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4th March 2020 By Tri Europe

The History of Ironman – Part 1

 

There is something mystical about the idea of Ironman. The longest, toughest distance in triathlon, taking in a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 22.62-mile marathon, it is one of the hardest one-day events in the world. Those who finish earn a new, elevated status. 

 

Competing at the Ironman World Championships, which happens every year in Kona, Hawaii, is the ultimate feather in a triathlete’s cap. With extreme weather conditions ranging from blazing hot temperatures to wild crosswinds, and a sacred history behind it, it’s the big day to end all big days. 

 

The first ever Ironman started in the waters of Waikiki, Oahu, on February 18, 1978 and is now a legendary tale, which is passed down from triathlete to triathlete. The race was the final word in a debate between the swimmers, cyclists and runners in Hawaii – who was the fittest? 

 

US Navy Commander John Collins decided the only way to find out was to combine the state’s three biggest endurance races – 2.4-mile Waikiki Roughwater Swim, the 115-mile Around-Oahu Cycle Race and the 26.2-mile Honolulu Marathon. Whoever could complete all three in the fastest time would be the Ironman champion.

 

That day, 15 men started and 12 finished. Gordon Haller became the first ever Ironman champion in 11h 46m 58s. The next year, in 1979, Lyn Lemaire became the first female Ironman champion (and placed 5th overall) in 12h 55m 38s. In 1980, when ABC broadcasted the race to American homes, Ironman’s fate was sealed as legend – and the next year the race was moved to its current location of Kailua, Kona.

 

The growth of the sport and this event – now the annual World Championships – is staggering. In 2019, around 100 pros and age-group athletes competed in the event, with a cash prize of $120,000 each for the men’s and women’s winner. Jan Frodeno holds the men’s course record, which he set in 2019 in 7h 51m 13s, and Daniela Ryf scooped the women’s record in 2018 in 8h 26m 18s.

 

But it’s not just about the Pros: 2,000 age-group athletes competed in last year’s championships, for their own age-group world titles. The top five in each age group wins a coveted ‘Umeke’ trophy. In Hawaiian culture the ‘Umeke’ was often used for holding water. Water being a source of life, without water there is no life, particularly in the lava fields of Kona! Each individually carved wooden bowl is a symbol of achieving a goal that demands a tremendous amount of strength, emotion and determination. Coach Fiona won hers for her 3rd place finish in 2016 in her racing comeback four years after life-changing injuries sustained in 2012.

Ironman World Championships Podium 2016 – Coach Fiona Ford

 

Every year adds to the web of Ironman stories – everyone goes to Kona with their own personal dream. Between 1978 and now, there have been jaw-dropping moments, rattling physiological failures and tooth and nail battles to the line. These are the most iconic among them:

 

The first Ironman, 1978

Gordon Haller becomes the first Ironman ever. After ‘surviving’ the swim, coming out 20 minutes behind the leaders, he began to make his move on his steel bike and finished the second leg just 12 minutes behind. On the run, the leader John Dunbar’s team ran out of water and started supplying him with beer. When Haller caught him at 21 miles (“he looked so bad,” he told Men’s Journal) he knew he had the race in the bag and brought home the win. 

Gordon Haller on the run to his victory at the first ever Iron Man Hawaii in 1978 (image by Aarim Agaoua / CC BY-SA)

 

The Crawl, 1982

Once you have seen footage of The Crawl, you can never un-see it. Surprise front-runner Julie Moss, a kinesiology student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, collapsed just 15 feet before the finish line in front of ABC cameras and proceeded to rise and fall again and again in a desperate effort to make it to the end. While all this was happening and darkness fell, rival Kathleen McCartney, completely unaware that she was about to overtake crawling Moss, ran into first place and took the victory.

Julie Moss’s Crawl to the Finish Line (click on image for video)

 

The Iron War, 1989

Every year, Kona supporters watch in the hope of another Iron War – one of the most dramatic stories in the history of sport. The battle of their generation, Mark Allen had come to Kona six times to try and beat legend Dave Scott. The athletes were neck and neck, stride for stride and stroke for stroke for the entire race, finishing less than one minute apart and shattering the course record by 20 minutes. After five losses to six-time champion Scott, Allen finally got his win that day. 

