Annual Race Planning and Strategy

By Max Wunderle

The North American Ironman season is officially underway!  The 3rd annual Ironman Arizona was held on April 13th and featured the closest 4 way finish in Ironman history with the top 4 racers all coming in within 73 seconds of each other.  The pain those guys must have put themselves through in the final miles must have truly been excruciating.  Watching the finish got me thinking about the amount of training these guys had put themselves through—especially those living in colder climate locations prepping for such an early season Ironman. 

As I started mentally backing my way into how much volume they must have been doing and when they were doing it (top Ironman males are peaking at 30-35 hrs per week) I found myself realizing that the majority of their upper base and build work had been done from about January through March.  Couple this structure with a 2.5 to 3 week taper and that gets you to race day.  While pro caliber triathletes may be able to pull off such a feat (achieving full race ready status in only 3-4 months due to very deep seeded aerobic bases they have been expanding upon for years), the vast majority of the rest of us need to incorporate much broader horizons into planning for most endurance races that last over 2 hours.

Recommendations on this topic can vary widely depending upon an individual’s goals and/or experience level.  Ironman preparation can last well over a year, while 5K planning may be pulled off in only a handful of weeks.  However, for all intents and purposes, a timeline of at least 12 weeks is needed to achieve a modest result for an event such as a half marathon.  Again, fewer weeks could be prescribed for someone in above average conditioning, and much more would be recommended for someone without a running background or in poor aerobic shape.  The 12 week framework allows us to ramp up our bodies to a satisfactory aerobic stress level, train at that level for about 2 weeks, then taper down an additional week to ensure race readiness.  This ‘ramping’ up phase is primarily based upon one’s current fitness level and adding about 10-12% more stress (time or miles of training) to each week.  This increase is applied for 3 straight weeks, then, decreased by about 25%.  The increases apply measured stress levels to break the body down, while the reduction in volume later allows the body to recover and come back stronger.  This rest period also provides the necessary recuperative time to allow the body to be stressed even further during the next build cycle.

This quick look at the concept of ‘periodization’ is overly simplified, but calls out the need for a broader planning horizon than we may be aware of.  While the above timeline and information may be applicable for an above average athlete looking to beat a friend in a half marathon wager, the beginning athlete, first timer or high performance athlete may need much more comprehensive coaching, planning and direction.  Such planning windows can get virtually exponential when discussing first time Ironman racers and/or athletes in poor health attempting marathons and the like.

So, what does all this mean?  It means that unless you have been laying down a nice aerobic foundation throughout the past several months, those plans on attempting your first marathon in July may be a bit too aggressive.  The same goes for you triathletes out there eyeing a half Iron distance event in the upcoming months.  Instead, for those of you looking at events that will take over 2 hours, you will be better served and better prepared to look at events between August 1st and December 1st.  By giving yourself the necessary time to plan your goal fitness level, better identify your success criteria and recruit the proper resources, you will be all the more mentally and physically fit to overcome any obstacle.  This is especially true for marathon season (Fall) and those athletes taking their first shot at running 26.2 miles in one shot.  Longer planning horizons also afford the opportunity to schedule milestone or ‘tune-up’ races that will only further your resolve in committing to, and being successful in, your target event.

Happy planning and happy training!

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