The reports of average training for ironman racing peeve me to no end. Here's a quote from the article:
"But most Ironman triathletes overdo exercise, big time. Based on the research at Ironman.com:
“Triathletes train an average of seven months for the Ford Ironman World Championship. The average hours per week devoted to training for the World Championship generally fall between 18 and 22. Average training distances for the three events are: Miles per week swimming: 7 (11.3 km), miles per week biking: 232 (373.3 km), miles per week running: 48 (77.2 km).”
That’s right: the majority of Ironman triathletes training for Kona are averaging close to 3 hours per day, and as an Ironman coach and competitor, I can tell you that the training programs of other Ironman triathletes aren’t far behind – and professional triathletes train up to 4-6 hours per day with chronic cardio!"
BS. BS, and BS. I'm a top-10-percenter in the long-course triathlon world and I may -- may -- have one or two weeks of 20 hours of exercise under my belt. Average for the 6 months leading up? 8 hours per week is a good guess. Reports of truly top end amateurs, the kind who do go to Kona, are not much different. I do know one guy, with whom I've started a few workouts (never finished, as he's gone after the opening pleasantries), who may approach the numbers suggested here. He also ranked in the top 25 of all US triathletes in the 35-39 age group last year.
Pros? OK, I don't know. I don't hang out in that group. I'm still skeptical, however. Nobody, when answering a "how much do you train" or "how many hours did you bill last year" _under_ estimates the total.
Apologies for the diatribe. This has been a bee in my bonnet for some time!
I hear you. It seems to me that the sweet spot, before I start wearing out, is 60-90 minutes most days, with one long day (2-5 hours depending on discipline and training schedule). Any more than that, and I start falling apart. I'm guessing that us weekend endurance geeks hang out in a zone of between 7 and 14 hours per week, depending on the week. I think the key, however to cardiac health may be the bacon butties between sets . . .
The reports of average training for ironman racing peeve me to no end. Here's a quote from the article:
ReplyDelete"But most Ironman triathletes overdo exercise, big time. Based on the research at Ironman.com:
“Triathletes train an average of seven months for the Ford Ironman World Championship. The average hours per week devoted to training for the World Championship generally fall between 18 and 22. Average training distances for the three events are: Miles per week swimming: 7 (11.3 km), miles per week biking: 232 (373.3 km), miles per week running: 48 (77.2 km).”
That’s right: the majority of Ironman triathletes training for Kona are averaging close to 3 hours per day, and as an Ironman coach and competitor, I can tell you that the training programs of other Ironman triathletes aren’t far behind – and professional triathletes train up to 4-6 hours per day with chronic cardio!"
BS. BS, and BS. I'm a top-10-percenter in the long-course triathlon world and I may -- may -- have one or two weeks of 20 hours of exercise under my belt. Average for the 6 months leading up? 8 hours per week is a good guess. Reports of truly top end amateurs, the kind who do go to Kona, are not much different. I do know one guy, with whom I've started a few workouts (never finished, as he's gone after the opening pleasantries), who may approach the numbers suggested here. He also ranked in the top 25 of all US triathletes in the 35-39 age group last year.
Pros? OK, I don't know. I don't hang out in that group. I'm still skeptical, however. Nobody, when answering a "how much do you train" or "how many hours did you bill last year" _under_ estimates the total.
Apologies for the diatribe. This has been a bee in my bonnet for some time!
I hear you. It seems to me that the sweet spot, before I start wearing out, is 60-90 minutes most days, with one long day (2-5 hours depending on discipline and training schedule). Any more than that, and I start falling apart. I'm guessing that us weekend endurance geeks hang out in a zone of between 7 and 14 hours per week, depending on the week. I think the key, however to cardiac health may be the bacon butties between sets . . .
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