one-two punch is usually just enough to finish off all but the most prepared.
First and foremost, being able to manage the heat is what will make (or break) your run. Dress appropriately and know what you need to do to stay cool both in the humidity and in the direct heat of the lava fields. Keeping your core body temperature and heart rate down in the early stages of the run will ensure you’ll have something left for the end when it matters. In addition:
- Re-energize your running by returning to a focus on shorter/faster efforts. This will stimulate your fast-twitch muscles (dormant for so long!) and prepare you for the hard run in Kona.
- Avoid the uber-long runs. At this stage of your season, a longer run can take 1.5 to 2 times as much recovery given your cumulative fatigue. Focus instead on 90-minute runs where you build the intensity to finish strong.
As you approach race day, remember to relax and enjoy the journey. There are few times in our lives when we can honestly say, on this day, in this sport, I competed against the best in the world. Don’t ruin the next two months – and race day – by crushing yourself. Focus on what matters and save all the hard core training for your run at qualification next year. You do want to go back, don’t you?
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Want To Learn More About Ironman Kona? Then sign up to download our 45 minute Course Talk movie where Coach Patrick walks you through the critical elements of constructing a solid race on the Big Island! Register for your FREE Kona Course Talk here.
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