The famous Ironwar between Mark Allen and Dave Scott (video linked to image)

 

Sign up to Dave Scott’s training camp in April and be coached by a true legend of the sport.

Fiona Ford is supporting coach at this Group Evolution Retreat

 Paula’s ‘perfect’ race, 1992

Is it possible to have a perfect IRONMAN World Championship race? Most would say it’s not. But one person, Paula Newby-Fraser, proved you could. Paula Newby-Fraser raced her own race from the front, and finished 11th place among all athletes, men and women. Her finish time was 8:55:28. She set a lot of firsts in her career. This one stood for an amazing 17-years until 2009 before someone went faster. And what cemented this accomplishment as one of the greatest in the history of IRONMAN is that her margin of victory was a massive 26-minutes and 12-seconds, the largest in what many would call the modern era of IRONMAN

Paul’s epic win in 1992, setting a World Record that stood until 2009
 
The Crawl 2.0, 1997

As Sian Welch and Wendy Ingraham entered the finish chute in the 1997 World Championships, they both collapsed – Welch due to calorie deprivation and Ingraham because of cramps. Staggering, crawling and clambering their way to the end, they finished fourth and fifth respectively. Greg Welch, Sian’s husband, who raced with Dave Scott and Mark Allen in the early decades of Ironman, is a well recognised commentator at the World Championships as well as many Ironman events globally.

 

The Crawl to the Finish Line – Sian Welch & Wendy Ingraham (1997) Video linked to image

 

Part 2 of our history of triathlon series will follow soon, with the 2000 Olympic Games Triathlon in Sydney Australia!

Filed Under: Blog, Race Reviews

4th March 2020 By Tri Europe

Sustainable Speed Training – the swim

 

Triathlon Swimming

Swim Pacing and CSS using the Pool Pace Clock

 

Filed Under: Blog, Triathlon Training Tagged With: bike, multisport, run, swim, transitions, triathlon, triathlon racing, Triathlon Training

11th May 2015 By Tri Europe

Applying performance testing data

 

Winter Training and Testing 

Fiona has coached nearly 300 individual athletes using her athlete-centric training system, over the past decade. From ITU and ETU age group athletes representing their country and making the podium, to ultra endurance athletes such as the marathon des Sables and solo English Channel swimmers, to designing a strategy for Ironman World Championship athletes and IM 70.3 World Championship contenders, to not only qualify but also present themselves to race the best in the world, in peak physical condition, with a mindset to match. Endurance and multi-sport coaching and athlete education and development are some of Fiona’s specialist areas as a coach. Yes, she also a Certified Swim Smooth coach too, however developing the swimming to be a secret weapon is only one piece of a complex matrix for any endurance athlete!

To effectively set performance goals and a training periodisation to develop an athlete’s potential, we need to use a combination of athlete and coach feedback after reviewing their season, physiology benchmarks, lab or field testing and an understanding of the requirements of the demands of the goal event/s. The scope and components of training periodisation will vary vastly from athlete to athlete and Fiona’s work as a professional coach draws upon the athlete’s data combined with current thinking and developments in endurance sport, backed by evidence and research to fully inform the planning process. Failing to plan, is planning to fail!

A number of our athletes are warm weather training at this time of year, completing their season reviews with the coach and undertaking a range of testing to gain a full picture of where they are, to inform their planning.
 
Next season’s work starts right here. Before Christmas!
 

Meet some of our athletes undertaking warm weather Winter training preparation for 2020

Eilidh Hargreaves, managed to squeeze in a November training camp in Arizona, as well as pre- and post-block lactate testing to measure how the intense programme and altitude had benefited her. From a coaching perspective, we now are armed with exact numbers to develop her programme. Over to Eilidh!
 
 
There’s nothing like blood testing at three-minute intervals to kill your phobia of needles (which was once so bad I accidentally punched an unsuspecting nurse). The main benefit from lactate testing, however, proved to be the numbers I now have to measure each and every training session. 
 
Staying within the correct heart rate zones, for example, has maximised every minute I spend training – and that has already been proven by an exceptional improvement between the first and second test, taken five weeks apart. 
 
In between, I flew out to Arizona for a whirlwind ten-day training camp, where I was lucky enough to workout alongside Olympic gold medallist Misty Hyman and the run team at Altis in Scottsdale; Ironman legend Jimmy Riccitello in Tucson; and the Hypo2 scientists 2,150 metres above sea level in Buffalo Park, Flagstaff. 
 
