Comment: 2011 Ironman WA Photos & Story

Whichever way you look at it, you are doing an IM this year and most people say you need a year to prepare for IM (its not just a 20 week program - the training for the 70.3 is your base period for the IM and the race in May is a race stimulation prep for the Ironman. You will probably train longer volume, but less intensity for your 70.3 prep than if you were only dong the 70.3. Of course you want to do well, but to be ready for Dec, you need to lay the foundations now over the next few months. You might tackle the 70.3 a little differently if you weren't doing IM after. The Going Long book explains that and shows you how to prepare a better YEAR of racing with the ultimate being your best performance for December....rather than a great 70.3 but burnout come December. I'm not a coach but the books are totally different and from what you've told me you'll get a lot more value from the Going Long book all round but buy both if you like! Note - if you like blogs, you need to be a Member (which is $29.95 for a year's subscription), but you can quality for membership without paying for it if you order over $150 so take a good look around if there's other stuff you might like - sports nutrition, training DVDs, workout guides?