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Clark's Micro Thread

My first micro post.  Hopefully I have this right.

My swim tonight is as follows:

WU: 200 

MS1: 4 x 200 (30"), last 50 of each is a sprint. 50 Easy 

MS2: 5 x 150 (20"), last 50 of each is a sprint. 50 Easy 

CD: 200 easy Total: ~2200

I understand the warm up and cool down. I also understand that 4x200(30") means swim 200 then rest for 30 seconds before swimming the second 200, third and fourth. I understand that the idea is to swim the first 150 of each 200 at my main set pace and then to sprint for the final 50. What I don't understand is the "50 easy". 

My first thought was to swim 50 easy after MS1 and again after MS2, but the distance does not add up if I do that.

My second thought was to swim 50 easy after each 200, but again the total distance does not add up.

I'm heading to the pool now, so I'm just going to wing-it, but it would be helpful to understand if this workout comes up again.

Thanks,

Clark

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Comments

  • Clark, no worries. I read this as 200 of "work" then a 50 "easy" to recalibrate. 4 x 200 with 50 easy is 1000. I like the 50 as it's a chance to reset your form, which can deteriorate so easily during the main set!
  • Ok, thanks.  That makes sense.

  • My swim workout says "your goal race pace minus 3"" - this is 3 seconds faster than my goal race pace, correct?

  • Another question, this time about the bike workout.

    I'm having trouble with the concept of "on" time.  My workout calls for 10 minutes of "on" time and the coaches note says to break up this time into increments I can do at max sustainable effort across the full set. 30 on / 30 off or 1 on / 1 off. So I'm riding for 30 seconds at ~90%/Zone4/Hard and then 30 seconds at zone 1/easy to recover, presuming I can keep this up for 20 reps of 30 seconds on / 30 seconds off.  Is this understanding basically correct?  If so, then is the ~90%/Zone4/Hard what I would vary to produce the sustainable effort across the full set?  Thus, if I had to do 20 minutes of "on" time, I might need to do 30on/30off at ~80% instead of 90% due to the increased session duration?  Am I understanding this correctly?

  • @Clark, yes to swimming 3 seconds faster. As for ON time, it's meant to be Zone 5 (zone 4 is threshold and you can do that effort up to 20 minutes no problem).

    The goal is you do the ON time for a duration that you can sustain Zone 5 effort...so if you can do zone 5 for 1' on, 1' off, do it...but if you can, cut it back to 40/40 or 30/30...
  • I'm following the off season plan right now and I'm a bit confused about the duration of some of the bike workouts.  For example, a recent main set was 3x14 (4) zone 4 and the listed workout duration was 60 minutes.  The off season bike warm-up is 25 minutes total so the warm-up combined with the main set puts me at 79 minutes, not 60 as listed.  Does the listed duration exclude the warm-up or should I cut back on the warm-up so that I don't exceed the workout duration?  I'm doing the complete main set regardless.

    Thanks,

    Clark

  • @Richard sorry for the confusion. The plans are written according to a 10 to 15 minute warm up. anything extra / longer than that should be added to total workout time you see there!!!
  • Last night I completed the 40 minute bike test as part of the 20 week IM plan and now I have a heart rate, bike test result question.

    My results are as follows:
    03/19/14 - 13.74 miles in 40 min at 151 avg heart rate.
    01/07/14 - 12.85 miles in 40 min at 145 avg heart rate.

    My question is this, since the heart rate is so much different, how do I compare the results?
  • Clark, you technically don't you compare the distance. In 40 minutes you were 1 mile an hour faster, or 1.5 mph faster over an hour. That's going from 18.5mph to 20mph....a great improvement!! I would run your HR zones again and try to use those...but really the goal here is to make sure that your Z4 intrevals are at the speed you "earned" from this test. Nice work!
  • Thanks Pat, I was/am pretty pleased with the result.  I saw a similar improvement on my 5K run test so I really feel good about the work that I've been putting in.

    I have another quick plan related question.  I'm in week 13 of the intermediate IM plan, training for IMTX.  On my plan, camp week works out to the week of 4/7/14, so I'm wondering if I have things confused or if the IMTX camp was this past weekend just because of scheduling as opposed to where it would fall in the standard 20 week plan.

    I could not come to camp as I'm in PA and I only have $$ and vacation to get to TX for race week but I'm planning to follow the "camp week" workouts in a couple of weeks when the come up on my plan.

    Am I following along correctly or have I messed something up and should have done the camp week workouts this past weekend?

    Sorry for what is probably a stupid question.

    Clark

  • @Clark, no such thing as a stupid question inside EN. Yes this week's camp was for logistical reasons due to my running the Boston Marathon. image So continue following your plan, but check in on the Group for the resources we are sending out!!!
  • I'm in week 15 of a full IM plan, training for IMTX and I may need to push my camp week activities around a little to accommodate life and weather. Instead of Friday / Saturday for the long rides, I may need to do Saturday / Sunday. What are your suggestions for this arrangement? I was thinking Friday long swim, Sat bike RR and brick run, Sun long ride and Monday long run. What I'm not sure about is the Thursday before all of that.

    If I do rearrange, then my recovery goal will be to get back on plan for the Wednesday ride after camp or worst case the Thursday run.

    Any suggestions would be appreciated!

