If you told me 3 years ago I’d be 4 weeks out from my 2nd Full Ironman race…I wouldn’t believe you.
3 years ago I was firmly against all things cardio.
I was neck deep in strength sports…winning powerlifting comps and strongman shows with no signs of slowing down.
Flash forward 1 year and everything changed.
Feeling a distinct lack of excitement for my training, I decided to sign up for a 13.1 mile trail run with 2 weeks notice just to spice things up.
It was HARD. But I finished and the endurance spark popped into my life.
A few months later my good friend Zach Homol asked if I wanted to train for a Full Ironman race with him.
I said “hell ya”
& next thing I knew I was diving head first into the world of triathlon.
At this point it is safe to say I was hooked.
In my 2 years of consistent endurance training I’ve completed:
2, half marathons
1, 50k ultramarathon
2, Ironman 70.3’s
1, Full Ironman
& in 4 weeks I’ll add another Full Ironman to the list.
While the finishing list is cool…the real crazy thing to me is how much I have ENJOYED all of this training.
So here’s how I’ve done it…
Tip 1: Lowering the intensity
When you’re trying to gain muscle or strength in the gym, you NEED to train at a high intensity.
If you’re not close to failure during your sets, you will not get the desired adaptation.
I faced huge problems early on with my endurance training because I applied this same mentality to running/biking/swimming.
Every session I felt like I needed to redline (go to absolute exhaustion). Naturally, this made cardio significantly less enjoyable & also less effective.
There’s something called the 80/20 principle in endurance which states:
“80% of your training should be at a low-moderate intensity & the other 20% is moderate to high intensity”.
Understanding this principle was a HUGE unlock. I slowed down my pace significantly (honestly I just stopped looking at my pace) & it allowed me to make much faster progress + enjoy the training.
Tip 2: Training for Time instead of Distance
I always believed I needed to go out and run 2,3,4,5 miles. It never occurred to me that I could just start a timer and go run till it finished.
But as soon as I started training for time, I saw a massive shift in enjoyment happen.
Because now, I knew that it didn't matter how fast I went, I was going to be moving that entire duration.
My mentality went from “I want to get this over with so I’ll just run faster” to “I’ll go at a comfortable pace and however far I get is fine”.
Tip 3: Committing to a Competition
I won’t lie…even with the tips I’ve mentioned, it took me a while to find enjoyment in endurance training.
If it wasn’t for my commitment to completing the Ironman, I likely would’ve quit after a month.
But because I didn’t want to absolutely flop come race day, I continued to show up and train.
This gave me the necessary adjustment period so I COULD find enjoyment in it.
So whether you have aspirations of completing an Ironman…
or simply want to start enjoying cardio a bit more.
I highly recommend you give these tips a try! & if you have any other questions about hybrid training, feel free to message me!
Much love,
Mike