For the most part, it was blissfully hot and sunny, and there were a lot of athletes around (Mo Farrah spends summers in Flagstaff and Alistair Brownlee did his pre-Kona prep in Scottsdale, for starters). Arizona is the perfect place to rack up great winter training, with huge wide roads, cycle paths, run trails along canyons and mountains galore. Plus, it’s more under the radar than busy training areas like Boulder, Colorado. 
 
I am in the process of returning to triathlon after a ten year break, so the numbers in my head were completely skewed before this point. Unsurprisingly, I can no longer swim, bike and run as fast as I did when I was an elite junior. Testing and taking time to hone in on every element of my performance has armed Fiona and I with a new, accurate set of numbers to improve on.
 
I can’t wait to get my head down on the next stages of Fiona’s training plan before more testing in February. You can’t cheat a lactate test, and there’s nothing more motivational than seeing performance gains that are undeniably, scientifically proven. If you want to enquire about doing your own, I’d recommend chatting to Fiona.
 

Matthew Hogg has just returned from a week in Tenerife, working on a cycling specific block to improve muscular strength and endurance for Ironman racing in 2020. Matt finished top five at his Ironman debut and only just missed out on a World Championship qualifying slot for Kona this year, an outstanding achievement for any Ironman rookie! A cycling focus over the Autumn and Winter will add another dimension to Matt’s IM performance as one of the fastest swimmers in his age group and a super strong marathon runner (~3:00). Over to Matt!

The main benefits for this training block on the bike were excellent weather (for the most part), good roads and a huge amount of elevation. It is not possible to access this level of training and was the area that really made the difference compared to being based in the UK all Winter!

The traffic wasn’t insane and tarmac super smooth, it’s easy to see why the Pros train here! The routes and roads up the volcano were very well sign posted so could just focus on your effort and attention those hills!

Tenerife is a bit of a Mecca of cyclists so it was good seeing how I was fairing compared to others doing the same route when you pass them.

I personally like the longer hills so I can just find my ideal cadence and just get into the zone rather than the shorter, steeper ones in the UK where you have to power over them.

In 45 minutes of climbing you’re above the clouds. Can’t beat that!

Fiona also trained on the island in her build up to the London marathon this year, so that knowledge helped to maximise the location, elevation and benefits of training in Tenerife. So much so, I’m going back next season as part of a build up to peak for IMUK 2020. 

Some of the metrics we use to gauge Matt’s improvement that have guided his progression are not limited only to Functional Power Threshold (FPT) as a 20 minute test is not specific as a measure for a cyclist preparing for an all-day event in between a 1 hour swim and 3 hour marathon, unless athletes are performing the one-hour protocol test.

In the same way that elite cycling is concerned with a range of measures to improve performance (marginal gains), we measure and track power to weight (watts:kg), V02 max, fuel utilisation (rate of carbohydrates and fat) and optimal rates of recovery for each athlete.

There simply is no ‘one size fits all’ or formulaic coaching, based on predictions, rather we work from the ground up, to build the best version of each athlete that is possible. There are no limits if the athlete trusts the process, and the coach to be the main voice for advice specific to the individual. This model is a proven road to achieve extraordinary outcomes, as Fiona knows first hand.

Watch this space, 2020 will be a very exciting year for the team!

Fiona has limited availability for triathlon coaching if you are an athlete with performance ambitions in 2020, please take a look at her services and contact her directly here

 
 
 

Filed Under: Blog, Triathlon Training Tagged With: Triathlon Training

11th May 2015 By Tri Europe

Alpe D’Huez Triathlon

 

 

Review

Alpe D’Huez Triathlon, July 30 2020

2.2 km swim, 118 km bike, 20 km run

The race

A long distance course and unique location, the Alpe D’Huez triathlon stands on its own as one of the legendary races in the annual calendar. Top professionals, as well as age-groupers, flock to the mountain to compete every year, with four-time Ironman World Champion Daniela Ryf winning last year in six hours and fifteen minutes. 

Set in the middle of the French Alps, it’s as stunning as it is tough. Competitors get off to a mass start swim in Lac du Verney, in the valley of the great mountains, before attacking the famous 21 switchbacks of Alpe d’Huez on the 118 km bike. After 3,200m of ascent, the race finishes off on the run course, which sits at 1,800m altitude – more than enough to take your breath away. 

