My goal - Cairns Ironman, June 2017. Nathan Dietrich, Drive Fitness Carina Studio Manager & Personal Trainer, shares his training program leading up to the Cairns Ironman next year...Read about phase 2 of Nathan's training here...

With phase one complete, phase two (P2) has now started. I’ve learnt that Ironman training takes a great deal of time, focus and effort, and, did I mention time, yes, so much time that it's worth mentioning twice! Nothing great has ever been achieved without sacrifice, effort (and time) and ironman training is no exception. 

Phase one (P1) training was a mental and physical battle to commit to 4 plus hours of training a day for the first time (sometimes I just found myself hating the bike, something I normally really look forward to). Maintaining my focus on the end goal made it possible to motivate myself to turn up and get it done. 

P2 training continues to build on the strength and endurance developed during P1 while introducing a few changes. I've decreased the training volume slightly and I've begun to increase the intensity. I've also introduced some more specific triathlon training with brick sessions - this is when you combine the run, cycle & swim (2 or 3 of these) into the single training session.

This phase of my ironman training will take me through to the beginning of 2017. Check it out here...

Monday 

  • Swim distance 4-5km sets.
  • Stationary Trainer group cycle 90mins -2hrs with intervals.

Tuesday 

  • Cycle road 60- 80km.
  • Run Hanson method 7-10km, (tempo @ 10-15sec quicker than proposed marathon pace.
  • Resistance & mobility training (Strength Endurance)- Time under tension for Upper Back, Chest, Shoulders and Core.

Wednesday

  • Swim 2-3km – including 500mt time trials and stroke correction.
  • Hansen Run Speed/strength.

Thursday

  • 3.5 – 4hr Brick set (run/cycle).
  • Resistance & Mobility Training (Strength Endurance)- for Quads, Glutes, Hamstrings, Lower back and abdoms.

Friday

  • Run 15-20km (easy run)

Saturday

  • Run 3-5km time trial (or) 20mins hard Airdyne.

Sunday

  • Yoga with Emmy/ Foam Roller/ Massage ball.