The Long IM Ride

The long ride is the cornerstone of the IM training program, which for most age groupers is typically a weekend journey of sometime epic proportions. Many people define their IM preparations by their long rides and set their race day goals and pacing around the quality and outcome of their long rides, which in theory is well and good but in practice, and in my experience, is not necessarily the case.

The purpose of the long ride is not only to build your aerobic foundation and muscular endurance, but also to prepare you specifically for the demands of the IM bike leg - a solo, 180km TT, with a marathon run to follow. I'll repeat that again, a solo, 180km TT, with a marathon run to follow. This begs the question, how well is your current long ride preparing you for that, physically, mentally and nutritionally??

Too many times I heard of people doing 180km+ training rides, in a group, with stops for drink / toilet / food along the way, averaging a great speed and thinking they can replicate that on race day - it is very rarely the case, and if they try they almost inevitably fail.

I agree that not every long ride needs to be in line with what I'm about to suggest, but the closer to the race the more valuable it is - think specificity. While training will never exactly simulate a race, we can work to plan out a long ride strategy to simulate the demands and what it feels like. Basically, you should think of the IM bike leg as made up of three parts - the first 60km which feels easy; the middle 60km which feels "real"; the final 60km which feels "tough" (or hard, if you've blown up).

Given that simple analysis of the IM bike leg, let's design a long ride on a similar basis where instead of waiting for it feel easy, real and tough, we actually change the intensity of the ride to make it feel easy, real and tough. Also, as best we can we need to replicate the non-stop nature of the IM bike leg (hard to do in suburban areas), and the solitary nature of it (notwithstanding any drafting going on).

If you have a power meter it is easy to execute the session based on known wattage ranges. Without a power meter you need to go on perceived effort and other measures - it is inexact, but will have to suffice. So for example sake, let's consider a planned 6hr long ride...here is how it could look with our strategy, and remember that this is an exercise in controlling your effort and pacing:

First 2hrs
Easy riding at a comfortable pace, easier than IM effort (or watts).

Middle 2hrs
After an easy 2hrs you should be feeling pretty good. So now let's turn up the effort a bit...there's a few ways to design this part, here's a couple:
* 2 x (40min @ IM effort / watts, then 20min @ 1/2IM effort / watts) = 2hrs (advanced)
* 4 x (25min @ IM effort / watts, then 5min easy) = 2hrs

Last 2hrs
By now you be starting to feel a little tired from the effort, but nothing you've done so far should have left you too fatigued...if it has, you've got your pacing wrong. Now is the time to crank it up, here some suggestions for how:
10-15min easy after the middle 2hrs intervals
* 6 x (3min @ 1/2IM effort / watts, then 3min at OlyDist effort / watts, then 3min @ 1/2IM effort / watts, then 1min easy) = 60min (advanced)
* 10 x (5min @ 1/2IM effort / watts, then 1min easy) = 60min (intermediate)

It's quite possible that you'll blow up in this last set, which is not too bad and will teach you more about your fitness and pacing ability. If you do feel yourself blowing up try the following changes, in order:

* Do 1/2IM effort / watts intervals of 3-5min with gradually increasing rest, but never more than 2-4min rest.
* Do IM effort / watts intervals in a similar pattern
* Just ride!!!

If you do get through the tough 60min set above - well done - and finish the ride off at IM effort / watts. This is the best time to do a short brick run off the bike - with minimal transition time - of no more than 30min, done as 15min at IM pace, 15min easy.

This long ride strategy can apply to almost all level of athlete, with perhaps the pre-requisite that you're currently doing a consistent long ride of 5hrs+ (for some it can help to think in terms of time, not kms). If you get a few of these rides done over the last 4-7 weeks pre-IM you'll be well prepared for how the IM bike leg will feel, and be familiar with how to ride it. Good luck!!