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First-year pro Kyle Buckingham won his first Ironman in Lake Placid in July, clocking a 2:57 marathon to win by more than 12 minutes. The South African was the overall amateur winner at the Ironman World Championship in 2013, and his 8:37 was good enough for 16th overall. This year he’ll go back to Kona to race in the big leagues, fueled by tough sessions like the one below from his coach Raynard Tissink.
This long, tough track workout—it works out to be close to 20 miles—was given to him as part of his training block with Tissink.
“We like to use this session on a track to increase speed,” Buckingham says. “I would not say it’s my favorite workout but it is definitely beneficial to work on your speed.” He also uses it as an opportunity to test race fuel. “I like to practice my race nutrition by GU Energy on the track so I am comfortable when I get to a race and know exactly when to fuel.”
RELATED: Buckingham, Ferreira Get Breakout Wins At Lake Placid
Warm-up
2K easy
Main Set
28×1000 at marathon pace with very short (1–2 min) recovery
Cool-down
2K easy