Hope all is well.Just wanted to update you on the Half Marathon I just did on Thanksgiving Day.I had a fantastic race!!I kept a good pace/RPE for the first 9 miles and was able to open it up from there to the end.My last four miles were my fastest miles and the last three miles were mostly uphill.I ended up with a 40 minute PR and beat my stretch goal by almost 5 minutes.Yeah!!!
My legs were really tired/sore from that race. I had planned on running on Saturday and Sunday but did not even feel good just walking around until Sunday. Finally ran on Monday and felt good. Have ended up not doing much this week as a family member had some major surgery on Tuesday. Focused on the family as opposed to training as my next race (a sprint) is not until April. That is really hard to do but I am glad I did. Everything went well and they are home now so all is good.
Thank you for your help and encouragement!!
Now I need some guidance for the next month until I start the OS in January.
1.I have 5 weeks of RD until I start the OS.Not planning on swimming until later in the OS
2.My average run distance per week since early August is a little over 20 miles.I would like to get that number around 25 miles.
3.My season plan has me on Run Durability 2 which is 5 runs per week.I feel like I can get in 6 runs a week if I do not go too long on any given day.That distance is about 3 to 4 miles with maybe one run being 6 to 8 miles
4.I would like to get in at least two bikes per week during this RD block.I like to keep my bikes during the week and will typically do my longer bike on Friday.
With all of that this is what I have come up with.Let me know your thoughts.
Monday – 45’ run (4 miles), 2 x 1 mile ( 4' ) @ Zone 4, remainder @ Zone 1.
Tuesday – 60’ run (5 miles), 60' as 40' Zone 1, then final 20' as @ B-A-A TRP in 5-minute increments.
Wednesday – 60’ to 75’ bike, Majority of ride time @ Zone 3.
Wednesday – 30’ run (2.5 miles), Warm up then do 4 to 6 strides, remainder TRP (Total Run Pace).
Thursday - 45’ run (4 miles), 2 x 1 mile ( 4' ) @ Zone 4, remainder @ Zone 1.
Friday – 90’ to 120’ bike, Majority of ride time @ Zone 3.
Friday – 30’ run (2.5 miles), Warm up then do 4 to 6 strides, remainder TRP (Total Run Pace).
Saturday – 90’ run (7.5 miles), as 60' Zone 1, then final 30' as @ B-A-A TRP in 5-minute increments.
Man I am so pumped for you. Just left a message on the race report.
I like your plan as it's laid out, BUT I don't want the intensity just yet as there's plenty of that in the OS. Here's what I am thinking:
Monday – 45’ run (4 miles), 2 x 1 mile ( 4' ) @ Zone 4, remainder @ Zone 1. (I would be okay with Zone 3 here vs Zone 4).
Tuesday – 60’ run (5 miles) as 40' Zone 1, then final 20' as @ B-A-A TRP in 5-minute increments.
Wednesday – 60’ to 75’ bike, Majority of ride time @ Zone 3. Wednesday – 30’ run (2.5 miles), Warm up then do 4 to 6 strides, remainder TRP (Total Run Pace).
Thursday - 45’ run (4 miles) around TRP (Total Run Pace).
Friday – 90’ to 120’ bike, Majority of ride time @ Zone 2. (include some standing / low cadence work in 3' segments as you see fit). Friday – 30’ run (2.5 miles), Warm up then do 4 to 6 strides, remainder TRP (Total Run Pace).
Saturday – 90’ run (7.5 miles), as 60' Zone 1, then final 30' as @ B-A-A TRP in 5-minute increments.
I was kind of wondering about the intensity and am glad that I can back that off some. What I had done was take the run durability plan and just adjusted the days by one day. Since I am trying to extend the weekly mileage for this month and was really just getting used to the run frequency from the half marathon plan, would it be okay to take down the intensity even a little more. I see that you adjusted the Monday and Thursday run and the Friday bike. It all looks perfect!! The only thing I would do at this point is change the Monday run to match Thursday so that it is around TRP with no Zone 3/4 work. Does that seem reasonable? Like you said there will be plenty of intensity work in the OS and right now I just really feel like getting some runs in and having some fun with it.
On another note, my Zone 1 is listed at a 13 minute mile. It wasn't that long ago that I would have struggled to do that over any significant distance. Now I am struggling to slow down to that pace. I often end up in that Zone 2/3 range, pace and HR. I've watched the run durability video and you say don't do it but is that really that big of a deal for me being that I am a slower runner right now. Obviously I don't need to go to far with that but some days it really is a struggle to not be around 11:30 per mile or even 11:15 if I am feeling good. Obviously some days are better than others and when i am not feeling it so much the pace definitely slows down. Thoughts/suggestions?
Bill, I am grateful you have such self-awareness! Yes to dialing it all down to TRP...that makes me super happy!!!
I totally hear you on the paces. normally I would tell you not to run harder, however, your body composition it Is changing so drastically that the normal rules don't apply. You are literally becoming a new person thru exercise. How about you when I strike a happy medium? Instead of deciding between 13s and 11s, can we call it 12s and see how that goes?
Great on the TRP. Looking forward to a lot of running this month!
Just an FYI, I think I am going to dial back some of my weekly mileage to work into the 25+ miles per week. I took all of last week off from running so my plan for this week is about 23 miles and will add a mile per week. I had two weeks at 23 miles just before my race on Thanksgiving so I think that should be okay.
The 12's sound good. That is where I have been trying to stay, key word is trying. That is basically my TRP pace and it feels pretty good right in there.
Thanks for your guidance. I mistakenly tried to do this last year without much input and ended up hurting myself. I have a pretty good base right now and am just trying to build some durability and not get hurt. Seems like the half marathon plan is very similar to the RD plan and I did good with it so all should go well.
Hope all is well and congratulations on IMMT. Great race!!
I am doing IM Louisville this year. We are in Week 15, Camp Week. I have a question about the Friday ride and a question about the run.
First the run. I have have posted a question in the Q&A forum on elliptical running that has a lot of background. Basically I have had an achilles problem since the beginning of the year. I
just cannot bring myself to do pool running but I can tolerate the
elliptical and I can do it without any pain. I have done the elliptical
some through the year and I have tried to restart several times but it always
seems to be to early. I made a decision a few weeks ago to give up on "running" and just do
elliptical until I was absolutely sure I could run injury free. If that
meant I only did the elliptical until Louisville then that would just
have to be okay and the race would fall however it does. I think your advice is always to get to
race day healthy. My thoughts are that Louisville is a flat run so I
figure I needed to bring a healthy me with some sort of run fitness in
place to the race. Is my head in the right place on this?
