Ironman St George 70.3 is notorious for it’s hills and for it’s unpredictability. The weather is always a huge unknown, and more race days have had challenging weather than perfect weather. But the hills…. Oh, those hills. Here are some of my tips for how to train for success on this course.
Swim
Being that the race is so early in the season, many of us won’t have the opportunity to get in an OWS prior to heading to Utah. If you’re lucky enough to get in some OWS, do it! If not, longer swim session (2,500 yards, 2-3 times a week) will get you to the start line. Once you get to St George, make sure you head out to Sand Hollow to get in a practice swim. This will give you an opportunity to remember what it feels like to wrestle on a wetsuit (and to swim in it), to get a feel for the cold water, and to shake out any pre-race nerves. Definitely swim out to the island, climb on the rocks and then jump off into the water (but safely!) to burn off some of those pre-race jitters.
Bike
This bike course is legendary for its long climbs and beautiful scenery. The whole course is loaded with rolling hills but the real challenge comes at mile 40 – Snow Canyon. This is a LONG climb and it will really test your mental game and your leg endurance as you make your way to the top of the canyon. To train for this, do a few (or more) rides with LONG climbs. In Denver, we’re lucky to have several canyons to ride up (Deer Creek and Left Hand are both good ones). Long sustained climbs (20 min or longer) loaded at the end of your ride will help replicate the fatigue loading that you’ll experience on race day.
If you don’t have many chances to ride outside or if you live in a flat area, then you’ll rely on the trainer to replicate those climbs. You’ll want to do some longer trainer rides (2-3 hours) that include several 20 min efforts at 80-85% FTP of threshold HR. These will be super hard, but you’ll be thankful on race day that your legs and mind are ready.
Run
Everyone talks about the bike course, but for me, the real test was the run. The half marathon includes almost 1,200 feet of elevation gain… after climbing 3500 ft on the bike. Your legs will be tired, but if you train for it, you’ll manage pretty well. Hill repeats are good, however doing approximately 1,000 (or more) of climbing over the course of your long runs will really set you up for success. I also recommend running in the heat of the day will help you acclimate to the heat that radiates off of the completely exposed run course.
Swim
Being that the race is so early in the season, many of us won’t have the opportunity to get in an OWS prior to heading to Utah. If you’re lucky enough to get in some OWS, do it! If not, longer swim session (2,500 yards, 2-3 times a week) will get you to the start line. Once you get to St George, make sure you head out to Sand Hollow to get in a practice swim. This will give you an opportunity to remember what it feels like to wrestle on a wetsuit (and to swim in it), to get a feel for the cold water, and to shake out any pre-race nerves. Definitely swim out to the island, climb on the rocks and then jump off into the water (but safely!) to burn off some of those pre-race jitters.
Bike
This bike course is legendary for its long climbs and beautiful scenery. The whole course is loaded with rolling hills but the real challenge comes at mile 40 – Snow Canyon. This is a LONG climb and it will really test your mental game and your leg endurance as you make your way to the top of the canyon. To train for this, do a few (or more) rides with LONG climbs. In Denver, we’re lucky to have several canyons to ride up (Deer Creek and Left Hand are both good ones). Long sustained climbs (20 min or longer) loaded at the end of your ride will help replicate the fatigue loading that you’ll experience on race day.
If you don’t have many chances to ride outside or if you live in a flat area, then you’ll rely on the trainer to replicate those climbs. You’ll want to do some longer trainer rides (2-3 hours) that include several 20 min efforts at 80-85% FTP of threshold HR. These will be super hard, but you’ll be thankful on race day that your legs and mind are ready.
Run
Everyone talks about the bike course, but for me, the real test was the run. The half marathon includes almost 1,200 feet of elevation gain… after climbing 3500 ft on the bike. Your legs will be tired, but if you train for it, you’ll manage pretty well. Hill repeats are good, however doing approximately 1,000 (or more) of climbing over the course of your long runs will really set you up for success. I also recommend running in the heat of the day will help you acclimate to the heat that radiates off of the completely exposed run course.
RSS Feed
