What does it take to become one of the best half-Ironman athletes in the world?

As they were preparing for this years Ironman 70.3 World Championship at Lake Las Vegas, Nev., last years Ironman 70.3 world champion Leanda Cave, and four 2012 agegroup world champions shared the training strategies and race tactics that brought them to the top of the sport.

CHRIS THOMAS 4044 AGE GROUP CHAMP LEANDA CAVE PRO CHAMP

BY HOLLY BENNETT

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOHN DAVID BECKER

PATRICK HIGH 5054 AGE GROUP CHAMP ELLEN HART 5054 AGE GROUP CHAMP

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WHAT IT TAKES

Ironman 70.3 world champions divulge the keys to their training leading up to the big race.
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CAVES TRAINING IS structured in four-week cycles geared toward her ultimate goal: the Ironman World Championship. Both the Hy-Vee 5150 Elite Cup and the Ironman 70.3 World Championship serve as stepping stones along the way. Within each cycle are usually two repeating two-week blocks, alternating between 20 and 30 hours per week. Its good to have the consistency so you can see improvement, and you can see when youre tired and need a day off, Cave says. Days off arent particularly scheduled in my programI take them when I need them. Tapering for Hy-Vee and Vegas and the subsequent race days creates a strategic rest period between heavier training blocks, wherein the intensity and volume are all focused on the iron distance. Cave views Hy-Vee as a sharpen-up race, a chance to practice skills such as quick transitions and going out hard in the swim, and to get back into the hungry scene of racing.If I have a bad AGE: 35 LIVES IN: Boulder, race in Vegas I dont Colo. OCCUPATION: Professional want to carry that into triathlete COACH: Siri Lindley Kona, and if I have a TRIATHLON HIGHLIGHTS: good race I dont want 2012 world champion in both to carry that into Kona Ironman 70.3 and Ironman; twoeither, because I dont time Ironman champion 2013 want to have an inated VEGAS RE SULT: 13th ego. Either way I still have pro woman to work hard after Vegas to get on the start line in Kona in great shape. For Cave, the biggest benet to racing Vegas is the chance to race against the worlds top 70.3 specialists. Its the best possible environment to see where I am at that point in time.

LEANDA CAVE

WITH 55-HOUR WORK WEEKS and at least three days a week on the road, Patrick High compresses his hard training from Friday to Monday, often taking Tuesdays and Wednesdays completely off. I get it all in in under 10 hours a week, he says. I err toward the light side relative to my peers. But every workout has a purpose. Those workouts often take place on treadmills while traveling, with a swim bungee in a hotel pool or in Highs AGE: 51 LIVES IN: Lake Placid, own backyard Fla. OCCUPATION: Regional vice Endless Pool. I president at G&K Services COACH: rarely, if ever, Self TRIATHLON HIGHLIGHTS: swim laps, he 2012 age group Ironman 70.3 world says. High also champion; third in age group at 2012 attends twiceIronman World Championship; 2012 weekly group USAT Age Group Mens Masters training classes Triathlete of the Year Honorable with his family, Mention 2013 VEGAS RESULT: merging home life Second in 5054 age group with agility, cardiovascular and core work. This year his competition schedule has shifted from long course to sprint and Olympic races (Vegas being the exception) to train and race with his 14-year-old son, Lukas, a recent convert to the sport and clearly an inspiration for High. He volunteered in Kona last year while I raced, High says. After that he said, Dad, I want to do something I can do for the rest of my life. Triathlon is a sport I can do for the rest of my life. And I want to be a world champion, too.

