Triaging a Schedule, Life on Life's Terms

morpheus

Fact: 2013 has gone awry.  Injuries and illness have been legit, not the overhyped drama kind.

Fiction:  2013's A race (Sept 8) is a wash and scrapped.

Fact:  I have more fitness in the bank, right now, than I ever have for my IM journey starting line.  Just 4lbs over IMFL race weight, FTP(pre-Flu) higher than IMFL, Vdot (pre-Injury) higher than ever before.  And I've had something (a rhythm thing, timing) click in the pool over the last 10 weeks.

Fiction:  Due to the last 3 weeks (1 week of declining effort prior, 1 week of Flu, and 1 week post flu fatigue/cough), I fear that I've lost it all, taken 10 steps backwards.

Fact:  Due to the last 3 weeks of being benched, I've had all nagging injuries that I was grinding thru heal up nicely.  Now, easing back into Tri Life, relearning to run with a metronome, swimming with every 25m having a purpose, spinning ez on the bike.

Fiction:  I'm gonna be able to jump right back into High Intensity work.  As I've spent some time on the bike and treadmill over the last couple of days, my lungs are the limiter...z2/drill work? no problem...start pushing it AT ALL?  I start hacking up a lung to the point that I worry about hernias/strained abs/spontaneous pneumothorax/almost to the point of throwing up.

Bottom Line....I've heard the coaches say "Your Injury/Illness is your coach now".  And, that's making sense to me, now.

There's one plan on my calendar now, a 20 week IM build into Sept 8th.  I'm spending the next 5 weeks getting ready for that start date.  Mindful eating, getting enough sleep, careful/patient training, utilizing knowledge gained from the last several years with EN on dripping in intensity that's spread out thru the week, countered with strategically placed ez Active Recovery days.  This time is now my preseason.

I won't try to pretend that everything is 'Just Fine'.  I'm not where I wanted to be at this point, but I know that I'm not as bad as I want to whine about.

So, I'm hacking (not the lung kind) and you can slice this up for me, maybe I'll use your tips, help me get back, help me get ready.

Monday- ez recovery spin

Tues- run (metronome/drills/hill repeats)

Wed- FTP work on  the bike, ez metronome run with accels

Thurs- long run (gonna use a local 4 mile trail loop for multiple reasons)

Fri- ez recovery spin

Sat and Sun Rides and Runs will be the usual pattern during an IM build, building as my health allows over the next 5 weeks.

swimming fits in as work/life allows, usually 3-4 swims/week with 2-3 being real short and 1-2 with decent volume.

 

I really feel that this will be a reasonable block to regain my feel for my fitness and to be prepared for the build into IMMoo.  Obviously, Plan A would have been to stick to the prescribed workouts but Life On Life's Terms happened and now I'm forced to used the Knowledge gained from the coaches, the WSM's, and da Haus, and to apply that knowledge to my current situation.  My hope is that I've learned enough from you guys that this will possibly salvage my first half of the year, allowing my to recover appropriately, and be ready to jump back into The Game when the 20 week plan starts up.

feedback, positive or negative, is welcomed...

morpheus

John, you're probably right about that. Aside from consistent showing up, those key weeks for volume may be the single most important factor in achieving a satisfying IM effort. By the time that stretch rolls around, I'll be back to normal. (God Willing). Most of us around here are looking for more than 'satisfying', thus all of the Get Faster and then learn to hold that longer mentality. I'm looking for something in between, at least at this point.

Based on my circumstances, and I didn't do a good job of getting specific about what I plan to do during those workouts (including the weekends), I do plan on doing more z2-3 work than usual around here. I still plan on dripping in the effort on a progressive model on the right days, just not at the magnitude of where most of my IMMoo peeps are at right now. I'm calling it a ReIntegration Plan.

BTW, mojo is Level 8, it's the lungs that are keeping me in the slow lane right now.

Thanks for the feedback.

morpheus

I hear ya, John. And, please don't get me wrong...all I meant by 'satisfying' was that we've chosen to work harder and faster for the next race instead of being satisfied with where we were.

If I make it 3 decades, I'll be elated...and probably be the next Gandalf, in tri knowledge AND appearance.

