The evolution of the greatest Ironman athletes to have ever raced looks something like Dave Scott then Mark Allen then Peter Reid before we move to Craig Alexander and now Jan Frodeno. Whenever the topic on who is the GOAT of Ironman, Peter Reid’s name is in the conversation. Here is some information on the three time Ironman World Champion / Ten time Ironman champion.
Weekly training volume in the lead up to Kona:
Peter was a high volume athlete. In the lead up to Ironman Hawaii, he would average between 5-10 hours per day, six days per week. Peter truly believed that dedication combined with sacrifice can trump superior talent. Peter’s life when racing at the top level became so unbalanced because everything was based around performing on race day.
Psycho Weekends:
From nine weeks out through to three weeks out of Kona, Peter would overload his weekends with what he called “psycho weekends” His weekends looked like this for the six weeks in a row.
Saturday: Swim 1hr, Bike 7hrs, Brick Run 1hr, late afternoon Gym Session for 45-50 minutes.
Sunday: Early morning, wake up, have a cup of coffee and go for long run (20+ miles), midday a recovery ride and late afternoon a second run.
Diet:
Peter becomes very strict with his diet from 8 weeks out from key races. He would go to the shop everyday and only purchase enough food for that day. Peter would say “When I was preparing for Kona I would not keep any food in the house. It was too easy to put on weight, and you have to be lean for the marathon. I’d be so hungry. I’d go to sleep with a headache.” He knew if he raced under 165 pounds (74.8kg) he could run under 2:40 for the marathon (2:48 for Kona), if he was over 170 ponds, he couldn’t run under 2:50. It is worth noting that Peter’s fastest marathon was during Ironman Australia with a time of 2:35.
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