The Subaru Ironman 70.3 Muskoka is one of the most popular triathlon races in Ontario. Known as “the beast” among triathletes, it has everything a triathlete loves to hate – heat, hills and more hills. It will challenge you to find another level of courage and leave you with the sweetest feeling of accomplishment, IF you are willing to do the work of training for it.
Although we’re barely out of last season, your training should start now. The Subaru Ironman 70.3 Muskoka isn’t the place to take a half-hearted attempt at showing up. A properly designed annual training plan should be periodized in a way that builds in strength work in the fall and a good period of base training to get the body strong and durable and able to handle the intensity and volume that comes later.
Early season training should include strength training in the gym with a structured and consistent program focused on your body’s own weaknesses and on the muscle groups that are both involved in producing speed and power in triathlon, but also the muscle groups that tend to be underused in the repetitive motions that we undergo in all three sports. This will form the foundation for the rest of your training. Don’t make the mistake of treating strength work as an option or afterthought, as you would be cheating yourself out of power gains and some insurance against injury. Athletes familiar with having to step down their training mid-season know how hard it is to recover the progress already made when rehabilitating an injury or nursing a chronic weak spot.
With a strong foundation under you, you’ll be ready to begin the build phase come the new year that adds more intensity in measured increments. Depending on an athlete’s experience and training history the base and build phases should be different durations. A newer triathlete should have a significantly longer base training phase than an athlete that has been racing this distance (with success) for years. By the end of the winter months, you should be ready to take your training outside to practice the skills required to handle the elements, different road conditions, and varied terrain. Consider an early spring training camp to get some focused training in and test your fitness and gear before race season begins. (Check out the CLPerformance Training camp in Clermont, Florida in April.)
Early summer is when it’s important to experience the reality of the Muskoka landscape. Training on the actual course offers you a level of confidence that can’t be duplicated on Strava or Zwift. Our CL Performance Training June training camp takes athletes through the course and offers strategy to ensure you are truly ready. See www.clperformancetraining.com for details and information on how to register. Not only will you experience the race course but you will also learn about strategy on how to tackle a race of this distance and this course specifically, the importance of race and training nutrition to your success and how gear selection can make a significant impact on your race experience and finishing time.
Finally, don’t forget to make your travel plans early. An Ironman event is more than race day, and you’ll want to make sure you are situated to take advantage of all it has to offer. That helps to keep race day nerves from undermining your experience or performance.
Start now and plan to conquer “the beast”!