PATRICK HIGH

RACE READY: Most people die toward the end of the run, so I like to incorporate a build run over the distance of the race into my 70.3 training. I do a 13-mile run where I make a conscious effort to build iteven if just 1020 seconds faster every 5K. Another good race prep session is getting off my long ride and doing a really short running speed set. I do short intervals20 or 30 seconds hardthen stop, have a rest and do it again. Its easy on a treadmill or even down the street, and its not too taxing. Its just about getting my legs used to running fast off the bike.
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RACE READY: Theres a 0.6mile loop that incorporates a decent-sized hill in our neighborhoodthe hill itself is probably 0.4 milesso I run that 10 times, High says. I work the hill, recover going down and then stride out and repeat. Thats on Friday morning, and then on Saturday I do a high tempo ride/run. I ride two hours solo, stop by the house to pick up Lukas, we ride another hour and then run together. He peels off at the three-mile mark and I continue for six miles. Its as much of a tempo run as you can manage. Those are two youre gonna feel em back-to-back workouts every weekend leading up to Vegas.

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CHRIS THOMASWHO juggles 1314 hours of weekly training, two businesses and family life as a father to three young boys is a proponent of racing the 70.3 distance ve to six weeks before an Ironman. I think it helps get a good tness boost. Dont get me wrongVegas is a priority race for me on its own, but at the same time its very good training for Kona [where Thomas will also compete in October]. Last year Thomas tackled the Vegas/Kona double, and despite brutal heat in Vegas he recovered well. I didnt feel that I held any negative effectsexcept maybe a little mental scarring! Most of Thomas AGE: 41 LIVES IN: Easton, Conn. training takes place OCCUPATION: Triathlon coach for midday, in between LifeSport Coaching, personal training his morning and business owner COACH: Paul Regensburg evening personal TRIATHLON HIGHLIGHTS: Three-time training clients. age group Ironman 70.3 world champion On weekends hes (2012, 2009, 2008); fourth in age group at out the door by 2012 Ironman World Championship; 2012 5:30 a.m. to preUSAT Age Group Triathlete of the Year; serve family time. 2009 USAT Amateur Athlete of the Year; Hes also a frequent member, Timex Multi-Sport Team 2013 racerhe competed VEGAS RESULT: First in ve times in ve and a 4044 age group half weeks during June and July, and three weeks before Vegas he took on the sprint and 70.3 at Timberman, followed by a local Olympic race the following weekend. Yet even with his hectic schedule, Thomas keeps his head. My approach to training is staying healthy, staying consistent and training properlyand also it has to be fun, he says.

CHRIS THOMAS

A COMPETITIVE ATHLETE for 47 of her 55 years, Ellen Hart has a less-is-more training philosophy balancing family, work and sport. A exible schedule allows for decreased work hours when her training volume increases (as of early August, she was logging 15 hours weekly of each). She embraces a holistic approach to triathlon, saying, Theres a spiritual part of me that is awakened by training and competition. Race morning is like an empty canvas. You get to paint the picture by the choices that you makewhether to ride clean, whether to push past pain, whether to thank a volunteer, whether to smile. Its a canvas Hart paints whenever possiblethe week after Vegas shell tackle the aquathlon, sprint and Olympic events at the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in London, then race Kona four weeks laterdespite paying very little attention to the minutiae of specic training. Instead, she trusts her coach and pledges a healthy perspective. This is not the Olympic Trials [Hart twice vied for a spot on Team USA as a runner]. This is not my livelihood. Its just fun, she says. RACE READY: Neal has me do a couple of things in the 24 weeks before Vegas, Hart says. One is a long ride, in the 6070-mile range. In the past Ive done that as part of a supported ride, like the Gran Fondo. Theres also a progressive runthree AGE: 55 LIVES IN: Denver, Colo. times 6K where the rst OCCUPATION: Co-founder of Eating is easy, the second is Disorders Foundation; nutrition educator for moderate and the third Share Our Strength and Cooking Matters is race pace. Ill either COACH: Neal Henderson TRIATHLON do that as a standalone HIGHLIGHTS: Five-time age group Ironman workout orbecause I 70.3 world champion (20082012, with really love to racein a course record and fastest amateur female half-marathon. For the run split in 2012 at age 54); 2011 age group swim Ill do at least one ITU Long Distance world champion; 2010 workout of 5x500, and age group Ironman world champion; 2012 within that three or four USAT Age Group Triathlete of the Year of the 500s might be 100 2013 VEGAS RESULT: First in easy/100 hard, 75 easy/75 5559 age group hard, 50 easy/50 hard, 25 easy/25 hard. [continued on page 64]

