Ironman marathon

Op competitor verscheen een zeer goed artikel van Matt Fitzgerald over ” how to nail the ironman marathon “. Hieronder heb ik de meest interessante gedachten gekopieerd. Aangaande zijn tips ben ik het wel niet met alles eens. Ik ben bv absoluut geen voorstander van meer dan 2h aan één stuk te lopen in training en denk ook dat 5 x per week lopen beter is dan 3 keer .

Lees hier het ganse artikel.

The marathon is where Ironman dreams die. It is very difficult to run a strong marathon after riding 112 hard miles. In fact, it is seldom done.

Consider the following example. At the 2008 Ironman Arizona, the fastest bike split was 4:26:12, and the 50th-fastest bike split was 4:55:24—29 minutes and 12 seconds, or 10.9 percent, slower. Compare this gap to the corresponding gap in the run. The fastest run split was 2:46:38, and the 50th-fastest run split was 3:20:22—33 minutes and 44 seconds, or a full 20 percent, slower.

As you can see, in the bike leg, the top 50 performers were bunched close together, whereas in the run they were spread out. This pattern is apparent in every Ironman. Why ? :

1. Most triathletes go too hard on the bike in Ironman races and do not save enough energy for the run. This explanation seems much more plausible than the first, but there is actually no good evidence that those athletes who produce the fastest run times in Ironman races hold back more on the bike than their fellow competitors. In fact, contrary to popular belief, elite Ironman triathletes really don’t hold back at all on the bike. 

Riding too hard can affect subsequent run performance, but fitness trumps pacing. The less fit you are, the less your run will benefit from holding back on the bike. You could go 95, 90 or 85 percent on the bike and be shot for the marathon in any case. And the fitter you are, the less pacing matters. Craig Alexander would not run a 2:35 marathon in Hawaii instead of a 2:45 if he rode the bike leg in 4:55 instead of 4:37.

2. Most triathletes just aren’t well-trained enough to run a good Ironman marathon. You start the run fatigued no matter how you pace yourself on the bike. Those who hold it together and run well simply have better Ironman-specific fitness, which enables them to run closer to their ability level despite fatigue.

With this explanation in mind, use the following tips to avoid the all-too-common scenario of running poorly in the Ironman marathon.

The inaugural Ironman Wisconsin, held in 2002, featured a novelty. A couple of elite Kenyan runners did the race. I’m talking about sub-2:15 marathoners. The story was that some coach had recruited these guys as a sort of experiment. Anyway, not only did the poor guinea pigs get crushed on the swim and the bike, but they also ran terribly. This unique example demonstrates that the first key to running strong in an Ironman is not pure running ability but strength on the bike.

It makes sense, right? Your bike fitness has to be at such a level that you can ride hard for 112 miles and still have something left for the marathon. All of the running fitness in the world won’t help you otherwise. How do you get that strong on the bike? The short answer is by putting in a ton of volume. But most of us don’t have enough time to put in the optimal number of bike miles.

Don’t log too many run miles

Do Frequent Transition Runs

Don’t Waste Energy on Speed Work

Don’t Banquet on the Bike