IronFit Secrets for Half Iron-Distance Triathlon Success: Time-Efficient Training For Triathlon's Most Popular Distance

by Don Fink, Melanie Fink

Overview

Why is the Half Iron-Distance the most popular triathlon distance? Because it is the perfect length for busy athletes with demanding career and family responsibilities. Full Iron-Distance races require such painstaking planning and sacrifice that it’s difficult to keep life in balance. The Half Iron-Distance is accessible, while remaining challenging.

    Also known as the “70.3” for the sum of its 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, and 13.1 mile run, the half-iron triathlon is not simply a race for which an athlete can use a full-iron training regimen chopped in half. Doing so would in no way approach maximizing an athlete’s performance. The races are performed at completely different intensity levels, with completely different approaches. As a result, the training is completely different.       IronFit Secrets to Half Iron-Distance Triathlon Success does for the half-iron what Be IronFit has done for the full-iron. It provides three sixteen-week training programs—Competitive, Intermediate, and “Just Finish”—and details everything an athlete needs to know to successfully prepare for and maximize performance at this racing distance. In as little as four months, any athlete can be physically and mentally ready for the world’s most popular triathlon challenge.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780762792931
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	01/14/2014
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Don and Melanie Fink of IronFit® (IronFit.com) have trained athletes on five continents to personal records and breakthrough performances. The author of Be IronFit, 2nd Ed.: Time-Efficient Training Secrets for Ultimate Fitness and Mastering the Marathon: Time Efficient Training Secrets for the 40-plus Athlete (both from Lyons Press), Don has raced more than thirty Iron-distance triathlons, Ultraman, and other contests and has recorded age-group victories and course records. Melanie has raced 12 Iron-distance races, Ultraman, and has age group and overall victories in triathlon, running and open water swimming competitions throughout the world.

Table of Contents

Introduction viii

Chapter 1 Triathlon's Most Popular Distance 1

Chapter 2 The Eight Essential Half-Iron Workouts 10

Chapter 3 The Crucial Training Principles, Training Cycles, and Practice Races 24

Chapter 4 Heart Rate Training for the Half Iron-Distance 35

Chapter 5 Sixteen-Week Half Iron-Distance Training Programs 44

Chapter 6 The Half Iron-Distance Functional Strength and Core Program, Warm-Up Routine, and Flexibility and Slietching Program 84

Chapter 7 Mastering Transitions: "The Fourth Sport" 117

Chapter 8 Half Iron-Distance Race Strategies, Fueling, and Hydration 128

Chapter 9 Effective Goal Setting and Race Selection 151

Chapter 10 Half Iron-Distance Equipment from A to Z 158

Chapter 11 Healthy Eating for Ultimate Fitness 171

Chapter 12 Perfecting Technique 185

Chapter 13 Mental Training: Powerful Secrets to Self-Confidence 202

Chapter 14 Building and Maintaining Excellent Health 210

Chapter 15 Recovery and Maintenance Training 218

Acknowledgments 226

Appendix A Additional Maximum Heart Rate Estimation Formulas 227

Appendix B Glossary 229

Appendix C References 233

Index 236

About the Authors 244