Chrissie Wellington on prepping for a hilly Ironman

The four-time Ironman world champion provides her top advice to help you beast the world's most challenging bike courses

Chrissie Wellington

Published: February 4, 2014 at 11:42 am

Thinking about entering a hilly long-distance triathlon like Ironman Wales this year and wondering how to develop the bike endurance and hill climbing strength you'll need? Chrissie Wellington, Britain's most successful long-distance triathlete, suggests the following…

The winter months are usually the time to focus on longer, steadier ‘endurance’ miles, developing the required hill strength and building a solid base onto which to add faster, more intense work in spring. For hills, the key is to maintain power output despite the increased resistance created by inclines. In training, this resistance can be gained by a) actually cycling uphill b) riding into headwinds c) using your gearing. You can do all three outside, but indoors you need to rely on the latter to simulate climbs of varying lengths.

Aim for three sessions a week: two steady rides (one longer endurance ride of 3-4hrs-ish and one of 90mins) and a strength session of around an hour. Although you’ll be swapping winter outdoor rides for indoor turbo sessions don’t discount the former altogether. It’d be great if you can still do at least one outdoor ride per week.

There are some athletes who do the majority of their cycling on the turbo, all year round. It’s not something that I’d enjoy or recommend, but it shows that developing endurance and strength indoors can be done. If you deem turbo sessions dull they’ll be a struggle, but by using motivational tools the sessions will pass more quickly and pleasurably.

Turbo time

Ideally, keep your bike set up and ready to go, with a sweat-mopping towel and shoes already clipped in. You could use an old rear tyre or a specific turbo tyre so you don’t ruin your best one; a mirror is good to check your form; chamois cream keeps undercarriages happy; a fan helps limit Bikram yoga conditions; while an energy/electrolyte drink will be important for 60min+ sessions.

Remember that 2hrs on the turbo is worth about 2.5hrs outside, as there’s no ‘dead’ time (you always pedal). But you can always break your long ride into two sessions on the same day if that’s easier to manage.

The steady cycling should be at conversational pace. Focus on building up your endurance, and also on getting a rhythmical, ‘egg’ shaped pedal stroke with equal pull to push. The strength session comprises shorter power efforts using big gears: maintain a low cadence of 65-70rpm. Start with 8-10 short efforts of 1-2mins and work up to 4-5mins, with 1-2mins recover spins at a higher rpm (90-100) in between. You can always mix it up and do 1-5min efforts in the same session.

After a month or so you could replace one steady session with TT/race-pace efforts (a ‘sweet spot ride’). The idea is that you train at your ‘sweet spot’, which is an intensity that you can just about maintain consistently for 1hr. Break this up into 20min blocks if this enables you to maintain the intensity.

March would be the time to introduce high-intensity efforts (faster than race pace) with a rest interval. I would begin with 10 x 30-60secs, and build up to 2-3mins, with 1-2min spin in between. The cadence should be at race pace, so around 85-90rpm.

Key session

You can replicate longer hills using your gearing, so it would also be worth doing some 10-15min ‘climbs’ (big gear/higher resistance) in your long ride. You can alternate between the TT position and sitting up, and get out of the saddle to finish each effort.

You can also combine some of the above sessions, for example doing pyramids with changing gearing and pacing. I love the following 75min-ish session:

- 10min warm-up
- 4 x 1min at 60rpm with 60sec rest interval
- 3 x 2mins at 70rpm with 60sec rest interval
- 2 x 3mins at 75rpm with 60sec rest interval
- 5mins at 80rpm with 2min rest
- 1 x 10mins at race pace with 2min rest interval
- 5mins at 80rpm with 60sec rest
- 2 x 3mins at 75rpm with 60sec rest interval
- 3 x 2mins at 70rpm with 60sec rest interval
- 4 x 1min at 60rpm with 60sec rest interval
- 5-10mins cool-down

Ultimately, don’t be afraid to be flexible, mix it up and try new things. Yoga, pilates or a gym session including core, quad and hamstring strength and hip and back extension exercises will help. Above all, try to enjoy yourself – when you’re crossing the finish line at your first Ironman you’ll know it’s been worth it!

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(Image: Ironman Europe)

Chrissie Wellington

Triathlon legend

Chrissie Wellington OBE is a retired, British professional triathlete and four-time Ironman world champion. ​ She held all three world and championship records relating to ironman triathlon races: firstly, the overall world record, secondly, the Ironman World Championship course record, and thirdly, the official world record for all Ironman-branded triathlon races over the full Ironman distance. She remains the world record holder for Ironman distance (8:18hrs). Chrissie won the Ironman World Championship in three consecutive years (2007–2009), but could not start the 2010 World Championship race because of illness. She regained the title in 2011. She is the first British athlete to hold the Ironman world title, and was undefeated in all 13 of her races over the Iron distance. She is the only triathlete, male or female, to have won the World Championship less than a year after turning professional, an achievement described by the British Triathlon Federation as "a remarkable feat, deemed to be a near impossible task for any athlete racing as a rookie at their first Ironman World Championships." Since retiring in 2012 Chrissie has completed countless endurance events, from cycling sportives, to marathons and ultra-marathons and even a cross country ski marathon or two! Chrissie was awarded a first-class degree by the University of Birmingham (BsC Geography) in 1998 and a Distinction from the University of Manchester (MA Econ Development Studies) in 2000. ​ Prior to becoming a professional athlete in 2007, she worked for the British Government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) as a policy adviser on international development and also managed water and sanitation projects in Nepal. Chrissie now devotes her life to work to improve individual and population health and wellbeing, and specifically interventions to increase participation in physical activity. She is the Global Lead for Health and Wellbeing for parkrun and is committed to engaging people of all backgrounds, ages and abilities in parkrun events, thereby addressing the entrenched health and wellbeing inequalities that impact many countries across the world. Chrissie published her Sunday Times Best Selling autobiography, 'A Life Without Limits', in 2012, and her second book, 'To the Finish Line: A World Champion Triathlete's Guide to Your Perfect Race', in 2017. In 2021, she co-authored and published two fully-illustrated children's wellbeing storybooks with friend and former athlete Susie Bush-Ramsey entitled 'You're so strong' and 'You're so amazing', as a means of sharing messages about belief, trust, love, friendship, trying your best and embracing change. ​ A trailblazer at heart, Chrissie is often advocating for change. In 2014 she joined three professional cyclists in campaigning for and successfully creating a women’s race at the Tour De France. Chrissie was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours and Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to sport and charity. She was also named the 2009 Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year and has Honorary Doctorates from the University of Birmingham and the University of Bristol. Chrissie lives with her husband, former professional athlete Tom Lowe, and their daughter Esme in a small village in Somerset.
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