Welcome to Mind Over Matter Endurance! As someone who has been teaching mathematics for 30 years, I find it fascinating to look at the rigors of Ironman training and racing into a numeric breakdown. Let's dive into the numbers that define an Ironman race and how they can guide your training.

The Ironman Breakdown

An Ironman race consists of:

• 3.8 km swim

• 180 km bike ride

• 42 km run

All to be completed within 17 hours.

Average Finish Times

The average Ironman finish time is approximately 12 hours and 35 minutes. This breaks down into:

• Swim: 1 hour 16 minutes (about 10% of the total time)

• Bike: 6 hours 25 minutes (about 50% of the total time)

• Run: 4 hours 54 minutes (about 40% of the total time)

Using these percentages, we can calculate the amount of time an average person should spend training for each discipline. For example, if you train for 10 hours a week:

• Swim: 10% of 10 hours = 1 hour

• Bike: 50% of 10 hours = 5 hours

• Run: 40% of 10 hours = 4 hours

Training Cycles

Your training should follow a structured cycle:

• Weeks 1-2: Increase training volume by 10% each week.

• Week 3: Dramatic reduction for adaptation.

This cycle repeats over 24 weeks, equating to 8 cycles of build and adaptation.

Heart Rate and Intensity

The perfect aerobic training heart rate is 180 beats per minute minus your age. Training intensity should be:

• 80% easy

• 20% hard

Swimming Metrics

• Focus on Distance Per Stroke (DPS). The mantra is "Long and strong" to maximize efficiency.

The Bike Leg: Numbers to Focus On

• Cadence: Over 70 RPM

• Heart Rate: Under 180 minus your age

• Power Output: 70% to 80% of your Functional Threshold Power (FTP)

Speed should not be your focus, as it can be the greatest killer of performance in Ironman. Focus should be around maximizing efficiency which then leads to increases in speed.

Running Metrics

• Cadence: 170-180 steps per minute

• Stride Length: Your height minus 30 cm

• Heart Rate: Under 180 minus your age

Conclusion

While all these numbers may seem confusing, they are the reason why we train. We train to maximize the power of the numbers and align all the factors so the final number showing on the clock shocks everyone but you.

You can check out the video breakdown of this post and other ironman specific videos here and also don’t forget to check out the merchandise store.

As always, train hard and train smart!

Sean