Really well executed race with a great run, very well done!
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Top lurking, pacing and racing 
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Congratulations on your time, 9:45 is very impressive… you now need a sub 9 goal 
It sounds like they have really sorted the bike course. The port section had horrible surface and far too many rail track crossings, but if the course avoids that and is on decent roads it makes a huge difference. As Jorgan said, when windy, the dyke is pretty relentless, but on a calm day it would be really fast, but like any course we just have to deal with conditions on the day.
The run was superb in 2019, still my favourite run of any IM I have competed in.
The swim has been dogged with Blue Green Algae, this is much worse late in the season, in 2018 (swim cancelled due to algae) and 2019 (swim almost cancelled due to algae), however, by moving the event to June it eliminates this issue.
Sounds like IM have really listened to athletes concerns and are transforming Hamburg into a great race.
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I’d probably agree with that. I even got a free hamstring massage from a random German bloke when I pulled-up in agony on lap 3 
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Obviously anyone who hasn’t gone sub ten on this course was sandbagging ……
INCOMING X
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It was an Ultra as bike was 186km 
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Of course… and that really anoyed me as there was zero reason for it, they could have put the turn around 1.5km down the road and it would have been 180km. @GGG was the course length accurate this time?
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Well done @GGG - sounds like you had a blast
Can I ask how you structured your build for this race? What your key sessions were etc?
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Yes nothing around the port, just two loops with a short section (about 20km) in the city then 70km out and back on the dyke. I can imagine that the dyke could be savage with the wind against you!
Go faster than Jorgan and Matt …
Achieved !
#troll
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Yes it was bang on this time thankfully! As you said not hard to get right on an out and back course.
I don’t begrudge anyone going faster than me, unless on the same day on the same course in the same Age group.
… what hurt was going 10:02. I am glad @GGG went sub 10 with a decent margin
Technically I have not gone Sub 10 yet as Roth bike was 10km short
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Yeah, my PB is faster than yours! I guess your IM Hamburg is worth ~9:50 in reality? (if you knocked 6km off the bike)
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My main focus was definitely the bike and for training I followed the Trainerroad low volume long distance plan, which is two midweek rides of 1-1.5hrs (mix of VO2 max, threshold etc) and typically one weekend ride up to 4.5hrs (I think) in zone 2. I did everything midweek on the trainer and all but 5 or 6 of the long rides on the trainer too. I highly recommend it if you don’t mind the trainer.
The bike position was almost as important I’d say - 155mm cranks were great to make it comfortable on the hips being relatively low at the front (I’m 5ft10 for context). They were hard to find but I bought them from this place (a kids’ bike specialist!): Croder Cycling Cranks UK Distributor – Kids Racing Ltd. My bike was a Cervelo P-Series with 65mm front wheel and 80mm rear wheel so a good setup but not a superbike.I also did mobility exercises for 10 mins before bed 3-4 times per week which really helped with hip and back mobility so I could hold the position.
I had really wanted to improve my swimming but for various reasons (largely time and logistics) I ended up doing 2x55m swims per week which were not as structured as they should have been and consisted of mainly threshold or easy (race pace) swimming. I don’t have any swimming advice to give and hate it half the time!
For the run essentially I’m very lucky that I can run well from low volume easy running training. My sessions were one midweek run of 1h-1h15 at an easy pace (about 5m/km if flat) and an easy long run of 2-3h at the weekend. I tried some harder midweek running but I found that my legs were too tired to complete the key bike sessions so I reverted to easier running. I don’t have a running background so I think I can run well from this lower volume/intensity training because I’m relatively light (68kg) and I spent all my childhood, teens and uni years playing rugby, football etc seven days a week so maybe benefit from that being “in the system” as it were. On running my main two comments would be don’t get injured and don’t hamper the bike training.
Lastly (sorry for the essay) I practised taking in 100g of carbs per hour on the bike from a homemade 750ml “beta fuel” bottle made from 57g maltodextrin, 43g fructose and a hydration tablet. I think this is probably the most important thing about running well.
Hope that all makes sense!
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I know I remember ( road works thing ) ?!
Making it longer is crap, technically I managed to beat GGG ( great user name ) boxing ! At Bolton in 19… so I’m faster than you !
And Jorgan … pfftt!
Seriously if you could see me in my garden with a beer gut and arms as fat as my head you’d know who the fastest is!
Following the sub 9… just need to read the latest 100 posts … good luck .
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I’m totally with you on that. And with two runs and two swims that’s super impressive. I take it you had significant run experience already?
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That’s a really helpful and fascinating insight
So it looks like you did about 7 hours of cycling, 2 hours of swimming, 4 hours of running over about 7 sessions each week? Did you have a rest day or did you do something every day?
Great performance 
and decent lurking too
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I haven’t done any pure running but I think all the rugby training etc I’ve done is somewhat comparable to an athletics background. I’ve been running fairly consistently for the past five years doing triathlon, with four proper six- or seven-month training periods building up to two halves and two IMs in 17, 19, last year and this year.
EDIT: For context my first tri in 2017 was the Cotswold Classic which I did in 5h22 (38m/c2h55/1h45m). That was essentially learning to swim front crawl and building the confidence to do all the distances but with not very structured training, so that hopefully gives an idea of what my starting point was. Again it was getting into the Trainerroad plan for Bolton in 2019 that really started improving things.
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As @fruit_thief said, that’s a great insight, thanks for sharing.
Gives me confidence that I can hopefully do it myself one day. My Iron pb is pitiful and embarrassing from my first attempt in 2014. I think once I’ve got both Bolton and Tenby out of the way this year I need to get myself on a quick course for 2023
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Yes bang on. My typical week would be:
Monday swim 55m (maximum pool session length as my local pool sucks)
Tuesday bike 1-1.5h
Wednesday run 1h
Thursday bike 1-1.5h
Friday swim 55m
Saturday bike 3-4.5h
Sunday run 2-3h
So my typical weekly hours would vary from 10 to 14ish depending on how close it was to the race.
I don’t schedule any rest days as I don’t think I carry that much fatigue as the training volume isn’t that high and the only real intensity comes on the bike on Tuesdays and Thursdays. However the swim days were essentially rest days for the legs.
Every time I’ve started a training plan I’ve thought “right I’m definitely going to do three swim sessions, three run sessions and three bike sessions and be a proper triathlete”. I’ve then managed this for the first month then realised that I was knackered at work, my wife hated me or I wasn’t getting the training in. I’ve now realised that just focusing on churning out week after week of one session a day every day is consistently achievable over a six/seven month period. I stopped listening to all those podcasts that say you’ve got to do this, that and everything else and just kept it as simple and easy to repeat as possible.
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