Multisport Magazine Issue 27 | Page 25

PURE PERFORMANCE | BIKE On the Sunday the ride was a hard group session of three to four hours. It hurt, as I was fatigued from the day before, but that was the idea. It would help me prepare to push hard in the last half of the ride during the race when I started to become fatigued. There's no run on this day, but sometimes an optional 2K swim in the afternoon was possible. The key to the success of the program is fitting the long run in on the Thursday. You need to wake early on Thursday morning and run for between two and 2.5 hours, go home and have a quick stretch, have your food and drink ready to go and replenish yourself while you drive to work. It is not ideal, but the reality is this is the only way to fit everything in. Friday was always a rest day (or maybe a long, slow swim) to prepare for the weekend rides. Try to fit most of your swimming and running into the weekdays, leaving you free to ride on the weekend. The program is really only sustainable for a six-week period as it won't be long before your family and friends begin to disown you for not socializing on the weekends. So use it only when getting ready for your big Ironman event of the year. "The hardest part for most people who are training for an Ironman is getting in the required mileage on the bike. This is especially true when most athletes are working full-time and have friends and families to keep happy." Sample Program Monday Swim, turbo session (easy) Tuesday Tempo/hill run, swim Wednesday Turbo session (hard intervals), easy run Thursday Long run - 2 to 2.5 hours Friday Off or long, slow swim Saturday Bike: Odd weeks: 3 to 4 hours hard, transition run 30 to 45 mins Even weeks: 5 to 7 hours easy, transition run 20 to 40 mins Sunday Bike: Odd weeks: 5 to 7 hours easy Even weeks: 3 to 4 hours hard J UN E 9 + 1 0 , 20 1 8   SY DN E Y , AUSTRALIA WWW.OCRWC.COM MULTISPORT MAGAZINE | 25