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.”
TRAIN SMOOTH 