Peter Greagg's 2014 Season Reset
Hey Coach P
I am 21 weeks away from my A Race, IM Australia (May 4),
and 11 weeks away from my B minus Race, 70.3 (February 23).
I have done no training from 5 weeks due to a hernia, which was repaired 2 weeks ago.
My surgeon says I can start training again, but only at Z1/Z2 intensities, but after 2 weeks of Z1/Z2 training, I can resume full training
I successfully completed the OS, achieving slightly better FTP and Vdot than last season. After the OS, I was at week 3 of a 5x5 hack devised by Coach P. We had planned to finish the 5x5 hack, and then load the Intermediate 70.3 plan until the B minus race, then load the IM Intermediate plan.
My question is this, should I just ease myself into the Intermediate 70.3 Plan, or should I do something else?
Comments
Didn't have great training over Xmas/New Year — it was what it was!
This is the end of week 14 beginner HIM.
Have tried to do the prescribed intensity based on swaged FTP and Vdot for this week and last week.
(I did a couple of 1 mile FTP intervals that felt around the money. Likewise, I did a couple of 12 min FTP bike intervals).
I am having trouble with the long run and long bikes. The other wkos feel around the money and are ok.
Last week
Last Thursday, I could only do 80 mins @ half way between MP and EP.
On Saturday the TP/HMP run before the long bike was fine, but I could only do 3 of the 5 FTP intervals. I bagged the workout.
On Sunday the TP/HMP run before the long bike was fine, and I did the other 2 intervals from Saturday, and then finished with 80-85% FTP — this was just over 2 hours @ NP of 151 and VI = 1.08.
This week
On Thursday, I managed 90 mins @ 10 sec per kilometre slower than my MP — pretty happy with the wko but it was very tough. I was shelled for the rest of the day and most of Friday.
On Saturday (Race rehearsal), the first 90 mins NP was 144 with VI = 1.03, but next 30 mins slid to NP of 136. By this stage I was really struggling. I lay under a tree with my feet up for 10 mins and resumed, just trying to get it done. The following 30 min intervals NP were 127, 105, and 92. The whole ride was 3 hours 16 mins with NP of 132 and a VI of 1.08. I didn't even try to run.
I have been sleeping long (8/9 hours usually). Last night was 11 hours. I am eating very clean in accordance with (exactly) with my sports nutritionist's menu. I am fueling before, during and after every wko of 60 mins or longer.
If I hadn't paid for the accommodation (unrefundable) and race, I would probably suggest dropping the HIM, and just concentrate on my (only) A race, IM Australia.
So, where to from here?
#1 -- to get that FTP tested so you have the right number and aren't burying yourself by chasing a swagged one.
#2 -- to confirm your race fueling plan is right. If you are eating to clean guidance all day, are you also eating properly on the bike? We have some pretty good guidance in the Wiki (http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/Wiki/tabid/91/Default.aspx?topic=Nutrition+Central) on how outline ideal calories.
I don't think you need more daily rest, although I would look to figure out a day off each week -- perhaps drop the mondays -- as a longer-term preventative measure.
Let me know what you think of #1 and #2!!!
Very happy to test my bike FTP, so I will replace mid-week interval session with the 5/10/20 test.
In relation to race fuelling, the link didn't appear to work, however, I have been following Jesse's webinar recommendations with great success every since he did the seminar (bike - 240 cals per 750 ml Infinit plus 2 x quarter of Power Bar per hour. I race around 146 pounds (I hope!)). And for the run, you helped me with this last season and I now take in similar calories to the bike per hour.
What about the long run? At the moment I am hitting the shorter run sessions ok, but can not hold the MP for 2 hours, let alone cranking up the pace in the second half of the run.
I see at least two options.
1) See what pace I can sustain for 2 hours and work on trying to negative split it as per the plan?
2) Or, work from last week's 90 min run, trying to extend the 90 mins at that pace I managed?
In relation to a rest day, I would be happy to move the Monday's swim only to Sunday — I am feeling pretty good about swimming at the moment.
And PS, thanks for the advice re the HIM and "it's just a stick" — when I wrote my post I was a little down from the bombed wko, but now I am happy to be able to train and finish the HIM, given the long enforced break from training.
And BTW, you Coaches Rock!
