A Real-world Summary of Kona Qualification Training
Scott G. qualifying for his first Ironman World Championships
We’ve talked before about a big-picture, general view about qualifying for Kona, but what about one real-world example? We are going to walk you through Scott G.’s Kona qualification at Ironman Arizona in November of 2021 so you can see a practical example of what we prescribed and how he was able to achieve his goal.
A Five Year Plan
Although many of you may not want to hear this, qualifying for Kona will probably be a multi-year process, taking some athletes fewer years and other athletes more. Scott started working with us in 2017, coming from a robust cycling background (he raced bikes for many years), a running background in high school and college, and no swimming background. We talked at the beginning about building his abilities over the long term and that we would start thinking about qualifying for Kona after his third year of training. In the meantime we began building for his first Ironman, Whistler, in the summer of 2017. Here were our training goals as we prepped for that first Ironman:
Swim a lot, and put a big focus on technique (too much kicking!)
Shift his cycling engine from the high-revving world of bike racing to the steady burn of long-distance triathlon
Build his run volume to necessary Ironman marathon loads without injury
Happily, the goal of any first Ironman is to finish, and although Scott had some “secret goal” ambitions (he really hoped to be under 12 hours), we knew that the goal was simply to reach the finish line. Scott did so, getting to the finish line in 11:41:53 and 42nd in his age group. An excellent first effort with the following splits:
Swim: 1:32:32
Bike: 5:49:11
Run: 4:11:50
Having set his benchmark Ironman, we set out on journey to get down to the ten hours or slightly below range so he could qualify in the M45-49 age group. Scott has a busy job and full family life, so we couldn’t aim for the traditional 20 hours/week average qualifying for Kona in the <49 men’s and women’s age groups. Here are the volumes we achieved over the next five years:
2017: 487 total hours, 97 swim, 221 bike, 144 run
2018: 486 total hours, 112 swim, 217 bike, 152 run
2019: 561 total hours, 128 swim, 250 bike, 146 run
2020 (COVID year): 654 total hours, 118 swim, 315 bike, 168 run
2021 (Qualifying year): 635 total hours, 150 swim, 275 bike, 160 run
So over the course of five years, we build total volume by 30%, from 487 hours to 635, or roughly 13:20 per week for 48 total weeks. Looking at these numbers, I would guess that maybe Scott had a qualification in him in 2020, but with all of the race cancellations we will never know.
Slow Down Less Rather Than Go Faster
Scott has certainly sped up over the course of these five years, but not hugely. The difference between his second Ironman (Arizona in 2018) and his qualifying Ironman (Arizona in 2021) was only about 15 minutes. Here are some details:
Arizona 2018
Swim: 1:25:59 (Scott’s PR for the swim), 2:00/100
Bike: 4:59:08, average power 208 average HR 138
Run: 3:42:07, average pace 8:28 average HR 136
Arizona 2021
Swim: 1:26:42, 2:03/100
Bike: 4:55:27, average power 211 average HR 136
Run: 3:28:46, average pace 8:00 average HR 137
These are pretty similar races, other than the huge difference in run times, which is what allowed Scott to qualify for Kona. I would say the swim and bike are statistically identical and within the realm of measurement error—we can’t say much about them other than the possible fact that maybe the course in 2021 was slightly faster on the bike. HOWEVER, a 30” per mile difference on the run is well outside measurement error, especially when you see that Scott’s heart rate was effectively identical on the run while going much faster. In the words of…someone, “it never gets easy, you just go faster.” I would amend that to say “you slow down less as you improve your fitness.” In 2018 Scott ran the stereotypical IM: out the gate fast, only to struggle in the second half: he averaged 8:02 for the first 1:51, and then…8:56 for the second half. Not what we are looking for. In 2021 Scott ran 7:59 for the first half and 8:02/mile for the second half, which I would describe as perfect pacing. But it wasn’t simply pacing, of course, since Scott ran the same speed in the first half in 2018. He was just at a higher level of fitness. Let’s head back to the training tape to see what was different…
October 2018
Total Swim Volume: 14:21:30 and 39,000m
Total Bike Volume: 24:31:37 and 418.6mi
Total Run Volume: 18:00:11 and 141.6mi
Total Volume: 56:53:18
October 2021
Total Swim Volume: 14:42:02 and 38,000m
Total Bike Volume: 34:16:39 and 676mi
Total Run Volume: 20:26:55 and 167mi
Total Volume: 71:46:14
Kaboom. Here we go. Almost ten additional hours of cycling (258 miles) and 2.5 hours of running (25 miles) in 2021 as compared to 2018. Before you all go and blast out huge volumes in the final month before your next Ironman, though, let’s look at the preceding months leading into those big months.
2018
July: 41 hours
August: 40 hours
September: 51 hours
2021
July: 50 hours
August: 53 hours
September: 43 hours
So everything about 2021 was more when you back it off and look at strategic volume, and that is what allowed Scott to run so well at Ironman Arizona in 2021: more bike volume which simply made the bike leg less taxing then before, allowing him to run effectively without slowing down the same way he did in 2018. “Hang on,” you might say. “What about that drop in volume in September?” Well, in a real impressive step for a triathlete, Scott took a full week off in September. Seeing that maybe he’d gotten a little tired, we figured he needed a mid-season break, so we took one. The result? PR’s at Oceanside 70.3 and then Ironman Arizona in the subsequent two months, and qualifications to two different World Championships.
Don’t Ignore Your Weaknesses…OR Your Strengths!
It would be easy to look at Scott’s swim times and think that qualification was out of reach: not many Kona-bound athletes get to the big island on 1:26 swims. I know many triathletes who would look at their improvement curves and abandon swim training. Scott hasn’t, as you can see from his historical swim volume over the past five years. With the exception of 2020, when pools were closed for long periods, he has increased his swim volume each year. It speaks volumes about him that he’s been willing to go along with that while seeing relatively stagnant times (1:32 in 2017 to 1:26 in 2021 is not the kind of improvement upon which coaching empires are built). We believe, though, that Scott’s economy has improved in the water, allowing him to ride and run with less fatigue. How can we prove that? Well, we can look at his pool times. In 2018, a 4000m swim would take Scott close to 90 minutes, while in 2021 he would get through the same distance in around 80 minutes. Sure, it would be nice to be faster in the water, but we’re guessing this is a case of technique and relative open water comfort. 2022 will see A LOT of time in the open water.
On the other hand, we never sacrificed cycling or running volume in order to focus on swimming. Scott is a gifted cyclist and runner, and we have seen year-over-year increased in those disciplines’ volume, too. It’s important to remember that your strengths are what will get you 90% of the way to your goals, and until you see a relative plateau-ing of performance, there’s no reason to expect you won’t be able to continue improving them.
Final Thoughts
Building volume over time is crucial if you want to develop as an endurance athlete, but rest and tactical bursts of training are probably just as important. Along with those considerations, balancing the athlete’s life, work, and motivation are also equally important. Qualifying for Kona will require keeping all of these elements in front of the athlete where he or she can see them and not get tripped up by them. It’s your job as a coach to help the athlete manage their training load, and to tell them to take a break when they seem cooked. On the other hand, you will probably have to encourage them to push through some difficult (but not dangerous) periods of fatigue. Remember: the best coaching tool you have in your toolbox is a question: “Hey, how are you feeling?”