Nate Parady

I'm just coming back from ITBS so I am also on the journey of playing some catch up. Bike is solid, running is still at an Easy Pace for now...My "A" Race is also in Sept.
A few comments:
-I think you have even more time than you think. I also don't think you need to start the IM plan 20 weeks out...The Last two season's I started my IM plan at 14 and 12 weeks out and was just fine. Maybe a few long bikes prior to the official start, but didn't really go full boar until around the 12 week time frame.
-Any over the counter options or even a trip to the doctor to help clear those lungs out. Focused intensity on getting UN sick...Sleep, food, vitamins, humidifier, etc
-Can you do even 2-5' of FTP work at a time without hacking up a lung...
-One thing you and I both have to our advantage in terms of getting fitness back is our weight. I think being close to your race weight makes a huge difference with getting back up to speed (pardon the pun)

good luck..stay calm...

Joe Matchette

Chris - thanks for putting this out there.  I agree that you will and do have plenty of time to make Wisconsin a total success.

Just don't be a stubborn ass and mess up your recovery!

morpheus

@Nate- I'm sure you're right about the 20wk vs 14(ish) week thing. I was thinking that I'd shoot for the longer slower build so that I could be VERY patient (almost...conservative) with my FTP work and VO2 work. I don't want to feel like I'm cramming for a big test. Until I know my legs/lungs are back 100%, I'm going with shorter FTP work intervals and longer recovery intervals. I'll know more tomorrow...I'm going to do a very small bit of FTP work based on a number that will be adjusted a few watts lower than before this mess. It'll be somewhat of a 'test' without actually testing.

Agree with the whole focus on get UNsick thing...and it's coming around, pretty quick right now, energy is back up and legs are moving better than I thought they would be. Lungs still hacking whenever, awake or asleep. Want to get past that.


@Joe- Thanks for the push. Really appreciate it. You're right, there's plenty of time. Being flexible when season plans don't go as laid out is a necessary skill to have in this trade/hobby/passion, but I never 'like' doing it.

coop6

Chris, you've been pretty patient with this respiratory thing. I think a trip to the doctor is a reasonable thing at this point, if you haven't been. I picked up a pretty mild respiratory bug, I wasn't horribly sick but the resulting inflammation had me coughing and wheezing like crazy when I would try to work out. I started off similar to you with a week of declining effort prior to actual URI symptoms. After a couple weeks of this, I finally went in Monday, and he threw the book at me. I left with 3 different prescriptions and this morning I am finally moving some air. Sometimes you need a little help to shake these bugs. 3 weeks is a long time to be hacking around the clock...
Best of luck, you've got plenty of time yet to nail your A race.

morpheus

Thanks Sarah, that does sound awfully familiar.

Gordon Cherwoniak

Chris,

I think the key to the next few week is just getting some consistent work the tri space.  You mention z2 being the top end right now and that's fine.  Take it slow and ease in. 

A couple comments:

Your plan has something every day consider a day off just to rest.  You are not at 100% yet so no need to do something every day.  Maybe in week 1 & 2 this is OS style schedule (without the intensity) and take 2 days off.  Then move up to your schedule for the next two weeks. 

For me I'd just cancel on of those ez recovery spins and get an extra hour of sleep in the morning.

As to the 20 week IM build as Nate mentioned you definitely don't need it but might be wiser than going to the GFP and bringing back those injuries you mentioned.

Gordon

morpheus

Thanks Gordon, good points, I have thought about those same ideas. The Day Off decision will stay fluid, listen to the body stuff, but I seem to respond pretty well to the active recovery stuff. It's not as much about getting the extra time in as it is about REAL ez spinning to clean the legs out. Maybe that's old school thinking.

Having said that, if I want to skip it & sleep in, those are the days for it.

As for the intensity, I will, as you mentioned, really take it ez for these first couple of weeks back. I believe I'll know when it's time to go harder & longer. In the meantime, it'll resemble 'accels' just to see. After a couple of weeks, I can swag that FTP a bit. Doubt I'll test til I get back on the IMMoo build.

Thanks!