There are a few options -- use a recent Half Marathon time to calculate vDOT. Out of curiosity, I'd like you to drop your vDOT in here and see what the predicted half marathon time is and if you are within a minute to 1.5 minutes of that time (my guess is not): http://attackpoint.org/trainingpaces.jsp?eqdist=1500&vdot=31
Find a previous race's solid run performance to base off of...so if you ran 1:47 last year and you felt like you had a bit more, then we aim for a 1:45 finish time, etc. IWO charts and formulas are nice, but your own past performance is the best predictor of future performance.
IF you aren't comfortable with either of those, and need to stick with the current numbers, then we can dial the run back; first 66% as midpoint between Z1 and Z2.....then 25% @ z2, last 10% at Z2 or better is possible. While we want proper pacing, we also want that build.
I don't have any recent (last 3 years) run only races to see what my vDot is at longer distances.
However, a couple of years ago I ran a 2:02 off the bike in a HIM, with a vDot (@ 5 km) around 39. This was a very solid race with a very good build-up. So I am aware of my disconnect between shorter vs longer distances. That said, I did a 51 min run in an Oly 2 months before that HIM.
Part of my current problem is that my vDot has fallen since the OS because of the lay-off. Also, I need to confess, I put on 7 pounds during the lay-off.
Your suggested pacing for the long run is great, so thanks for your wisdom!
My Bad!
Just tested and could only put up AP/NP of 182 watts for the 20 min part of the test. Which obviously gives me an FTP of 173 watts, instead of the 182 I assumed.
So that explains a lot of my problem.
Luckily you are the Coach and I am only the athlete.
So with easier bike wkos, and your long run modification, I should be in a better place.
Thanks again for your help, support and guidance.
I am in week 16 of begineer HIM plan.
All bike wkos done for the specified time and specified intensities — all good!
For the long run, your plan had me targetting 80 mins @ 6:50 min/km, then 30 min @ 6:20 min/km, and finally 10 mins above 6:20 pace, if I could.
Last week I just managed to do 80 mins @ 6:50 min/km, but from then on I was just trying to survive. I could only average 7:00 min/km for the whole run, so I slowed a lot. — it was well over 90 degrees at the time.
Fortunately it has cooled down a lot. This week I managed 80 mins @ 6:42 min/km (because I was feeling pretty good), then 30 mins @ 6:34 min/km, and finally 10 mins @ 6:20 min/km.
This wasn't quite what you suggested. To note that my heart rate for the 80 min block was 128 bpm, whereas I had 142 bpm for the 30 min section, and 149 bpm for the 10 min block. Also, the jump in RPE from the 80 min block to the 30 min block was substantial, although the paces are only 8 secs per km faster. There was also a noticable jump in RPE from the 30 min block to the 10 min block.
Peter
Next week is the scheduled HIM run rehearsal and was wondering what I should aim for (as in what paces for which 25%/50%/25%)?
MS: 80' @ z2/MP/Steady, 15' @ z3/HMP/ModHard, 25' final push at best possible effort.
So I would warm up 10 minutes, then do the above. The idea is to do the bulk of the run in Zone 2 with a strong finish. If your strong finish is all Z2, great...if you do 80' zone 2 and then 15' zone 3 then have to go back to zone 2 -- no worries -- we just want to use this run to set some expectations re pacing on race day (and to practice nutrition, etc).
Given your note above re the heat, wanted to make sure you understood that when the temps are higher than 80 degrees Fahrenheit, you add between 3 to 5 seconds per mile/km. So, if your target pace is 9:30s, but the temp is 95, then you would be running 9:39 and 9:45. When the conditions get that extreme it's more about sustained effort than hitting some random pace you and I drew up before you decided to train in a blast furnace!!!
Just finished my B minus race (HIM) — just under 20 mins slower than last year. Happy just being able to do the race, so thanks for all your help.
I have got a couple of questions about my A race (IM Australia).
Which plan should I do? I was thinking given my tendency to over-cook myself and that the Beginners Plan worked well for the HIM, I was thinking of the Beginners Plan?
Second, what should I do this week? I am feeling quite sore and tired at the moment. Also I note that next week is bike and run tests, so I would like to be ready for them.
You can load that plan via Training / My Plan / Move Change plan then choose Transition Beginner...
and yes to beginner IM...