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Coach Dick's 2015 Training Thread: The Assault on Wisconsin

Coach RichCoach Rich
in General Training Discussions

Team,

My last triathlon race was Ironman Wisconsin 2011, where I posted a 10:19 on training that I wasn't 100% satisfied with. I haven't raced since then despite good intentions, namely because I've been misfortunate enough to have some flavor of gravity assisted, low traction induced, two wheels enabled accidents in November 2011, Feb 2012, and Jan 2013. This season I've promised Joanne I'll do my best to not crash anything .

Also, for me, this is all just a game. If it's fun, I do it. If not, I don't do it. And, for me personally, when all you do is walk, talk, eat, breath, speak, write IM training and racing for almost 15yrs now, my interest in my own racing comes and goes. But I became extremely motivated this summer watching all of you race...

So I'm back in the saddle for IMWI 2015. 

I'll be 47yo on race day.

Goals:

  • Swim: <55’ --> I haven't swam a yard since Aug '12. Before that was IMWI '11. Hoping I still have that swim in the closet .
  • Bike: <5:10 --> I've consistently been 5:08-12 on this course. Very confident I can repeat that or do better. However, the big unknown is my back and hip. I haven't ridden aero since Aug'12 and I know I have a lot of work to do before Feb '15, when I get on the P3 in advance of IMSG. 
  • Run: <3:40 --> best run on this course was 3:45 when I qualified in '02. 
  • T: <10’, as 6:30, <3:00</span>
  • Goal: <10hrs</span>

Fitness Benchmark Goals:

  • Race weight: 149-152lb. The lightest I’ve seen as a post-college swimming adult is 153lb. Getting under that will take a lot of work.
  • 1km swim TT: <13:30 = 1:20/100m pace</li>
  • Race FTP: >310w. I raced WI’11 at 300-305w.
  • Race VDot:  54. More importantly, I want to run an 18:00 3mi, as this the “perfect score” for the running portion of the Marines physical fitness test (PFT)
  • Total minutes in plank: TBD
  • Total pushups: TBD
  • Total pullups: TBD
  • Total cord reps: TBD

Below is my draft TSR:

TSR Notes:

Do Cool Shit

You’ll see that I’m firmly from the “Do Cool Shit” school of training. I’ve basically scheduled go-to local events, my camps in the summer, and other stuff, and then scheduled my training around them. Note my 5k, 10k, half marathon progression in the OS. Palm springs, Solvang, and Mulholland provide progressively more challenging century plus riding opportunities that I ride like a race, as hard as I can go. 

Ironman St George:

The training tool of an early May HIM has worked very well for me over the years and I really like the IMSG bike course. Looking to get out there in March to train on the course.

Run Week / Bike Week Summer Structure:

I’ve always found it very, very difficult to get training in when I’m traveling. So, realizing this, I’m using my camps on the IMWI and IMChat courses this summer to create a Run Week / Bike Week training format from mid July through the end of August. The bike weeks will be me showing up a day early to ride one day solo and two with/near the campers during my camps. The run weeks will be high frequency, high volume affairs in between these camps. 



Weekly Training Notes:

You’ll find that I train a bit differently from the training we have scheduled for you, especially in the OutSeason. See my ride here from last Tuesday, 2:10, 30mi, 4400ft gain, and an IF > .9.  I have the terrain, weather, and lifestyle opportunities to do ^that^ ride, every week, all year long. Similarly, I can do a 2.5-3.5 long ride with tons of gain, Saturday and Sunday, all year if I wanted. 



I don't do intervals for the bike and run. I do courses and segments using the terrain around me, and benchmarking myself from week to week and across the season. Actually, I do an interval day on the run, as a 1mi course I have a block away, but you'll see me benchmarking and targeting some hilly tempo routes around my house. 

I do a LOT of climbing. You're going to see some monster gain numbers from me but that's a function of (1) the terrain around me and (2) I'd rather chew glass than put in miles on the flat bike paths we have around here. 

You probably won't see me doing any runs longer than ~1:45. Between flat feet, a very loose left ankle, screws inserted and removed from my right foot earlier this year, a fractured vertebrae, and injured hip two years ago...figuring out a running routine that I can execute consistently is most important. What works for me is frequency, and intensity within that frequency that keeps me healthy. Bonus if I get volume also. I'm hoping that by the time the summer comes along I will have logged enough miles to pop off a couple 50mi run weeks but we'll see. 

Swimming: I just gotta get it done. I'm putting together a core/swim preparation program for us to use in the OS. That's for me as well . Then I just gotta suck it up get in 12-15k/wk in the summer, with a peak of 18-20k about a week out. 

More importantly, I just have a very different living and training situation than most of you, and I know myself very, very well. What I do reflects those facts, so you'll probably see a lot of "do not try this at home" type stuff. But that's enabled by the fact that after a 4-5hr ludicrous climbing ride on a Saturday, I can literally lay on the couch and scratch a dog's belly all day .

Friend me up on Strava

Follow me / find me (?) on LoseIt!, rich@endurancenation.us

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