In 2013, we saw Luke McKenzie take his Ironman run to a new level. Luke’s Ironman marathon would often be 3:05 to 3:10. Around 2013 we started to see Luke’s marathon improve with his personal best being 2:49 at Ironman Wisconsin 2017.

When asked about what had changed with his run, Luke said

“In 2011-2012 I trained with Siri Lindley in Los Angeles and I spent a lot more time running at threshold than I had done in the years prior. I guess 2004-2010 I had trained the speed out of the legs with too much aerobic running. Siri had me running on the treadmill to increase turnover as well as including regular shorter more intense run efforts. I saw my bike strength drop off over that period but I was running a lot better. In 2013 when I went back to coaching myself I feel I found a good balance of bike strength while still incorporating the running at threshold.”

The key run sessions in the lead up to an Ironman for luke:

“Treadmill for turn over. Track for pacing. Hill reps for strength and durability.”

You can check out Luke’s Ironman program HERE

Luke McKenzie shared with Train Smooth what his maximum work load 8-4 weeks out from a key Ironman events like Kona, Ironman Western Australia and Ironman Cairns looks like.

MONDAY
AM: SWIM – Squad 5km
MID AM: RIDE 60-80km inc. 60min of Strength Endurance (SE) hill reps
PM: GYM/CORE work

TUESDAY
AM: RUN: TREADMILL OR TRACK
16-24km (usually 20x3min at 800 at pace/200 float recovery or 2-3x5km at 70.3 pace/1km float rec.)
PM: SWIM – 3-4km usually paddles/pull work

WEDNESDAY
AM: SWIM/BIKE/RUN
Squad 5km (or INS/OUTS for 1hr at beach with surf club)
100-120km hilly RIDE *straight off swim
5-8km RUN *off bike

THURSDAY
AM: RIDE – Bunch 60-80km with 30min paceline effort
PM: RUN – 12-16km w/ hills reps (30-40 mins worth)

FRIDAY
AM: SWIM – Squad 5km
PM: GYM/CORE work
*Sometimes FULL DAY OFF*

SATURDAY
AM: RIDE – 150-180 inc. 80-100km @ IM watt TT effort
RUN off bike 6-10 x 1 mile (10-16km) targeting 10-15 sec/km faster than IM pace *would only do this 2-3 x MAX in a prep

SUNDAY
AM: LONG RUN 24-32km
PM: SWIM – 2km ocean with group
PM: OPTIONAL RUN 6-10km

Luke’s test sessions in the lead up to a key Ironman race

“My usual test sessions were usually about 8,6 and 4 weeks out from Ironman and it would be our Saturday Bike/Run session. It would involve riding 2x1hr TT’s (very rarely I would do 6x30min) at IM watts covering 150-180km and then running 6-10 x 1 mile efforts. I would usually aim to hold 5.45-6 min and leave on 7 mins.”