Now for the Friday bike. This is in the 2017 IM Louisville Week 15 forum.
I have found a pretty good (and safe) 28 mile loop from my house so I will be doing 4x28
on Friday so that I can reload at the house. The climb per loop is
1,042' so 4 times will be 4,168'. Not quite Louisville but it lays out
pretty close to the middle section of Louisville.
I am a slower
rider. I have run my information through Best Bike Split for Louisville
and it says about 7 hours for 70% FTP and 7.5 hours for 60% FTP. For
the Friday race sim, I know the plan says to shut the bike down at 6
hours but I also remember a video by Coach R where the ideal was to have
you on the bike for about the same amount of time as race day. I also
feel like it will be a big mental thing for me if I at least complete
112 miles at least once before the race.
So here is what I am planning for the weekend.
I
want to complete the full 4x28 on Friday no matter how long it takes. I
should finish in about 7.5 to 8 hours. Then do the 60 minute run on
the elliptical. I figure better to do this now and let week 18 be just 6
hours as that is closer to the race and could have a negative effect on
my fitness for the race. Need input/suggestions on this.
Then
Saturday I would do another 4-6 hour ride depending on how I feel
followed by the short run on the elliptical. Need input/suggestions on
this.
Sunday long run on the elliptical.
Any suggestions or input on this will be greatly appreciated.
You can answer here or in the other forums if you think it would serve more people there.
@Bill Eckert - I am 100% OK with you doing your running on the elliptical. Like you said, I'd much rather have you healthy and fit, and being on the elliptical will have you pretty close to being run fit. And there's always that magic on race day that seems to take away most aches and pains until the finish line. So let's not accelerate the hurt process! To the elliptical with you!
I am glad you have a realistic set of parameters for watchOS will look like via best bike split. It's a big range between 60 and 70%, and a lot of it depends on the weather as well. But at least now you have a high in the low end to your ranges.
It's quite possible that your ride this Friday will give you a better sense of what the time will be like on race day. I suggest you plan on building your effort in each 28-mile loop. So really smart and smooth the first one they get a little bit harder each one so your last loop is your strongest loop. That will be a great practice for the onset of fatigue on race day.
I agree with the full ride in the run after. After that type of a workout on Saturday, I'll take anything. Anything from 3 to 4 hours on the bike and really no need to do the elliptical with Sunday looming. My guess is you'll be feeling a lot of fatigue from the jump in time on the bike. So we don't want to overdo it either. Your call!!!
I have gotten some advice in the Louisville forum to stick to the 2x6 hour rides this week and move the one time 112 mile ride to week 16 or 17. Then in that week they suggested a Saturday 2 hour ABP ride followed by a run and then the 112 mile ride on Sunday with no run afterwards. I was going to push it to week 17 because my week 16 is pretty hacked up by some travel plans. My only concern is that is close to the Final RR. Any thoughts on week 17 versus doing it this week?
@Bill Eckert - no concerns at all. Besides it's nice to get the bigger work done on the early side because if we need to drop the other stuff later for recovery, we can totally do it. Shoot me a note after this weekend to tell me how you're feeling!
Thank you for all of your help. Last week was a good week overall. I struggled a little on Friday. When I started the swim I just was feeling tired. Pushed through and got it done. Not much better on the bike so decided to keep it at 6 hours. Ended up with 6:16 and 87 miles. Did the hour run on the elliptical. All in all not to bad. I felt a little nauseous on the bike within the first hour. I had a powerbar after the swim and bike nutrition plan was 2 bottles GE per hour, 1/2 powerbar per 30 minutes, BASE every 30 minutes. Ended up slowing down on the PB's and salt as the day went along and got to feeling a little better. Got some good recovery in Friday night.
Saturday started out really good. I had gone back over the EN nutrition sheet and made some changes to my plan. The original plan had me right on the calories but I think that is just too much for me to handle. New plan was 2 bottles GE per hour and 1/4 powerbar per hour starting after the first hour. My first 28 mile loop was actually faster by a very little bit than Friday and I felt really good the entire time. Hmmmmm, maybe I am on to something. Started the 2nd loop and bam, the rear derailleur cable broke at about 2 miles. Started back and decided to go to the bike shop which is about 1/2 mile past the house. He tried to fix it but had a lot going on and the cable was wrapped up in the shifter and he just could not get it out. Came back home, got it out, went back and he gave me a wire to put back in. I got it back in and the bike all back together late Saturday.
SUNDAY, plan was 2 x 28 and then 2 hour run on the elliptical a little later. Started the bike and it was windy (early part of Irma) and the temps were cooler. Decided to stretch the ride out because I knew that once I got back I would not want to go back out. Also decided it was a good opportunity to enjoy the windy day and try to just ride steady. Got in 51.5 in 3:41 with a vi of 1.08. I am happy about that because even just a few weeks ago that vi would have been much higher. Followed plan from Saturday for nutrition and felt really good the entire ride. Got in the 2 hour run on the elliptical as soon as I could. That went well too. Kept my HR right in the planned zones.
All in all a good weekend. I felt tired when done but not drained. Legs were definitely sore on Monday. Even though the plan said to rest, this week is a little crazy so I was going to do a very easy swim but did not get to it. I am about 45 miles south of Atlanta and Irma came through. Trees were coming down everywhere and just did not want to risk driving. We lost power about 2 pm yesterday. Tree fell across power lines and the road about three doors down. We are safe and comfortable so no worries. Legs feel a little better today. I feel like I need to do something easy to work them out a little. I will not be able to ride this weekend and bike will be in shop on Wednesday so here is my plan for the rest of the week.
Week 16, IM Full Tuesday, Do Wednesday's bike and run. Wednesday, Do Tuesday's VO2 run and swim Thursday, Do Saturday's bike and run. Friday, Do Saturday's swim and Sunday's bike and run. Saturday, Do Friday's run Sunday, Do Thursday's long run
Let me know if you have any suggestions. Thanks again or all of your help.
@Bill Eckert - Great adjustments with the nutrition, and super impressed with your perseverance. I really like how you were able to adjust on the fly and make Sunday count With what happened on Saturday.
The best part is you didn't miss the lessons learned from Friday on both the nutrition in the pacing. All in all, I can't ask for much more from the weekend!
