2 IM in a year CDA & CHOO
I'm looking for some advice on how to train for 2 IM distances in one year. CDA is late June and Chattanooga in late September. I'm thinking of maybe doing an OS program and droping into the IM plan 12-16 weeks out from CDA but how do i bridge between the two? Is March to September to long to be in IM training mode?
These are my 2nd and 3rd IM events so I've got a solid base rolling into 2014. Just need some help planning this out.
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There have a been a few threads recently about IMs much closer together...suggest you peruse the forums to see what advice has been given vis-a-vis a Double only a few weeks apart. Your experience will be different, but this will give you an idea of what other teammates have been doing.
+1 on let Rich plan your season for you (he'll call for requests later this year, I assume)
That said, you will probably want to do the OS and then Get Faster until 12 weeks out from CDA, then follow IM plan weeks 9-20. Take 2-3 weeks "transition" then pick up the IM plan again weeks 11/12-20 for IM Chat. Spending more than 12 weeks for the first IM in IM training mode, or more than 10 weeks for the second one is counter-productive ... it will drive you and those around you batty and into a hole.
I usually do 2-3 IMs per year, and have found that I can do OK on about 10 weeks IM prep for the first one, then 8 (or fewer, if they are closer than 10 weeks apart) for the second one. Doing them 3 months apart, like you are planning, is plenty of time to get rested after the first, and well trained for the second. Getting closer than 12 weeks requires more attention to specific alterations in the plan for the second IM.
I did IMC less than three weeks ago and I'm also doing IMFL (10 weeks between). Next year I'm doing IMCdA and IMMT (7 weeks between).
I took the two weeks off after IMC. Well, I did two short swims but that was no big deal. I'm in IMC+3 weeks right now and did some light work. I swam 2x (about 2000m each), 2 rides (30 + 45 minutes) and two runs (three miles each). I felt okay. Swim and bike were fine but still had some lingering recovery when it came to the run.
Next week I plan on getting 100% back into it and hit it hard for 5-6 weeks.
Did anyone plan there races as an A and B race? Ideally I would like Chatt. to be the A race but I'm not sure if that's the correct way to execute since it is the second of the two.
Good luck!
I'm taking IM off next year, gonna be very flexible with plans for a few olympic dist races. However, I have intentions to use my weekends for some longer workouts. That said, if you think having some company on a few of those longer rides will help you break up the monotony, gimme a holler.
C
There is a cost to what you want to do besides money and fitness. If you have all of that in check.... party on.
@Dino, congrats on Tahoe! That seems like a challeging double to pull off in a year. How many off weeks did you do after CDA before jumping back into the IM plan?
I thought I had a good second build and showed up to Tahoe with slightly improved FTP numbers and about the same run threshold as before CdA. I think if the Tahoe course was more similar to CdA, I could of been faster. But, the Tahoe course is NOT kinds course. Though, in hindsight, I found it to be a wonderful challenge and actually really enjoyed it.
The one are that flexed was the swimming. After the first build, I was bored with it and had work and family and life that needed back in after being shut out temporarily during the first build. Swimming was just too costly during the second build and I greatly reduced it. Tahoe was 5 minutes longer then CdA, but that was the long walk in and out of the shallows combined with the thin air.
Most people in your life with understand the first build and cut you enormous slack. Ironman has a ton of sex appeal and most think those who attempt it are super human. However, those same people seem to think you a bit of a dick during the second build.... Go figure....
If you have the mind set for it (ground hog day), Rich will build a plan to get you to the start line fit.
FWIW - I am only doing Chattanooga next year. Maybe I will do a double again in 2015, but it would need to be VERY early and a VERY late races.
pay attention to this recent thread http://members.endurancenation.us/Forums/tabid/57/aft/13405/Default.aspx
After CDA I took a solid week off and then eased into the transition plan for two weeks with a lot of swimming, a few zone 1-2 bikes, and a few zone 1-2 runs. This week I jumped into the CHOO plan at week 11 and I seem to be struggling a lot. Running and biking Zone 3-4 efforts seem to take a lot out of me and my heart rate is elevated approximately 10 bpm above where i was previously for these efforts.
Should I be easing back into the full blown IM training more for the next couple of weeks? Focus on Zone 1-2 for a bit longer and still mix in some 4-5 work. I think the reality is that I expected to pick up where I left off but the workouts feel a lot tougher than normal. I'm sure everyone's recovery time is different but any guidance or past experience would help.
Your fitness has naturally diminished after your taper and transition following the race. Mentally, you remember what it felt like during those last workouts in the 3-4 weeks before IM CDA, and now it doesn;t feel the same, which is to be expected. In particular, it's normal for HR at equal efforts to be higher now than it was than . But the heart, like any other muscle, responds to training; it will come back over the next 3-4 weeks.
The next month may be the "hardest" in the sense that you will be struggling to get the workouts done. But those struggles are where the return to your previous fitness will come. Don't pay attention to how you feel or how hard it is *during* the workouts. Instead, focus on signs of insufficient recovery, such as: Poor sleep, needing much more sleep, elevated resting HR in the morning, weight loss, grouchiness, etc. When those signs start to ring the warning bell, then take a day off now and then; skipping the occasional wko is better, IMO, than trying to short change all the workouts.
Remind yourself it takes work to improve, and that this is what work feels like. Just don't dig yourself a hole, or fall in one, by neglecting the signs of insufficient recovery.