RACE READY: Ill do a four-hour ride with 40 minutes at Ironman pace, 30 minutes at halfIronman pace and 20 minutes at Olympic-distance pace with some recovery in between, Thomas says. Ill do quality run efforts off of that1K or 800-meter repeats where I try to be at or faster than my goal half-marathon pace. I do that workout throughout the season once racing season starts, and usually three weeks out from Vegas. Also the Olympic race [two weeks out] is a at, veloop bike and two-loop run course, so its a great chance to dial in my threshold efforts and see where Im at before Vegas.
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ELLEN HART

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What does it take to become one of the best half-Ironman athletes in the world? As they were preparing for this years Ironman 70.3 World Championship at Lake Las Vegas, Nev., last years Ironman 70.3 world champion Leanda Cave, and four 2012 agegroup world champions shared the training strategies and race tactics that brought them to the top of the sport.

CHRIS THOMAS 40-44 AGE GROUP CHAMP

BY HOLLY BENNETT

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOHN DAVID BECKER

LEANDA CAVE PRO CHAMP

Put your iPad to use:

36 N OVE M B E R / D EC E M B E R 2013

PATRICK HIGH 50-54 AGE GROUP CHAMP ELLEN HART 50-54 AGE GROUP CHAMP

WHAT IT TAKES

Ironman 70.3 world champions divulge the keys to their training leading up to the big race.
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[continued from page 43]

ROB LEA

PEAK

THE TRIA TRIATHLETES TRIAT HLETES GUIDE TO

PERFORMANCE

AGE: 32 LIVES IN: Park City, Utah OCCUPATION: Agent for Prudential Utah Real Estate COACH: Matt Dixon TRIATHLON HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 age group Ironman 70.3 world champion; top amateur at 2012 Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens 2013 VEGAS RESULT: Lea made the difcult decision to withdraw from both Vegas and Kona, instead undergoing knee surgery to address an injury. MOST WEEKS ROB Lea trains 1520 hours, though his program is often tweaked to accommodate his professional lifeespecially in recent months with an improving real-estate market. A relative newcomer to triathlon (Lea only started training seriously in 2012), Lea viewed Vegas as his A race and Kona as the cherry on top after he qualied at Ironman 70.3 Hawaii. He had planned to add a few longer workouts this year, but was counting on his Vegas-focused tness to fuel his Big Island debut. Lea favors perceived exertion over high-tech gadgets, saying, I strive to not be obsessed with the numbers but to be obsessed with enjoying what Im doing and feeling my body throughout the process. I dont worry if I swam 30 seconds faster or slower than last year. Its about putting a full race together and feeling like I controlled the race, rather than the race controlling me. While adherent to coach Dixons training schedule, Lea resists the stereotypical trappings of a type-A triathlete. If I want to go have a drink, I have a drink, and if I want a cheeseburger, I have a cheeseburger, Lea says. I try to watch those things and make sure my bodys feeling good during workouts, but at the same time I try not to limit myself too much. RACE READY: Youre not just training your legs; youre training your mind to push through the difficult times and the heat, Lea says. I start this brick workout in the heat of the day to get my head around the heat of Vegas. I spin easy for 3045 minutes, then do a 30-minute build to 70.3 race pace followed by 3-by-30 minutes at race pace with 10 minutes easy spinning in between. I run off the bike for 15 minutes at race pace followed by a 10-minute easy jog home. Taking lots of liquids and staying on top of fueling is key to get through this and to set myself up to be effective the next day. I T

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