I think your adjustments for this week are OK, but remember not to put too much pressure on yourself. It's likely you'll have a good dose of fatigue for most of this week so feel free to downtown intensity or duration of the workouts through Friday as needed.
My hope is that by the weekend you will be back on track!
Definitely some fatigue. I think that I felt it on Friday. Just could not push very hard at all. I know I was feeling it Monday and glad I got forced into a days rest by the weather. Yesterday was better. With everything going on had to make some changes and just got in the VO2 elliptical run. Went pretty good but it took about 20 minutes at an easy pace before my legs felt okay. Planning on the bike and run as per the plan today and maybe a short recovery swim.
Intensity is usually the first to go for me especially right now. My thinking is that if I can do the workout even at a lower intensity that will help with the endurance. I don't think I can make any real speed gains in these last few weeks without risking additional injury so just doing what is working at the time when training.
Yes to the lower intensity...just stay loose and get back into a groove. The light work will help you shed the fatigue.
Remember speed on race day day is all about not slowing down...these lessons you have learned (esp around nutrition) will prove invaluable to you on race day.
Here's
your updated Season Plan, as promised. This is where you'll return to post all
your "coach" questions as responses; I'll see them and reply. This
first post is my best outline of how to proceed with your races, but you can
ask any / all questions you want. So post away, know that I reply here usually
M/W/F each week.
Power User Tip: Click the Star icon by the
Title of this thread to subscribe, and you'll get email updates when I do
reply.
Your
Notes
Just finished IM Louisville. Since then has mostly been unstructured training.
I have been dealing with achilles pain almost all of 2017. I had stopped running and was using the elliptical to train for IM Louisville until it got close to the race. Achilles never got any better or worse. I started running a little as the race got close and again my achilles stayed the same.
I was forced into some down time the week of 11/6 and did no run or bike Sunday through Thursday. Achilles seemed to be getting better. Rode bike on Friday and Saturday (no run) and achilles pain is back. I thought this was from running but it may be from the bike. My research indicates it may have to do with crank length. Ordered new 165mm cranks to replace my current 172.5mm cranks. I have been off again this week Sunday through today and achilles is getting better.
I am thinking RD2 for 4 weeks, RD3 for 4 Weeks, RD3 for 4 weeks, HIM weeks 13-20 to end on 04/08/17. My goal is to maintain my basic fitness and focus on losing weight as this is definitely my low hanging fruit to gain speed. Will deal with the rest of the season based upon how this goes.
Your
Races
04/08/18 70.3 Florida
Ironman 70.3 Augusta (TBD) #703augusta_18
Season
Update
These
are your recommended training plans, including the date you should start each
one (sometimes you won’t complete a full plan but transition to another
one). You can change your plans on the Training Plan page by clicking the Move /
Change button. Learn more about each plan on the Training Plan Central Page.
Last
updated by Coach on 11/20/2017
On 11/24/2017 Load the -- Run Durability 1 (9 months out) -- 4 weeks to end on 12/21/2017
On 12/22/2017 Load the -- Run Durability 2 (8 months out) -- 4 weeks to end on 1/18/2018
On 1/19/2018 Load the -- Run Durability 3 (7 months out) -- 4 weeks to end on 2/15/2018
On 2/16/2018 Load the Intermediate EN*Half to end on 04/08/2018
On 4/9/2018 Load the -- Post Half Iron Transition Plan, All Levels (2wks) to end on 4/22/2018
Coach
Notes
I agree 100% with your approach. I am not surprised to hear that your issues may be related to the bike. And I am glad that you are investigating crank length as an opportunity for change. You may also want to check out cleat placement as well. If you're having calf or Achilles pain, sometimes moving the cleat backwards towards your heel as far as possible can help. This reduces the load on your muscles, placing it instead on the connective tissues. With this type of set up, there is no"pushing the toe down" movement as your leg is the only thing that is extending. If you do make this change it's possible you may need to adjust your seat height. Please keep me posted.
As you go through our Run Durability Program (RDP) you can certainly look into alternative modalities aside from just running. This could be the elliptical or similar machine. don't underestimate other types of cross training (rower?).
Congratulations on your Kona race and IM Los Cabos.
Here is where I am at right now. I have finally gotten my indoor trainer setup dialed in and working good with Zwift. I have gotten the shorter cranks on the bike. I really do not feel much difference when pedaling but it seems to help a little with the achilles issue. I already have the cleats as far back on the shoes as I can. I did this when I was having hot spots on my feet when riding and it fixed that problem.
Last week. No running. 3 bikes. I did the main sets from the OS bike workouts for the week but cut the overall volume. The achilles was okay but still not quite right. I rolled my calf really good Sunday night and things seem to feel much better this morning. So I think this may be tight calf issue caused by the bike.
So here is my plan for this week. Using RD and OS plan mixed. Using RD for run and mixing in the OS bikes. My reasoning for this is that the RD plan has so little bike and I do not want to give it up so completely right now. If you have a reason why I should stop riding right now please let me know.
On the bike my plan is to keep the volume low by basically doing a warm up, main set, cool down. I will be experimenting with the seat height this week. I never adjusted the seat height after changing the cranks so I am probably a little low right now. I really do not think it needs very much change but my plan is to adjust it in small increments and see how it goes this week. So bike will be on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.
On the run. I looked back at my weekly mileage over the last year and it is only 12.5 miles and I have not run much since Louisville. Plan for this week is to do 4 runs totaling 10 miles. Monday-2 miles, Wednesday-3 miles, Friday-2 miles, Sunday-3 miles. If all goes well I will make the 2 mile runs 2.5 miles next week.
For the achilles I am doing some calf strengthening exercises and will be rolling the calf on a daily basis. I will see how this week goes and will make adjustments as needed.
I am working on body composition but my only real goal right now is to get to January 1 at the same weight I was for Louisville. After that I will focus on the weight loss.
Thank you for the detail!. You are right on track with everything.
I agree with your modifications to the training plan as well as the caution you were taking.
Make sure that when your feet are unclipped your heel can touch the pedal at the very bottom of the pedal stroke. You should never be using your calves one cycling unless you were standing. All I am doing when I pedal is pushing down with my quads and some glutes. If there is any calf action on a regular pedal stroke basis, It will be a problem.
Please keep me posted. your goal for body composition is perfect. We don’t need you to be better than last year, just as good as. “Hold the line!”
I do set my seat height just as you said. I am not sure what I am pushing with as I pedal. I just pedal. I will pay attention during my rides to see if I can feel what I am doing.
