70.3 and Ironman 6 weeks apart – how to adjust?!

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  • January 16, 2023 at 2:05 am #18753
    StijnvW26
    Participant

    Hi!

    I’m aiming to finish the IM 70.3 Jönköping on July 9th, 2023, and the IM Copenhagen on August 20th, 2023. I’ve purchased the 80/20 Triathlon: 2023 Edition IRONMAN® Level 2 (Run HR and Bike Power, 7 to 16 Hours per Week), and am now looking to ensure that my 70.3 fits in nicely with the rest of the training plan. I’ve looked into the available Resources, Chapter 8, and other posts but found no exact similar question.

    I’m definitely treating it as an A-race and intend to go full in on it. My belief is that the volume of the full IM plan is enough to get me properly prepared for the 70.3. My main question is: how do I adjust for this 70.3?
    – Do I pull the training back forward 2 weeks, accounting for a taper week and rest week, or are more weeks needed to adjust?

    January 16, 2023 at 2:53 pm #18762
    leyla@8020endurance.com
    Keymaster

    If you are going all in for your 70.3 to be an A race that you wish to peak and taper for, then yes it would be advisable to have your plan end on that race day, then add the IM plan for the remaining training time till that event. Alternatively you can do the 70.3 as part of your IM training, as its 6 weeks out from your IM and that usually works quite well for a 70.3 event. If you want to race that 70.3 well though you will need to account for that with a taper and recovery period – and that will erode some of your IM training volume. So these are factors that would need to be weighed up and planned for.

    January 17, 2023 at 11:20 am #18779
    StijnvW26
    Participant

    Hi Layla,

    Thanks for your response! Sorry if I wasn’t clear: the plan I have bought is a full-distance plan, not a 70.3 plan.

    Would you then still say my full IM plan should end at the 70.3? That seems a bit odd as that plan should finish at the Full Distance event in my eyes. Instead, would adding a 1 week taper and 1 week recovery week (respectively before and after the 70.3) be sufficient, thus adding 2 weeks to the total IM plan?

    Best,
    Stijn

    February 6, 2023 at 12:46 pm #18907
    leyla@8020endurance.com
    Keymaster

    Just seeing your additional response now. I would not recommend using an Ironman plan to train for a 70.3 specifically. I would recommend using a 70.3 for your 70/3 event and then switching to an Ironman plan for your full event. They target very different intensity and volumes given that a full is double the distance of a half.

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StijnvW26