IRONMAN UK
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Posts: 21
in General Chat
Thinking about 2008 and my 1st ironman. I want to experience a middle distance event as part of my training but due to existing commitments it looks like Cleveland in early July (I live in Yorkshire). If Ironman UK is mid August is this sufficient recovery time?
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I did the same and used it as a final kit check, fuel strategy etc. i.e. do everything in the half exactly as you plan to do in IM. You should finish the half feeling fresh (ish) and confident about the IM.
As Rixy16 says everyone is different and I think it depends upon what you are trying to achieve. I had no aspirations to speed as a dedicated back-marker and completed Ironman UK last year nearly an hour faster than my target time. I took part in two half Ironman races as the only triathlon races I did in preparation, namely the Cowman 6 weeks before Sherborne and the Belvoir race a week later. In the Cowman I made the mistake of chasing everyone I could see on the bike and fell apart completely on the run. A week later I chased no-one, my bike time was less than ten minutes slower but my run was half an hour quicker.
I used that experience to ensure that I went out on the first lap of the bike at Sherborne at a very steady pace (and noticed that I was not alone in doing this - I've never seen so many racers "taking it easy") and found that I could jog (slowly) almost all of the marathon (apart from a couple of the dreadful hills on the A30).
It probably helped that I was euphoric the whole way round as I was finally achieving an ambition that I had set myself nearly twenty years before in taking part in an Ironman. I spent the whole day with a broad grin on my face.
Anyway, I'm in again this year and hoping to enjoy the experience just as much. My advice would be not to get hung up on what everyone else is doing. My training was probably terrible; I used the London Marathon as part of my training and made it a bit tougher by running ten miles to the start yet my longest bike ride in preparation was only 56 miles. Yet after the race I had no stiffness at all in my legs and just a little lower back pain (which I was advised by the masseur during the post-race massage was down to the bike set-up and I have since rectified).
All the best to everyone planning to take part - I'll see you there
Im in Ironman UK - and just bought a new Scott Plasma to celebrate.
Trying to work out the training plan now and will complete the middle distance event in July, it seems sensible to follow an Ironman race strategy and just make sure everything works okay. At that satge it will be another training run??
See you all at Sherbourne in September