On the body comp. That is only until January 1. I do want to be faster. I want to get my half time to under 6 hours in Augusta this year. Goal for 70.3 Florida is around 6.5 hours. Fastest so far is 7.5 hours but I have a lot of extra weight that I think can gain me a lot of time when I don't have to carry it around the course.
I said that Louisville was one and done but I get it now. I now understand why the pointy end people get so stressed. I always wondered why they were so worried, heck, they knew they could finish. But for them it wasn't just about finishing and now I understand.
For me, there really is no point in doing another IM just to finish. I have done that and now I find myself wondering just how fast could I do it if I lost the weight that I need to. Then after that, who knows. So my focus this year is losing weight, staying injury free, getting some things dialed in, and gaining some speed. So going to stick with the two HIM and some sprint and olympic races that are yet to be determined.
Perfect! I love the clarity and how focused you are, that will only help you achieve your goals this year. The working on the body composition requires a different type of focus, so I am sending you tons of will Power!
Here's your updated Season Plan, as promised. This is where you'll return to post all your "coach" questions as responses; I'll see them and reply. This first post is my best outline of how to proceed with your races, but you can ask any / all questions you want. So post away, know that I reply here usually Monday & Friday each week.
Power User Tip: Click the Star icon by the Title of this thread to subscribe, and you'll get email updates when I do reply.
These are your recommended training plans, including the date you should start each one (sometimes you won’t complete a full plan but transition to another one). You can change your plans on within Final Surge by clicking on the Training Plans > View My Plans. If you need help manipulating your plans in Final Surge, be sure to check out our Help Site. Remember, you can learn more about each plan and find related plan resources on the Plan Descriptions and Resources page.
Last updated by Coach on November 07, 2019
On 10/28/2019 Load the Durability for Triathletes 1 (9 months out) -- 4 weeks to end on 11/24/2019
On 11/25/2019 Load the Durability for Triathletes 2 (8 months out) -- 4 weeks to end on 12/22/2019
On 12/23/2019 Load the Durability for Triathletes 3 (7 months out) -- 4 weeks to end on 1/19/2020
On 1/6/2020 Load the OutSeason for Triathletes (Run Focus) Plan, 14wks to end on 4/12/2020
On 4/13/2020 Load the Swim Camp to end on 4/26/2020
On 4/27/2020 Load the Get Faster Training Plan, 10wks to end on 7/5/2020
On 7/6/2020 Load the EN Full Bike Focused to end on 11/22/2020
On 11/23/2020 Load the Post Ironman Transition Plan, All Levels (4wks) to end on 12/20/2020
On 12/21/2020 Load the Run Durability for Triathletes 1 (9 months out) -- 4 weeks to end on 1/17/2021
On 1/18/2021 Load the Run Durability for Triathletes 2 (8 months out) -- 4 weeks to end on 2/14/2021
On 2/15/2021 Load the Run Durability for Triathletes 3 (7 months out) -- 4 weeks to end on 3/14/2021
Your Notes
IM Louisville 2017 16:09, Augusta 70.3 (2015, 2016, 2018), Chattanooga 70.3 2016, Florida 70.3 2018.
I have not done any races of any kind throughout 2019. My training through April 2019 was pretty good. The middle of 2019 I have done some biking and some walking/jogging but nothing structured. I started back with some consistent cycling in middle September and have added some walking/jogging in the past couple of weeks. I have had issues with Achilles Bursitis in my left achilles that comes and goes. Best I can tell it has a lot to do with calf weakness and calf tightness. Foam rolling and strengthening exercises seem to help.I have been doing 4-5 bikes per week since 9/16. Average weekly is 72.4 miles. I would say my bike fitness is on a Level 2/Level 3. Running has been very inconsistent this year with very little mileage through the middle of the year. I just started back with walking/jogging on 10/17. I am mostly walking with some jogging a minimum of 2 miles every day. I have to be very careful with mileage and intensity so that I do not aggravate my left heel. My run fitness is Level 1. I am using the durability plans right now and planning to do the outseason in January unless you say I should do something else. I am working on losing some weight right now and just focusing on building back a base level of fitness through consistency. My plan is to do IM Arizona in 2020. I don't want to do it to just finish. My goal is to be a lot faster. The best thing for me to do that is to lose some weight and stay healthy. I am not too worried about any focused IM training until about July. Between now and then I just want to build a strong base of fitness, lose some weight, and stay healthy.
Thank you Coach P. The video is awesome!! Watched it multiple times. I will digest the information and let you know if I have questions. One note is that I am planning on the full in Arizona not the half. It looks like the plan is set up for that so I don't think anything needs to change.
As of Sunday, 11/10, I have 26 days straight of either walking or running, mostly walking a minimum of 2 miles each day. I was actually able to run/walk a fair amount last week and I got in 18.8 miles. My current average is 15 miles per week over the last four weeks, mostly walking. I have been running in Brooks Glycerin but something changed in those with their latest version. I just got a pair of Hoka One One Bondi and love them. On the cycling side, I have an average of 72 miles per week for the last 8 weeks. I had been doing 4-5 days per week but with the added load from the walking/running I dropped it back to 3 days last week. Last week I did an FTP interval day, a recovery/steady state day, and an ABP day. It seemed to work.
I have been sort of following the the Balanced Durability plan with some added days for walking and cycling but I do like the Durability Plan for Triathletes. My plan is to modify the cycling to add an interval day, a steady state day, and keep the ABP day. I will also add some walk days to fill out the run days for the week. I also have a short swim session (800m) planned on two of the days that I don't cycle. It is just an easy continuous swim to get me back in the groove. I have not swam since September 2018 so that first day back was brutal. The second day was much better. I don't feel like there is too much cost with those swims and it actually helps break things up a little. So my next week looks like this:
Monday - Swim 800m, Run Skill (30')
Tuesday - Bike Intervals (60'), Recovery Run/Walk (2 mi)
Wednesday - Tempo Run (40')
Thursday - Bike Steady State (60'), Run Skill (30')
Friday - Swim 800m, Run Rolling Hills (45')
Saturday - Bike ABP (90'), Recovery Run/Walk (2 mi)
Sunday - Long Run(70', Not really ready to go this long so probably just 45'-50')
On any of the runs above, I will run/walk or just walk as I need to. I have been doing a lot of walking over the last four weeks but I do not care as I feel like it is building some durability. I am already starting to feel the difference.
Let me know if you think any of that is too much. I feel like it is working but you may have a different perspective.
Bill, thank you for all the detail. You and I are on the same page.
