IRONMAN 70.3 Pacing Strategies
Learn how to structure your race pace strategy to optimise your potential in your IRONMAN 70.3.
An IRONMAN 70.3 can take anything from four to eight hours. So let’s say, for example, it takes you six hours. That’s a LONG time to be swimming, cycling and running, and you’ll need a pacing strategy that reflects that.
IRONMAN 70.3 Swim
During the first 300 metres of the swim, you'll find yourself swimming hard, without even trying. As soon as you can, settle down, find your place in the group and hopefully get in the draft zone of similar-level (or slightly faster) swimmers, then ease down to your target intensity. If you're a nervous swimmer, start off steady and stay out of harm's way.
There are several ways to pace yourself, including heart rate, pace and Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE). However, from a practical point of view, using RPE (feel) works well - it saves you trying to look at your watch.
Check our Triathlon Race Pace Calculator to help guide your pacing strategy.
IRONMAN 70.3 Bike
The bike section is where pace judgement is most vital. Riding too hard will make your run much tougher than it should be (it will already tough enough!). Try to avoid these 3 common mistakes.
- Attempting to ride at a constant power output that is slightly too high.
- Riding in bursts, ranging from easy to hard - without realising.
- Riding too hard on the hills without realising, due to inappropriate gearing.
Use a power meter (if you have one) to pace yourself on the bike, with heart rate and RPE (feel) as backup measures. If you don’t have a power meter, just use heart rate and RPE instead.
Check our Triathlon Race Pace Calculator to help guide your pacing strategy.
Riding at the right intensity takes discipline and courage, especially when other people are overtaking you. But it really works. Get it right and later, on the bike, and then on the run, you'll be passing those who passed you. You'll also find that you can better digest your nutrition helping you maintain your energy levels going into the run. You will run faster as a result of pacing yourself properly on the bike, and you'll feel fresher and more energised.
IRONMAN 70.3 Run
If you paced the swim and bike sensibly, you’re in with a fighting chance of running to par. Either way, you’ll still be tired by the time you hit the run course. After all, you’ll have been racing for 3 to 6 hours already. So don’t expect to run like it’s an individual half marathon. Realistically you should be aiming for an intensity that’s similar to, or slightly slower than your full-marathon pace.
Check our Triathlon Race Pace Calculator to help guide your pacing strategy.
Using all three of the methods (RPE (feel), HR and pace) is best as none of them are entirely reliable in isolation. Many variables can affect them, such as wind direction, gradient and cardiac drift (an increase in heart rate due to heat stress). The downsides of starting too fast are far greater than the downsides of starting too slow.
Fitness Tests
Ensure you base your IRONMAN 70.3 pacing strategy on real results from fitness tests done in the last 8 weeks. DO NOT GUESS!!!
Fitness Tests To Determine Your Thresholds
Your run success will be determined by how hard you went in the bike and swim sections - and your nutritional strategy. If you cycle too fast you will struggle on the run. If you pace the bike section intelligently and get your nutrition right, the chances are you’ll run well.
Further Reading
This article is based on Phil's blog post: How to Pace Your Next Half IRONMAN 70.3
Good Luck for your IRONMAN 70.3!
Copyright MyProCoach™ Ltd © May 2018. All rights reserved.
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