    Clark
  • @Clark...that's great! I would do a 60' run on Thursday, with last 20' at HMP / Zone 3. Then Friday RR Swim, Sat/Sun/Mon as you listed. Tuesday off, Wed bike intervals at best effort given you are tired (90%?) then Thursday long run for TIME but nothing hard...very easy here....friday swim, back on plan!!
  • I'm scheduled for a bike test tomorrow. Up to now I've been HR only for bike testing, but I got a power meter three weeks ago. My question is should I test tomorrow as HR or go ahead and follow the power protocol?
  • Power!! Just make sure you know how to do the lap function see you capture the right data from both the five and the 20 minute tests.
  • I'm in week 13 of the intermediate plan for IMAZ. This will be my third full distance race. My last Tri was IMTX in May of this year. I would like to race a HIM on Saturday 10/4 just to get back into "race mode". What are you thoughts on this and do you have any recommendations on working this into my training plan?
  • I love it, I think it's a great idea see you can reconcile your memory of fitness from Texas with your current state of fitness now. There is information in the wiki in the self coaching section on how to integrate the half Ironman. Generally it's the regular week through Wednesday and then we modify things down to taper for the race and recover.
  • Great, thanks. I'll check out the wiki and if I have specific questions I'll ask.

    Thanks again.
  • I'm getting ready to switch over to the "EN Full Advanced" Plan at the end of August in preparation for IMAZ. I was reviewing some of the later weeks, trying to plan my bigger weeks and I noticed significant changes to Week 18 vs. prior years. As I expected, week 18 has a full Swim -> Bike -> Run race rehearsal, but it's on Friday and then it's followed up by another 112 mile bike / run brick on Saturday and then a third 112 mile bike on Sunday. This seems like an awful lot of work to try and consolidate in a two week of taper. It also represents a significant chunk of time, which I'll need to start planning for now. Can you take a look and let me know if the plan is accurate?

  • Clark, we are revisiting this section. As an advanced athlete, we would expect you to do the Friday and Saturday sessions, both 112. This Sunday is a bonus day. If you need extra miles on the bike that the data get it is the last chance to add it to your fitness. If you've got a lot of fatigue in the system or if the schedule's tough, then you can strike it and still be fine on race day.

    This is what the advanced plan entails. It's advanced. We can always dial it back so it works for you.
  • Thanks Coach.  I'm not complaining about the work/volume, it is the advanced plan.  I was more curious about the timing.  I guess I would have expected that extra volume in or around camp week and not in week 18 of a 20 week plan.  Thanks for the feedback.  I'll adjust my schedule accordingly.

    Clark

  • Clark, not saying you are complaining! Your was the 20th(?) message in a week about this..so we have made edits. You can see more in the Admin Forum here: http://bit.ly/2aC3OE1

    Looking forward to following your training!

    ~ Coach P
  • Coach, I need some help, please. During my Friday morning run (week 16 for IMAZ) I tripped and fell pretty hard. I'll spare you the details, but share that the outcome is a grapefruit sized contusion on my left hip and pain in my right knee. I had trouble walking all weekend, but I managed to complete my entire swim (4400m) and most of two long rides. I would say that as of today, my swim is at 95%, my ride is at 60 - 65% and my run is at 0%.

    Week 17 started today...

    I need your input on a revised schedule given my current capabilities. I'm also looking for recommendations around the importance of this week and the run race rehearsal vs the final race rehearsals next weekend. Said differently, should I try to keep pushing myself this week in an effort to miss as little work as possible, or should I be dialing back some to ensure I'm as close to 100% as possible for the final race rehearsal work?

    I don't feel like I did any harm with the work that I did the past two days, so I'm inclined to keep doing what I can. I would just like your input and thoughts.

    Thanks,
    Clark

  • Quick update - My swim went well last night, but I still can't run. I skipped the Tuesday interval run today. I'll swim tonight per plan and I plan to bike tomorrow per plan. I don't expect I'll be able to run tomorrow either...

    I'm really anxious about the RR on Thursday.

    Looking forward to your input.
  • Clark,
    I'm sure P will chime in, but I would say you need to see a doctor to see exactly what you did. A contusion that big could mean a lot of things. Once they tell you what the deal is, you can better determine what you should and shouldn't do. I typically use the do it if it doesn't hurt, but the hip is the start of the chain to a lot of things (likely why you felt knee pain). Also, moving with any pain can lead to changes in mechanics that can cause all sorts of other issues. Sorry I don't have more to tell you, maybe others do, but I would see a doc stat to see what is going on.
  • My guess (I'm not a Dr. nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express) is that the major swelling is causing the running pain/discomfort.  Especially if no other activities give you any pain.

    I'd suggest lots of ice, elevation, and anti-inflammatories for a few days.  if it isn't better by next week perhaps then go into see a real doctor.

  • Clark - your question is a little out of my league but if it were me, I would replace Thursday's run rehearsal with a 3 hour Z3 ride, pick up the scheduled work on Saturday and then replace Sunday's schedule with Thursday's run ... the traditional, non-EN day for an IM long run. That will buy you a little more time to heal if it really is just a bruise. You'll be running on tired legs, so it's not ideal. If you are able to start the run on Sunday, the thing to ask yourself is it loosening up as you go along or is the pain getting worse? If the latter occurs, pull the plug so you don't dig a hole you can't get out of. Seeing a doc is never a bad idea if you can get an appt that fast. Good luck.
  • Thanks Paul, that's exactly the feedback I was looking for. I'm trying to follow what everyone has suggested, but I was really hoping someone had some thoughts on rearranging my workouts.
  • @ Clark - I'd have it checked out immediately. Chances, are the that Paul's advice is good but I'd want to know if it were something more, and thus what i can/ cannot do with it.. That's just me.
    My daughter smashed her toe and while we knew if it was broken there was no treatment, wanted to know if she would do more damage, she's a serious LAX player. We went to urgent care, for a $60 co-pay had the answers...
    also, not a big wait on a saturday morning first thing.
  • THIS TEAM ROCKS. What Paul said bike now run later, and get it checked. We have insurance for things just like this!

    Please keep me posted!

    ~ Coach P
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