I really appreciate how conservative you are being out of the gate with regards to the run. I agree that walking is a great place to start. I'm thinking if we can exercise some good run restraint through Thanksgiving things will be really good moving forward. Just as an arbitrary deadline for you.
I am okay with you doing the Durability for Triathletes Plan. No problem whatsoever for me it's more a function of having a week that fits your schedule and achieves the goals that we want, in that order.
The way that you are supplementing things means that we have a solid fit (because you have flexibility). I agree with you on the swim. As long as you're not trying to swim with intent, I think you'll be fine. Just like the run, this is all in our reentry and getting a better baseline.
Yes, I knew you were doing the IM I'm not sure why I said the Half. My apologies for the mixup. Enjoy the training!
Thanks for the response. I started "running" a good bit more last week. I only just walked one day last week. I got in 20 miles running with a 4 mile run on Sunday. Not trying to go fast and working in walking breaks as needed. I am feeling pretty good and things seem to be staying in check. I do not want to add any miles. Got my three bikes in with no issues and swam one day. I think I will keep those right where they are.
Right now I am struggling with the scheduled long run on Sunday. I have been fine up until now with just doing what I have been doing. I am still fine with that but my mind is trying to convince me that I need to do a longer run on Sunday. I have read enough on here to know that is not true, especially at this time of the season and given that I am trying to rebuild. I also know myself enough to know that this is a recipe for disaster for me. I think for right now the 4 miles I did on Sunday is about my limit. I think that is okay, especially given the fact that I am doing something 7 days a week right now. So that is where I am going to stay. I may even do a little less this next week.
My plan this week is to do 3 miles per day. 7 days at 3 miles is 21 miles and I think that is more than enough or me. I think I can cap my run distance there through the end of the year. I may add a little bit on the long runs in a couple of weeks but I will see how things are going before I make that decision.
Congratulations on IM Arizona. Awesome race!! I was tracking everyone all day and was watching your race as #2 was trying to catch you on the run.
Left a note last week and figured you would be busy with IM AZ so was not to worried about it. Mostly just an update on where I was at.
Lat week went real good. I ran all seven days with all days running using walking as short rest breaks. Total was 21 miles. As of yesterday I have 40 consecutive days running or walking. Still feeling good as long as I do the things I need to do to maintain. I got in 3 days cycling for 81 miles and 1 swim day. I like where things are at so going to the same thing again this week.
Now a question. I have some friends that want to do 70.3 Chattanooga on May 17, 2020. I have looked at my training and that falls in the middle of the get faster block. I have some very specific goals for IM AZ and do not want to punch a hole in my training that may derail me. If I was just trying to finish AZ it would be fine. However, I want to come in under 12 hours in AZ and I know that is going to take a lot of work and that work is really done through the OS and the GF training. Your thoughts and input would be greatly appreciated.
Not going to do Chattanooga 70.3. Just made that decision to take that stress out of the schedule and focus on what is important to me.
Last week was good for run but not so good for bike. I got in 6 runs last week, Monday through Saturday. Only got a little of bike in on Thanksgiving day riding course support for a local half marathon. Maybe not such a bad thing in reality because I was feeling some fatigue last week and just made it through with the run to complete the month of November. I had 46 days straight of doing something. I took Sunday and yesterday completely off. I feel sooooo much better today than I did last week. Lesson learned once again, rest is important.
I am starting Durability 3 this week. I had already planned on just following the plan and taking the planned rest day and after last week that is a definite. My average run mileage over the last 6 weeks is 18.6 miles. That is a mileage that when I try to go over it in the past I usually start having problems. Given that I am probably still not going to do any extended long runs. Just getting in 3 miles a day, 6 days a week should be enough to continue building durability. I will follow the planned runs as much as I can as far as tempo/skill runs.
Bike is fine. I am averaging 68 miles a week for 11 weeks which includes last week with only 8 miles. Before that it was a little over 70. I am fine on the bike and can add some length to the rides as my schedule allows. Plan is to push my weekly bike mileage to between 80 and 100 for the next four weeks. I will need to watch my overall fatigue levels but hopefully working in one complete rest day will help with that.
I am writing these on a weekly basis just to have some record of what I am doing and to keep you up to date. That way when something comes up later in the season, you will have a better background.
Thank you for the updates and sorry I haven't chimed in. I agree, over time that 6 x 3 miles will definitely compound and will yield what we want in terms of gains in fitness...so stick with it! Cycling looks good as well...these are the tough times of year when consistency is challenged, so stay the course...
Some updates. On Sunday, December 15, I did a 5 mile run. Not sure why but just felt good and wanted to. The run felt good. I pushed a little but nothing hurt during or immediately after. The next morning noticed a little twinge in my left knee. Took Monday off. Ran 3 miles on Tuesday, slight pain but nothing major. I wish I would have skipped that one now. I have not run since then. The only thing I can think of is that on that Sunday run I had to come down a pretty steep (but short) hill and that I must have braced coming down it and strained something in my left knee. The reason that I think that is because the pain was worse when walking down steeper inclines. I have had this pain before but never been able to pinpoint where it came from but knew it was from doing something that was out of the norm the day before.
I stayed off the bike for a few days until I felt comfortable and then took it easy when I did ride. With the holidays I ended up backing off on the bike as well. Also had to move after Christmas. The moving aggravated things a little going up and down stairs and up and down the ramp to the truck. My right knee even started to bother me a little, probably from trying to compensate for my left knee. Good news is that both knees are feeling good right now and I am ready to get going.
I did not run or bike at all during the major move period as I was just too tired and things were aggravated enough. I did get a few bikes in just before Christmas and one ride in this week. Today is the final day of the moving and there is very little left to do (Note to self, get rid of some junk). Anyway, I am hoping to get a ride in this afternoon and maybe a short run if I really feel like it (probably not). Not to worried about it though as I am starting the January OS tomorrow and I am ready for it.
My plan for the OS is to follow the bike per the plan and to modify the run to just keep a consistent run and avoid injury. I am going to try to do 6 days per week. I am going to start at 2 miles per day for the first week and see how that goes. Week two will be 2.5 to 3 miles per day if all goes well. In my season plan you have me on the run focus for the OS and bike focus for the IM plan. Should I stay with the run focus plan for the OS or should I use the bike focus plan instead given the situation with my run. I would add runs with the bike focus plan and given that I would be keeping my runs shorter I would think that would be okay. I really want to work on my bike FTP over this OS and keep my runs consistent. We can keep an eye on my run health through the OS and make adjustments as things progress.
