What is involved in training for an Ironman?

Before a decision is made weather or not to do an Ironman, one must research the level and quantity of training that will be needed to be able to complete such a challenging event. What I found back in December of 2006 (notice more than 1.5 years before my event date of July 2008) is I did not have even enough base endurance training to even start the beginner's Ironman training. So I decided I would do some base training and get a few smaller Triathlons under my belt before beginning my Ironman training. I started a plan to use 5 months to build on my base...which left me 1 month to rest/recover before starting my Ironman training (this is where I am at now).

I found a good (I hope) program to follow at BeginnerTriathlete.com. The problem (for me) with this program is it does not address my 2 key problems (100lbs of spare tire that I carry with me and my base is still just not where it needs to be yet). From all the reading I have done and out of all the programs I have looked at, this seems to be one of the better programs for beginner Triathletes, but I need to include some Core Body workouts and some Weight Training so I have decided modify it.

To account for the lack of base conditioning, I will repeat a 24 week version (the original is only 20 weeks) of the program twice with a 4 week recovery period in the middle. I will repeat the first 4 weeks both times through the program, in order to achieve my desired training length of 24 weeks.

"Why take a recovery period?" I hear you asking. This type of training program is called periodization and in periodization training it appears your body stops improving after about 5 to 6 months of training and you need to take some time to recover before starting another cycle (at least this is what I have read).

Also to address my "Over Weight" or "Obese" condition I will need to include some weight training. Weight training is one of the keys to losing (so says everything I read). So I will need to work in some core body and weight training. (I will do most of this "additional" training during my first periodization) I currently don't have a program to follow on this subject, so I have just put together my own routine until I can finish doing my homework one the subject.

So a brief overview of the schedule is as follows

24 Week Periodization #1
--8 Weeks Prep
--4 Weeks Base 1
--4 Weeks Base 2
--5 Weeks Base 3
--3 Weeks Taper

4 Week Recovery
--4 Weeks of easy short workouts

24 Week Periodization #2
--8 Weeks Prep
--4 Weeks Base 1
--4 Weeks Base 2
--5 Weeks Base 3
--2 Weeks Taper
--1 Ironman USA event week

Why would you want to train for an Ironman?

"Why would you want to train for an Ironman?" you might ask.

Well the "Why" now that is a long story....

For those who don't want the long answer:
I feel guilty that some how or in some way I lied to my wife and now I need to fix that. So in short I LOVE MY WIFE!

For those that don't mind reading the long answer:
A long time ago, in a far away land (it does not seem that long ago)...Back in 1996, I was in Hungary (yes that nice little country in the middle of Europe). While there I was invited to a New Year's Eve party...this is where I met the girl of my dreams... Now at the time I was a lean 195 lbs and all athlete...well you know what girl can resist a young athletic funny guy...So we quickly fell head over heals for each other (at least I did for her). I finally decided she was it..."The ONE"...So I went and popped the question. She said yes! :)We came back to the states where I started school for I.S. and soon I found myself spending 12+ hours a day in-front of my monitor (Can you see the fat coming into view?)...Now fast forward to 2 years ago...I go to the doctor for a checkup (at the request of my wife) and find out that I have hypertension (High Blood Pressure)...the Doc says that is most likely due to my weight...which is up over 100 lbs from my high-school years.This made me start thinking about my weight and I started feeling guilty, for some reason I feel that some how I lied to my wife about me...that some how the fit me was a lie and the fat me is the truth and that once she said "I do" that I let the real me come out. But the fat me is the lie...the fit me is who I am. Well I have tried many diets with nothing really motivating me enough to stick to it long enough to work...

Then one day I received a letter for TNT (Team In Training). For those that don't know about Team In Training, it is a program for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society...They train you for an event (Marathon, Century Ride or Triathlon) and in turn you raise money for a good charity. I thought this is it, this is the motivation I need to stick with a program to loose weight. So I thought about it for a few days and figured the bicycling would be the best to start with...It should be easy on my joints. So I brought it up the my wife..She said "What ride 100 miles on a bike, in ONE day?...Your Crazy!" Well the next week I signed up, bought a road bike and started training.

By the time the event came up in mid November, I had lost 15 lbs and 3" off my waist...This is no where near the 85+ lbs I had hoped to lose so I could consider myself to be "fit". Then over the Christmas Holiday, I met up with an old friend, she was telling us that she had just finished an Ironman and I instantly thought now there is a goal, a challenge, and something I can do, if I commit to the training. So I got back on my computer and started looking into the sport of Triathlons. I talked to her a few more times while her brother was around. Well the brother decided he would like to do an Ironman too (can't be out done by the little sister)...So by New Year's Eve, we had decided to do an Ironman together...Ironman USA (Lake Placid, NY) Oh and by the way Ironman USA is no ordinary Ironman it is one of the more challenging courses...it has more climbing than most of the other events.

So I am doing an Ironman not for the sake of doing an Ironman but instead for the journey...I am doing an Ironman to prove (to myself) I did not lie to my wife...I am doing an Ironman because for some reason it symbolizes (to me) the love and commitment I have towards my wife...I am doing this because I LOVE MY WIFE!

Will I lose 70+ lbs? Will I be able to be so committed to one HUGH goal? Will I finish something that less than 1% of the population will even attempt, much less accomplish?I hope this was not too long...

Thanks for your support!

What is an IRONMAN and why all the HYPE?

"Why all of this for one event?" you ask! Well the event is no everyday event it is an IRONMAN, which is "The" triathlon. A triathlon is one event that combines 3 sports, swimming, bicycling, and running. And the IRONMAN takes each sport to its epic length. By "EPIC" length I mean the longest event commonly found in events. Take running for example you have 5k Events, 10k Events & etc. well at the top of the list you have a Marathon, which 26.2 miles (about a 42k if your counting). The IRONMAN includes a Marathon run! This makes the IRONMAN one of the hardest endurance events in the world...

An IRONMAN is a:
2.4 mile swim (a long way to swim)
112.0 mile bike (a century ride +12%)
+ 26.2 mile run (a marathon)
140.6 –Total Miles

Think of it in these terms:
-Milwaukee to Chicago: 92 miles
-New York, NY to Philadelphia, PA: 94 miles
-Long Beach, CA to San Diego, CA: 113 miles
-Atlanta, GA to Birmingham, AL: 140 miles

140.6 miles under your own power...no gasoline, batteries NOT included, no car pool, no bus ticket...just your own mind, body, and spirit...and the prayer that will be enough.

Here are a few videos to give you a better understanding of what this is all about:

My current favorite:


Another good one:


I hope you stop by often...This site will be updated regularly.