Tour de France fans will remember Lance Armstrong and Marco Pantani flying up the Alp in all but 39 minutes during one of the most brutal stages of them all. On the flip side, triathletes’ lasting memory of the race will be the run: tackling the final 20km of the day by foot, straight off what is effectively a Tour de France bike stage, is a feeling you just can’t forget. 

This is a true bucket list triathlon. Here are six ways to prepare:

 

1/ Start training six months before

While the race is in July, to prepare effectively, you’ll need to move through a number of training cycles, focusing on improving endurance, strength and recovery. To compete in the high mountains at altitude requires specific conditioning, strength and skills which are above and beyond a standard triathlon preparation.

 

2/ Attend an altitude training camp

Getting your body used to training at altitude, particularly if you have never been skiing or hiking in the high mountains, is essential. Every individual handles altitude differently, but generally speaking, effects will include a shortage of breath when exercising and less effective recovery. 

By exposing yourself to moderate altitude and training (between 1,000m and 3,000m) that you can gauge how your race day may be affected. Usually it will take athletes a week to start acclimating to altitude, with their body producing a higher count of red blood cells, but top athletes will spend up to a month in the mountains at a time. 

Consider joining our June Triathlon Europe Alpe d’Huez training week, which will be situated at altitude and specifically cover key performance areas to perform well at Alpe d’Huez Triathlon. The camp will be coached by Fiona Ford, and you can find more details HERE – June 2020 Alpe D’Huez Training Week

 

3/ Develop a strong aerobic engine 

Effectively employing targeted endurance training will help you immensely on the day. Relying on mostly glycogen driven energy systems might be ok in a sprint or Olympic distance triathlon, but is a category A mistake for this event. 

Ensure the majority of your bike training is below threshold with controlled pieces at tempo, in order to shift the lactate curve to the right and allow you to compete in events lasting 4+ hours. 

Get ready for the 21 switchbacks by practising sustained climbing to increase functional muscular strength and get used to working with gear tension on the indoor trainer, along with developing efficiency across a range of cadence values. These two strategies for the bike to assist in ascending HC (beyond categorisation) mountains. 

As you get closer to race date, gradually increase the amount of work you do at threshold, building up to the duration you’ll need to climb Alpe D’Huez (a well conditioned amateur cyclist would top it in 50+ minutes). Do this more for the short course race but sparingly if preparing for the long-course race, as you will need to be sub-threshold for much of the day over a number of alpine passes. 

 

4) Hone your open water skills

The mass swim start in this triathlon means you’ll need to get comfortable dealing with the lactate of a high pressure start, drafting effectively, working with a range of breathing patterns and integrating sighting. 

Identify a good land-based warm-up which you can do before the race begins to raise your core temperature if you are of light build. The hydro-electric dam is incredibly cold, due to its depth – despite the electricity generating turbines being switched off for the day. This body of water is entirely glacial as well as being deep, so ensure you are fully warmed up before zipping into your wetsuit.

 

5) Running strength is key

Running strength, skill and coordination over undulating and rough ground will make or break your day, as the run off the bike is essentially over ski trails. If you live at sea level, try to include lots of hill training to help deal with the higher workload required when running at 2,000m over undulating hilly terrain. 

Schedule in a training block at altitude where you can run at this elevation. This is a crucial element to prepare for, as your body will take time to get used to adapting its pace to match less oxygen intake, adjusted heart rate values and the difference in pacing. Lastly – invest in light, grippy trail shoes

 

6) Train your gut

Fuelling is an incredibly important part of the day, so you’ll need to be able to take on energy drinks (fluids, electrolytes and carbs) as well as small amounts of fuel (like bite size snacks of choice). 

If possible, try and source the products the race provides to save carrying unnecessary weight up those mountains during the race. If you have your own specialised nutrition, you will have to carry all of it! If your body adapts well to race-issue products in training, then you have saved yourself a lot of extra hassle and a much lighter set up for climbing high mountains. 

Best for:

Future Ironmen, cycling nuts and Tour de France fans. 

 

Sign up for the race at alpetriathlon.com

Prepare for the event by training at altitude and on the course – book your place on  Triathlon Europe French Alps training camp here – June 2020 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Blog, Race Reviews

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