@Bill Eckert looks like from your Final Surge training log that things have come around a bit for the knee as you are being smart about it. Downhill running, at speed, not a good idea...I have had success with some rocktape. About 5" long, put it lightly on knee below knee cap....then bend as in photo and pull tape tight and adhere to thighs. Looks like a smiley face. Tattoos optional. Let's keep thing rolling as you are now...onwards into Feb!
Hope all is well. Love the Happy Hour meetings and all of the stuff that you are doing during this time. It really is helping me to keep perspective on things.
So I finished the JOS last week. My first time actually making it through one without getting injured or sick. The last four weeks were a struggle and had to dial it back some due to fatigue but I got through it.
Last week I did not test anything and used it as a recovery week and it worked. I am going to do the same thing I did last week. It has been a nice mental break to not do anything real specific training.
Moving forward I do not want to repeat the OS or move into the Get Faster plan. I am still working on Body Composition and would like to do something that will not create so much fatigue/stress. I lost some weight during the OS but it really slowed down as the fatigue/stress accumulated. I really want to continue to work on the Bike FTP and building run durability. I watched the video about the specificity plans and after looking at everything I think the 6 week Bike Focus plan would be a great fit. My plan is to start that plan next week. Let me know your thoughts on this.
Below are the results from the JOS in case you want to look things over.
Bike FTP started at 215 and ended at 252. 17% gain. Admittedly, the start number was a swag but it was close. Peak 60 minute power went from 187 in December to 222 in March. Friday Freight Train has helped with that. Very happy with the improvements on the bike.
Run was a win for me as well. I averaged 15.9 miles per week and was consistent over the whole OS. No test at the beginning but my best 5K time in December was 11:53 per mile. My test in week 5 was 10:16 per mile. Did not test in week 10 because I was feeling a lot of fatigue and nursing another little niggle in my knee. It is healed up know but being cautious. I also have not tested at the end because I just know that it has not changed enough to warrant the effort and I really do not want to do anything to cause any problems. I really just want to build up some more durability.
OS Run Distance:
Run distance since re-entry back in October. The big hole in December is from the knee injury back then and moving.
Comments
Perfect!! I would like you to start focusing on your race plan. If you haven't done so already, head over to the Run Section of the Wiki and look at the Half Marathon pace and guidance: http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/Wiki/tabid/91/Default.aspx?topic=Running+Master
You are almost there, so stay focused and sharp. Very excited to see how it turns out.
~ Coach P
Hope all is well. Just wanted to update you on the Half Marathon I just did on Thanksgiving Day. I had a fantastic race!! I kept a good pace/RPE for the first 9 miles and was able to open it up from there to the end. My last four miles were my fastest miles and the last three miles were mostly uphill. I ended up with a 40 minute PR and beat my stretch goal by almost 5 minutes. Yeah!!!
Race Report: http://members.endurancenation.us/F...fault.aspx
Training Peaks: http://tpks.ws/yUlwj
My legs were really tired/sore from that race. I had planned on running on Saturday and Sunday but did not even feel good just walking around until Sunday. Finally ran on Monday and felt good. Have ended up not doing much this week as a family member had some major surgery on Tuesday. Focused on the family as opposed to training as my next race (a sprint) is not until April. That is really hard to do but I am glad I did. Everything went well and they are home now so all is good.
Thank you for your help and encouragement!!
Now I need some guidance for the next month until I start the OS in January.
1. I have 5 weeks of RD until I start the OS. Not planning on swimming until later in the OS
2. My average run distance per week since early August is a little over 20 miles. I would like to get that number around 25 miles.
3. My season plan has me on Run Durability 2 which is 5 runs per week. I feel like I can get in 6 runs a week if I do not go too long on any given day. That distance is about 3 to 4 miles with maybe one run being 6 to 8 miles
4. I would like to get in at least two bikes per week during this RD block. I like to keep my bikes during the week and will typically do my longer bike on Friday.
With all of that this is what I have come up with. Let me know your thoughts.
Monday – 45’ run (4 miles), 2 x 1 mile ( 4' ) @ Zone 4, remainder @ Zone 1.
Tuesday – 60’ run (5 miles), 60' as 40' Zone 1, then final 20' as @ B-A-A TRP in 5-minute increments.
Wednesday – 60’ to 75’ bike, Majority of ride time @ Zone 3.
Wednesday – 30’ run (2.5 miles), Warm up then do 4 to 6 strides, remainder TRP (Total Run Pace).
Thursday - 45’ run (4 miles), 2 x 1 mile ( 4' ) @ Zone 4, remainder @ Zone 1.
Friday – 90’ to 120’ bike, Majority of ride time @ Zone 3.
Friday – 30’ run (2.5 miles), Warm up then do 4 to 6 strides, remainder TRP (Total Run Pace).
Saturday – 90’ run (7.5 miles), as 60' Zone 1, then final 30' as @ B-A-A TRP in 5-minute increments.
Sunday – Off
Total run mileage – 25.5 miles
I like your plan as it's laid out, BUT I don't want the intensity just yet as there's plenty of that in the OS. Here's what I am thinking:
Monday – 45’ run (4 miles), 2 x 1 mile ( 4' ) @ Zone 4, remainder @ Zone 1. (I would be okay with Zone 3 here vs Zone 4).
Tuesday – 60’ run (5 miles) as 40' Zone 1, then final 20' as @ B-A-A TRP in 5-minute increments.
Wednesday – 60’ to 75’ bike, Majority of ride time @ Zone 3.
Wednesday – 30’ run (2.5 miles), Warm up then do 4 to 6 strides, remainder TRP (Total Run Pace).
Thursday - 45’ run (4 miles) around TRP (Total Run Pace).
Friday – 90’ to 120’ bike, Majority of ride time @ Zone 2. (include some standing / low cadence work in 3' segments as you see fit).
Friday – 30’ run (2.5 miles), Warm up then do 4 to 6 strides, remainder TRP (Total Run Pace).
Saturday – 90’ run (7.5 miles), as 60' Zone 1, then final 30' as @ B-A-A TRP in 5-minute increments.
Sunday – Off
Ps I hope your family member is on the mend!
