IronFit Secrets for Half Iron-Distance Triathlon Success

Why is the Half Iron-Distance the most popular triathlon distance? Because it is the perfect length for busy athletes with demanding career and family responsibilities. Full Iron-Distance races require such painstaking planning and sacrifice that it's difficult to keep life in balance. The Half Iron-Distance is accessible, while remaining challenging. Also known as the “70.3” for the sum of its 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, and 13.1 mile run, the half-iron triathlon is not simply a race for which an athlete can use a full-iron training regimen chopped in half. Doing so would in no way approach maximizing an athlete's performance. The races are performed at completely different intensity levels, with completely different approaches. As a result, the training is completely different. IronFit Secrets to Half Iron-Distance Triathlon Success does for the half-iron what Be IronFit has done for the full-iron. It provides three sixteen-week training programs—Competitive, Intermediate, and “Just Finish”—and details everything an athlete needs to know to successfully prepare for and maximize performance at this racing distance. In as little as four months, any athlete can be physically and mentally ready for the world's most popular triathlon challenge.

Don Fink is an internationally known triathlon and running coach/trainer and author of the popular endurance sports training books: Be IronFit: Time-Efficient Training Secrets for Ultimate Fitness (2004); Be IronFit: Second Edition (2010); and Mastering the Marathon, Time Efficient Training Secrets for the 40-plus Athlete (2010); all published by Lyons Press. Don is a Certified Personal Trainer by The American Council on Exercise (A.C.E.) and he is a Professional Member of the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA). Don and his wife, Melanie, train endurance athletes on five continents through their business: IronFit (www.IronFit.com). Don and Melanie have utilized their innovative approaches to coach hundreds of athletes to personal best times and breakthrough performances in triathlon, the marathon, and other sports. Don Fink is also an elite athlete. He has raced more than 30 Ironman triathlons (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run) and has many age group victories and course records to his credit. Don's time of 9:08 at the 2004 Ironman Florida is one of the fastest times ever recorded by an athlete in the 45-49 age group. Don also placed in the top three overall in the 2002 Ultra Man World Championships (6.2 mile swim, 270 mile bike, and 52.4 mile run) on the Big Island of Hawaii. In addition to being a coach/trainer and Masters Swimming coach, Melanie Fink is an elite athlete. She has many age group and overall victories in triathlon and open water swimming competitions, has completed eight Iron-distance triathlons (including the Hawaii Ironman twice), and she recently completed the 2010 Ultra Man Canada (6.2 mile swim, 270 mile bike, and 52.4 mile run) in Penticton, British Columbia.