Q: “This summer I’ve planned two important races, a half Ironman and an IM 9 weeks later. How would you organize the training those 9 weeks? I’m thinking of something like the following. What do you think?

• 1 week recovery
• 1 transition
• 4 weeks build
• 2 weeks taper
• Race week

A: Coach Patrick: This is a great question, and a great time of year to ask it. Most folks wait until the transition is actually happening to figure out how they want to approach it…and by then it’s usually too late to change course.

First things first, I’d suggest you figure out your priorities and stand by them. Most folks say the IM is more important, but when they toe the line on HIM day, they still want to rip it up. Not a good idea if you haven’t trained to race that hard.  If your goal is to have a solid IM, you can train to use the HIM as an opportunity to test your taper and race pacing.  If your goal is to race the IM at a quality effort (as a veteran), then you will want to try and push the HIM to test your fitness.

Second thing to keep in mind is the relative intensity of your race day. If you tapered for the HIM, and then raced it hard, you’ll need up to two weeks of recovery. If you just did the HIM at IM pace as a test, you could get away w/ a little less recovery.  By recovery, I mean a week of no running, minimal cycling, and light swimming.

Third thing to keep in mind is how you will race your IM. Most folks “race” their IM events at the same intensity with which they train. Or at least they will race at that effort level if they are smart!!!  Anyway, returning to four weeks of building before a steady endurance event isn’t really that necessary.  I usually tell folks to do more race specific efforts in the last few weeks so that they are “dialed in” to their pace and how it feels. This is invaluable on race day.

Here is what I suggest, assuming you prioritized the IM but went a bit harder than planned for the half…

• Week 1: Recovery
• Week 2: Transition (2x light run, 3x swim, 3x bike)
• Week 3: Base Week, Longest Run this week (2.5 hours).
• Week 4: Base Week, Longest Bike this week (up to 135 miles).
• Week 5: Base week, include Race Simulation Brick of 112 bike / 4 run.
• Week 6: Recovery Week, test the swim / bike / run to nail down final pacing / race day zones.
• Week 7: Base Week, include longest Swim.
• Week 8: Taper
• Week 9: Race week

Good luck!!!