Thanks Coach P,
I was kind of wondering about the intensity and am glad that I can back that off some. What I had done was take the run durability plan and just adjusted the days by one day. Since I am trying to extend the weekly mileage for this month and was really just getting used to the run frequency from the half marathon plan, would it be okay to take down the intensity even a little more. I see that you adjusted the Monday and Thursday run and the Friday bike. It all looks perfect!! The only thing I would do at this point is change the Monday run to match Thursday so that it is around TRP with no Zone 3/4 work. Does that seem reasonable? Like you said there will be plenty of intensity work in the OS and right now I just really feel like getting some runs in and having some fun with it.
On another note, my Zone 1 is listed at a 13 minute mile. It wasn't that long ago that I would have struggled to do that over any significant distance. Now I am struggling to slow down to that pace. I often end up in that Zone 2/3 range, pace and HR. I've watched the run durability video and you say don't do it but is that really that big of a deal for me being that I am a slower runner right now. Obviously I don't need to go to far with that but some days it really is a struggle to not be around 11:30 per mile or even 11:15 if I am feeling good. Obviously some days are better than others and when i am not feeling it so much the pace definitely slows down. Thoughts/suggestions?
Thanks again for your input and support.
Bill E.
I totally hear you on the paces. normally I would tell you not to run harder, however, your body composition it Is changing so drastically that the normal rules don't apply. You are literally becoming a new person thru exercise. How about you when I strike a happy medium? Instead of deciding between 13s and 11s, can we call it 12s and see how that goes?
Coach P,
Great on the TRP. Looking forward to a lot of running this month!
Just an FYI, I think I am going to dial back some of my weekly mileage to work into the 25+ miles per week. I took all of last week off from running so my plan for this week is about 23 miles and will add a mile per week. I had two weeks at 23 miles just before my race on Thanksgiving so I think that should be okay.
The 12's sound good. That is where I have been trying to stay, key word is trying. That is basically my TRP pace and it feels pretty good right in there.
Thanks for your guidance. I mistakenly tried to do this last year without much input and ended up hurting myself. I have a pretty good base right now and am just trying to build some durability and not get hurt. Seems like the half marathon plan is very similar to the RD plan and I did good with it so all should go well.
Consistency is king, remember!!!
~ Coach P
Hope all is well and congratulations on IMMT. Great race!!
I am doing IM Louisville this year. We are in Week 15, Camp Week. I have a question about the Friday ride and a question about the run.
First the run. I have have posted a question in the Q&A forum on elliptical running that has a lot of background. Basically I have had an achilles problem since the beginning of the year. I just cannot bring myself to do pool running but I can tolerate the elliptical and I can do it without any pain. I have done the elliptical some through the year and I have tried to restart several times but it always seems to be to early. I made a decision a few weeks ago to give up on "running" and just do elliptical until I was absolutely sure I could run injury free. If that meant I only did the elliptical until Louisville then that would just have to be okay and the race would fall however it does. I think your advice is always to get to race day healthy. My thoughts are that Louisville is a flat run so I figure I needed to bring a healthy me with some sort of run fitness in place to the race. Is my head in the right place on this?
Now for the Friday bike. This is in the 2017 IM Louisville Week 15 forum.
I have found a pretty good (and safe) 28 mile loop from my house so I will be doing 4x28 on Friday so that I can reload at the house. The climb per loop is 1,042' so 4 times will be 4,168'. Not quite Louisville but it lays out pretty close to the middle section of Louisville.
I am a slower rider. I have run my information through Best Bike Split for Louisville and it says about 7 hours for 70% FTP and 7.5 hours for 60% FTP. For the Friday race sim, I know the plan says to shut the bike down at 6 hours but I also remember a video by Coach R where the ideal was to have you on the bike for about the same amount of time as race day. I also feel like it will be a big mental thing for me if I at least complete 112 miles at least once before the race.
So here is what I am planning for the weekend.
I want to complete the full 4x28 on Friday no matter how long it takes. I should finish in about 7.5 to 8 hours. Then do the 60 minute run on the elliptical. I figure better to do this now and let week 18 be just 6 hours as that is closer to the race and could have a negative effect on my fitness for the race. Need input/suggestions on this.
Then Saturday I would do another 4-6 hour ride depending on how I feel followed by the short run on the elliptical. Need input/suggestions on this.
Sunday long run on the elliptical.
Any suggestions or input on this will be greatly appreciated.
You can answer here or in the other forums if you think it would serve more people there.
It's quite possible that your ride this Friday will give you a better sense of what the time will be like on race day. I suggest you plan on building your effort in each 28-mile loop. So really smart and smooth the first one they get a little bit harder each one so your last loop is your strongest loop. That will be a great practice for the onset of fatigue on race day.
I agree with the full ride in the run after. After that type of a workout on Saturday, I'll take anything. Anything from 3 to 4 hours on the bike and really no need to do the elliptical with Sunday looming. My guess is you'll be feeling a lot of fatigue from the jump in time on the bike. So we don't want to overdo it either. Your call!!!
I have gotten some advice in the Louisville forum to stick to the 2x6 hour rides this week and move the one time 112 mile ride to week 16 or 17. Then in that week they suggested a Saturday 2 hour ABP ride followed by a run and then the 112 mile ride on Sunday with no run afterwards. I was going to push it to week 17 because my week 16 is pretty hacked up by some travel plans. My only concern is that is close to the Final RR. Any thoughts on week 17 versus doing it this week?
Thanks!!
Thank you for all of your help. Last week was a good week overall. I struggled a little on Friday. When I started the swim I just was feeling tired. Pushed through and got it done. Not much better on the bike so decided to keep it at 6 hours. Ended up with 6:16 and 87 miles. Did the hour run on the elliptical. All in all not to bad. I felt a little nauseous on the bike within the first hour. I had a powerbar after the swim and bike nutrition plan was 2 bottles GE per hour, 1/2 powerbar per 30 minutes, BASE every 30 minutes. Ended up slowing down on the PB's and salt as the day went along and got to feeling a little better. Got some good recovery in Friday night.
Saturday started out really good. I had gone back over the EN nutrition sheet and made some changes to my plan. The original plan had me right on the calories but I think that is just too much for me to handle. New plan was 2 bottles GE per hour and 1/4 powerbar per hour starting after the first hour. My first 28 mile loop was actually faster by a very little bit than Friday and I felt really good the entire time. Hmmmmm, maybe I am on to something. Started the 2nd loop and bam, the rear derailleur cable broke at about 2 miles. Started back and decided to go to the bike shop which is about 1/2 mile past the house. He tried to fix it but had a lot going on and the cable was wrapped up in the shifter and he just could not get it out. Came back home, got it out, went back and he gave me a wire to put back in. I got it back in and the bike all back together late Saturday.
