Ironman training in the city is not easy. If we log onto social media we see pros and influencers training in the mountains, on quiet country roads or running through national parks.
But what if we live in the middle of London, New York or LA? It’s a lot harder to get a session in when the roads are gridlocked with cars, and pavement heavily congested. I spent ten years living and training in London. I want to share with you my top tips of how to make IRONMAN training in the city work.
Swimming
This one is a bit of a double edged sword for the city dweller. When training for an IRONMAN in the city, you will be a lot closer to a pool than those in the country. When I was in London, I was a five minute walk from the pool, so no excuses. Now I’m a 20 minute drive away. You also likely have the luxury of being able to choose from a number of pools near you. If one is very strict around the use of fins and paddles, you can go somewhere more triathlon friendly.
The big downside is open water swimming. If you live on the coast you may be in luck. Unfortunately, most city dwellers live a long way from an open water venue. There’s not really much for it but to drive the distance to get to the lake. And I really, highly recommend that you make the effort to get in the open water at least once a fortnight in race season. Your race performance will thank you.
Cycling
This is the sport where we will be most heavily handicapped. I was very lucky when I lived in London to live within 20 minutes of Richmond Park. This is a popular cycling spot which has a 10KM loop running around the perimeter. This was great, but there’s only so many laps you can do before you start to go a bit loopy. If I have a three hour ride in the calendar, I don’t really want to ride the same loop for three hours. Even if I can switch up the direction.
If we’re training for an IRONMAN we’re going to have at least five hours of riding on the calendar at some point. For these sessions, we need to head out of the city. Once again, I was lucky living where I did in London as I was only around 30-40 minutes from quieter roads. For a weekend ride I could head out into the Surrey Hills or across into Berkshire.
This was somewhat limiting as I could only explore to the south or the west. Heading north or East took me further into London, which wasn’t appealing. Additionally, the first 30 minutes or so of a ride were slow and frustrating. Between traffic lights and riding through traffic it was a slow, stressful start to my ride.
To get around this you can take the train to a more rural area for a ride. This is especially appealing to those who are new to cycling and may be nervous in traffic. You need to pay for the train fare, but as you gain confidence in your cycling, you could get to the place where you could take the train out to the country, and ride all the way back home. This can also be done in reverse, where you ride from your house to a distant train station to catch a train back home from.
This just isn’t an option for most of our rides though. If I have set someone an hour at a steady power, they cannot complete that within the confines of a city. So what is the solution?
Turbo training
In 2020 you may remember an explosion in the popularity of turbo training. When the world was shutdown, we headed inside for our cycling.
Like most people I chose to ride indoors using a turbo trainer. These work by removing the back wheel from your bike, and placing it onto a device which simulates riding outdoors. These have come on leaps and bounds in recent years. Many now measure our power output and adjust resistance based on where you are in a virtual world. They are also much quieter, unlike the indoor trainers of old which sounded like a jet engine.
These have a number of benefits. Firstly, we can ride without worrying about potholes, traffic or any other distractions. This is not only useful for getting quality training, it is also a lot less stressful. It allows you to focus on your effort rather than road conditions.
It also allows us to record our power numbers. This is an objective measure of how hard we are cycling. Speed is useless when riding, and heart rate is a bit clunky. Power gives us an instantaneous idea of how hard we are riding. Combine this with an FTP test and you can follow a structured, highly effective training programme from the comfort of your own home.
That’s because turbo training is incredibly time efficient. You can wake up in the morning, pull on a pair of cycling shorts, head to your bike you setup the night before and start riding. No layering up for conditions, riding to quiet roads or topping up tyre pressure. You can get your ride in before work without worrying about a puncture or mechanical issue making you late.
I live in the country now, but I still choose to ride indoors on a regular basis when the weather is bad. That or I don’t want to leave my dog on her own. If it’s three degrees out and raining sideways, I do not want to be going for a ride outdoors.
Turbo training opens up a world of possibilities, and is an absolute essential for anyone training for IRONMAN in the city.
If you don’t have space in your flat for a turbo trainer you could train in the gym instead. If you are training for IRONMAN then a regular gym bike won’t do, and you want to use a Wattbike. The good news is that these are available in many gyms, and should be a consideration when deciding which gym to join. The downside is that you will have to make sure the bike is setup to your measurements before every ride. You also have to commute to the gym to train.
Running
Thankfully, living in a city does not have an enormous effect on our running, as long as you don’t live in the city centre and head out for a run at rush hour.
You will generally want to avoid running down busy roads where possible due to the pollution levels, as well as the unpredictability of pedestrians. A bus could pull up with a passenger sprinting out of the doors as they open, straight into your path. Or someone could stop straight in the middle of the path to look at their phone, then make an abrupt right hand turn as they realise they’re going the wrong way.
Parks are a great option for interval training where you will want to run on some flat, fast tarmac but remember that you don’t have priority over other runners or park users just because you are knocking out some VO2 max intervals.
Long runs can be a great way to see the city in a different light. If you’re out the door at 6AM, you can run to areas you don’t usually visit, and see the areas you frequent in a different light. If you live close to the edge of the city you may be able to run a loop that includes some woods to mix the terrain up a bit. Alternatively, as with cycling, you could drive or take the train out to the country for a run if you prefer and are able to.
If there is one thing that cities have a lot of, it’s running clubs. If you join a local running club not only will you learn the best routes, you can also have some company on longer runs. The club training sessions can be of variable quality, but having some like minded people to run with is always appreciated, and you should find some like minded individuals who may even be training for an IRONMAN in the city themselves.
Training camps/holidays
Let’s be honest, not many cities are setup for IRONMAN training. As a result, it is very appealing to head to the countryside, or abroad for a week of training. Many coaches run training camps, or you can just book a holiday for yourself to head somewhere bike friendly to put in a nice, big block of training.
Variety is the spice of life, and there’s only so much you can mix things up in a city. Give yourself the permission to take some time away from the urban environment and train somewhere more exciting to reinvigorate you.
Conclusion
Training for an IRONMAN in the city is far from ideal, but far from impossible. As long as you embrace indoor cycling and are willing to put in a bit of effort to travel to the best training spots occasionally, there is no reason you cannot achieve your goal when living in a city.
If you are training for your first IRONMAN, check out my free 22 page training guide including over 100 training tips here.
If you are looking for help with your IRONMAN training from a coach who understands training in a city, check out my bespoke programmes here.
