an Ironman bike course conversion calculator?
Over nearly a decade of coaching and long-course racing, I have anecdotally observed two things about bike courses on the North American Ironman circuit: (1) the relative speed of the course does not always correlate to its elevation gain, and (2) the time differential between two courses is not necessarily the same when comparing athletes of different speeds.
So after years of yearning for an Ironman bike course conversion calculator to appear on the Interweb, I finally gave up and ran some calculations myself. You can check out the data and how that can help predict your bike course splits in my article on Slowtwitch.com.
– Coach Alison
what to read / watch / listen to:
Coach Shana:
Read: 2023 Global Broadcast Schedule for Ironman Races
Which Ironman and Ironman 70.3 races will have live coverage that you want to watch?!
Watch: CRUSHED: The Kat Matthews Story, Episode 1 | The Rise of a History Maker, Episode 2 | The Crash
This is a raw look at Kat’s crash that kept her from racing Kona 2022, but she’s not letting it keep her from the start line this year. Kat recently announced she will return to racing at Ironman Texas (April 22). She is also on the pro list for IM 70.3 in Oceanside April 1!
Listen to: Mike Wardian on Fueling Performance with Play | The Rich Roll Podcast
What I loved about this discussion was Mike’s enthusiasm for adventure and his diversity of athletic experiences. He approaches sports (and his other hobbies) with curiosity and a learning mindset. Perfect podcast for a long trainer ride!
what makes us better:
Coach Julie: Deeper evaluation of workouts
When athletes write comments in Training Peaks, post work, try and up the game and add 1-3 things that you did well and 1-3 things that could have done better.
At our NYX San Diego Triathlon Camp, each athlete had a journal and was asked to to this at the end of every day and had an option to share with their coach.
The insight is valuable to both athlete and coach.
did you know?
Coach Alison
Did you know that most fitness apps (Garmin, Strava, MapMyRun) have popularity heat maps, where you can see the most popular running and cycling routes on a map? Super helpful when you’re traveling to a new city or trying out a new route on your home turf!
Pro tip: Garmin even allows you to map out the route and send it to your watch so you can follow it live and keep from getting lost / inadvertently adding miles onto your day.
meet a teammate:
- Favorite race: IRONMAN CALIFORNIA, best day ever even with the wind
- Walk-out song: Unstoppable by Sia. My theme song during Ironman training.
- 3 words that friends/family would use to describe you: Determined; Fun; Loving. But on the negative side, I’m a road rager with no patience for bad drivers and grammatical errors 🤣 and apparently I can’t follow instructions 🤣
- Worst style choice you’ve ever made: I no longer have style, good or bad. I have hockey which means I can only afford Costco clothes 🤣 but I somehow manage to buy an endless supply of tri kits. Looking back to my days before I became a mom and athlete, still get teased for wearing heels to sporting events in college. And having big hair in the 80s. Yep.
- If you could have an unlimited supply of 1 thing for the rest of your life, what would it be? Money. To buy Alison’s awesome coaching, races, kits, bikes, gear, travel, beach house and kids college. And Sees candy 😁