Crazy Work Schedule every 3 Weeks how do I switch up that weeks Training?

Mscoryjo

Ok, So this is my first "season" with Team EN (I started in Nov OS 2012), and due to injuries I haven't been able to participate 100% till now. So skipping a workout wasn't a HUGE deal , other than my own self directed frustrations. But now I am 9ish weeks out from my HIM (MI Titanium; Grand Rapids MI) my first ever HIM, and I want it to be a success! So that I can confidently sign up for next years IMWI!

My dilemma is that every three weeks I work a weekend for 3 consecutive days. I work 12-13 hour shifts (in a hospital, from 7a to 8p) and I don't feel safe riding 3 hours before or after work in the dark. Plus it would KILL me. So I have been just running for an hour before and biking for an hour after work. However, it's something I make up on the fly. It usually includes part of the day's "prescribed" bike/run interval. But, I'm not confident it's the best for my training. It has been draining me drastically and it usually takes me till tuesday or wednesday to feel like I can finish the "prescribed" work out again. My motto all along has been, if it didn't kill me (and I assure you I haven't died yet,  whew!!) then it made me stronger mentally and/or physically.So...... How should I change up those weekends, or three day stretches? Just keep doing what I'm doing???? or... something else?

Second, I work random 3 days a week and will have a hard time getting in my longer ride or run on my 13 hour work days. Is it ok to switch a swim day (cause I can get to the Y by 5am and crank it out before work) or just get in the intervals on the bike/run (within my 60min allotted time) and call it good? For example; I will sometimes switch a long ride to the next day (my day off) and pull the swim, from the next day, to the day I work. This way it tricks my OCD brain into thinking I still got all my training in. For OS, it was easy (hahahaha kinda) I just changed a few days around and had other team mates doing the same. Now that I am looking at race day right around the corner and the training time is increasing each week, and I don't want to incur another injury, I want to be sure I am setting myself up for a positive good race!

Thanks for your time reading this and I look forward to the feed back.

Coach Rich

Cory, 

I think it's more helpful if you used some principals that PnI use to adjust our own training, to adjust yours:

• Do your best to retain the running frequency (# runs per week) scheduled in the plan. 
• Within this guidance, do your best to retain the consistency and volume of your long run. This is probably your most important session of the week and everything else revolves around it. So I recommend in these crazy weeks that you put that on the calendar and schedule everything else around it so that the other workouts support the good execution of your long run.
• If it were me, I wouldn't bother riding my bike on those three challenging work days. I would (1) do what it takes to get in my long run that week, (2) do what it takes to get in either my bike or run interval session, with the priority placed on my weaker sport. (3) I would do all of ^this^ NOT on those 3 work days. (4) For those work days, I would get in "a" run, whatever I could fit in. Within ^this^ guidance, the shorter you run (or ride, for that matter) the harder you run/ride. So a great, great run is to warmup maybe 5-10', bang out 2x1mi @ T-pace, 5' cool down. That will probably take you 35-40' and that's all you need. 
• Same for an interval bike...don't worry about the length. Jump on the bike, go as hard as you can for the time you have, done.

Finally, it would probably be best to shoot these strange weeks by Patrick in the Micro Thread. That is, post in there saying "this is what the plan says to do, this is my version of the plan based on the crazy week I have, what do you think?" After a couple rounds of that you'll get the hang of making the changes yourself. 

Good luck!

Mscoryjo

Thank you for the feedback! That makes sense. I don't really want to miss out on my long ride or run! Mostly because I still speed skate three "ish" times a week and that's practically ALL intervals compared to the HIM training. I will heed your advice and post my intrepretation of how my "crazy" week should play out on to the micro thread and see what Coach Patrick's advice is when my next crazy week pops up on me.