That’s awesome! I am happy to hear. I enjoyed working with her, and I know Lauren is too.
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She’s a machine. She’s the most likely to qualify for Kona out of Chad, Jonathan and I 
.
I’ve never seen an athlete as consistent as she is. She’s enjoying working with Lauren too! I think she’s going to run a marathon PR at Boston if she chooses to run hard rather than just enjoy it.
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It might only be a rule of thumb and there are always outliers but as far as the bell curve of athletes it’s probably not far from the truth, assuming good nutrition and a sensible bike split of course.
One other rule of thumb which holds true for me and a good number of other athletes I know is that there is a good correlation between my steady long run pace of the last few runs before the IM and my final IM run split.
IMO @JoeX is right with thoughts on IM running. Outright speed isn’t necessarily the mark of a good IM runner in my experience but being a strong durable runner is a much better marker of potential success. For most the pace of a IM marathon is a pretty comfortable running pace, the challenge is to maintain it at the end of long days exercise. Everybody slows down and those that slow down the least will be near the front.
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Do mean to run on trails to minimize injury? Or for some other reason I don’t yet know of? 
Its actually on the back burner for me, once I’ve done my first 70.3 next year, Geelong and Gold Coast…and then look at Kona 70.3. Isn’t it the top 10 in each AG get s a qualifier?
Yes. The standard in Asia for KQ is a bit lower. Here in Taiwan, typically for the 40-44 and 45-49, if you’re ~10hrs, you will likely KQ. Probably best to check Ironman results or Coachcox for specific numbers.
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Minimize impact as well as build the peripheral muscles and tendons. I’ve done my 2.5 to 3 hr runs mostly on trails and it’s worked well for me. Long runs are mainly for aerobic benefit and teaching the body to be out there for a long time, so less impact is great!
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Ironman 70.3 Xiamen had 30 slots overall. Depending on age group it was 1-3 slots.
Yes, somewhat around that number.
Open marathon PR: 2:44
IM marathon PR: 2:57
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@Nate_Pearson As others have said I wouldn’t worry about open marathon times. I qualified way back in 2011 (I know times have gotten a lot faster since) but I ran a 3:20 on a very hot day when everyone else melted having never run a marathon before. I was training to run 3:05-3:10 but when I got off the bike it felt too fast so I adjusted to what felt easy and by the end if felt very hard. Basically you just need to hurt more than the next guy. I was in the 25-29 age group and top 2 qualified, I beat third by less than 2 minutes and he ran a 3:47.
As for power etc I couldn’t tell you I had no power meter back then. I trained and raced on speed and perceived effort (CRAZY to imagine haha).
Suggestion is look at races and qualifying times. I know of people who still qualify with 10 hour times thanks to roll downs, the 40-44 age group gets a lot of slots.
All the best in your quest. I qualified 6 weeks out and injured my glute running that 3:20 so Kona was more of a parade for me but it was a blast (in the type 2 sense). Just walking along the Queen K I looked over the lava fields at the ocean and realized there are much worse places to hurt for almost 11 hours. I would love to try and qualify again and go back to race it but but 8 years and 2 kids later I am much slower than I was and times are just getting faster. Maybe when I turn 60.
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Not true about 60-65% FTP. Recently during a Zwift workout (sorry TR) Jan Frodeno mentioned that he keeps 90% FTP for Half Ironman and 85% FTP for Full Ironman. That’s insane if you ask me. Would be happy with 75% for the Full.
Yeah, all depends on the time it takes you to finish. If you are faster then you can afford an higher % of FTP
Theres a good chart out there on the internet that would tell you your recommended intensity factor depending on how long it will take you to finish
Linked here:
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I am currently officially “Old”. My Kona qualifier was at Canada in 1989 (told you I was old). I was 22, it was my first time running 26.2 miles in any format, and I did 3:35 (10:42 overall). Bike leg? I was on a steel frame Shogun 400 with column shifters and did something like 5:45. No such thing as power meters then. Some time later in life (early 30’s) my PRs for open half and full were 1:16 and 2:42. I’ve stayed the same height and weight the last 30 or 40 years: 5’7, ~117-122, so Nate, we’re about the same size. Well, within a foot and ~70 lbs, but still. I doubt this was helpful in any way.
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