SUNDAY, plan was 2 x 28 and then 2 hour run on the elliptical a little later. Started the bike and it was windy (early part of Irma) and the temps were cooler. Decided to stretch the ride out because I knew that once I got back I would not want to go back out. Also decided it was a good opportunity to enjoy the windy day and try to just ride steady. Got in 51.5 in 3:41 with a vi of 1.08. I am happy about that because even just a few weeks ago that vi would have been much higher. Followed plan from Saturday for nutrition and felt really good the entire ride. Got in the 2 hour run on the elliptical as soon as I could. That went well too. Kept my HR right in the planned zones.
All in all a good weekend. I felt tired when done but not drained. Legs were definitely sore on Monday. Even though the plan said to rest, this week is a little crazy so I was going to do a very easy swim but did not get to it. I am about 45 miles south of Atlanta and Irma came through. Trees were coming down everywhere and just did not want to risk driving. We lost power about 2 pm yesterday. Tree fell across power lines and the road about three doors down. We are safe and comfortable so no worries. Legs feel a little better today. I feel like I need to do something easy to work them out a little. I will not be able to ride this weekend and bike will be in shop on Wednesday so here is my plan for the rest of the week.
Week 16, IM Full
Tuesday, Do Wednesday's bike and run.
Wednesday, Do Tuesday's VO2 run and swim
Thursday, Do Saturday's bike and run.
Friday, Do Saturday's swim and Sunday's bike and run.
Saturday, Do Friday's run
Sunday, Do Thursday's long run
Let me know if you have any suggestions. Thanks again or all of your help.
The best part is you didn't miss the lessons learned from Friday on both the nutrition in the pacing. All in all, I can't ask for much more from the weekend!
I think your adjustments for this week are OK, but remember not to put too much pressure on yourself. It's likely you'll have a good dose of fatigue for most of this week so feel free to downtown intensity or duration of the workouts through Friday as needed.
My hope is that by the weekend you will be back on track!
Definitely some fatigue. I think that I felt it on Friday. Just could not push very hard at all. I know I was feeling it Monday and glad I got forced into a days rest by the weather. Yesterday was better. With everything going on had to make some changes and just got in the VO2 elliptical run. Went pretty good but it took about 20 minutes at an easy pace before my legs felt okay. Planning on the bike and run as per the plan today and maybe a short recovery swim.
Intensity is usually the first to go for me especially right now. My thinking is that if I can do the workout even at a lower intensity that will help with the endurance. I don't think I can make any real speed gains in these last few weeks without risking additional injury so just doing what is working at the time when training.
Thanks again.
Remember speed on race day day is all about not slowing down...these lessons you have learned (esp around nutrition) will prove invaluable to you on race day.
Here's your updated Season Plan, as promised. This is where you'll return to post all your "coach" questions as responses; I'll see them and reply. This first post is my best outline of how to proceed with your races, but you can ask any / all questions you want. So post away, know that I reply here usually M/W/F each week.
Power User Tip: Click the Star icon by the Title of this thread to subscribe, and you'll get email updates when I do reply.
Your Notes
Just finished IM Louisville. Since then has mostly been unstructured training.
I have been dealing with achilles pain almost all of 2017. I had stopped running and was using the elliptical to train for IM Louisville until it got close to the race. Achilles never got any better or worse. I started running a little as the race got close and again my achilles stayed the same.
I was forced into some down time the week of 11/6 and did no run or bike Sunday through Thursday. Achilles seemed to be getting better. Rode bike on Friday and Saturday (no run) and achilles pain is back. I thought this was from running but it may be from the bike. My research indicates it may have to do with crank length. Ordered new 165mm cranks to replace my current 172.5mm cranks. I have been off again this week Sunday through today and achilles is getting better.
I am thinking RD2 for 4 weeks, RD3 for 4 Weeks, RD3 for 4 weeks, HIM weeks 13-20 to end on 04/08/17. My goal is to maintain my basic fitness and focus on losing weight as this is definitely my low hanging fruit to gain speed. Will deal with the rest of the season based upon how this goes.
Your Races
Season Update
These are your recommended training plans, including the date you should start each one (sometimes you won’t complete a full plan but transition to another one). You can change your plans on the Training Plan page by clicking the Move / Change button. Learn more about each plan on the Training Plan Central Page.
Coach Notes
I agree 100% with your approach. I am not surprised to hear that your issues may be related to the bike. And I am glad that you are investigating crank length as an opportunity for change. You may also want to check out cleat placement as well. If you're having calf or Achilles pain, sometimes moving the cleat backwards towards your heel as far as possible can help. This reduces the load on your muscles, placing it instead on the connective tissues. With this type of set up, there is no"pushing the toe down" movement as your leg is the only thing that is extending. If you do make this change it's possible you may need to adjust your seat height. Please keep me posted.
As you go through our Run Durability Program (RDP) you can certainly look into alternative modalities aside from just running. This could be the elliptical or similar machine. don't underestimate other types of cross training (rower?).
Let me know what you think & let's get to work!
~ Coach P
Congratulations on your Kona race and IM Los Cabos.
Here is where I am at right now. I have finally gotten my indoor trainer setup dialed in and working good with Zwift. I have gotten the shorter cranks on the bike. I really do not feel much difference when pedaling but it seems to help a little with the achilles issue. I already have the cleats as far back on the shoes as I can. I did this when I was having hot spots on my feet when riding and it fixed that problem.
Last week. No running. 3 bikes. I did the main sets from the OS bike workouts for the week but cut the overall volume. The achilles was okay but still not quite right. I rolled my calf really good Sunday night and things seem to feel much better this morning. So I think this may be tight calf issue caused by the bike.
So here is my plan for this week. Using RD and OS plan mixed. Using RD for run and mixing in the OS bikes. My reasoning for this is that the RD plan has so little bike and I do not want to give it up so completely right now. If you have a reason why I should stop riding right now please let me know.
On the bike my plan is to keep the volume low by basically doing a warm up, main set, cool down. I will be experimenting with the seat height this week. I never adjusted the seat height after changing the cranks so I am probably a little low right now. I really do not think it needs very much change but my plan is to adjust it in small increments and see how it goes this week. So bike will be on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.
On the run. I looked back at my weekly mileage over the last year and it is only 12.5 miles and I have not run much since Louisville. Plan for this week is to do 4 runs totaling 10 miles. Monday-2 miles, Wednesday-3 miles, Friday-2 miles, Sunday-3 miles. If all goes well I will make the 2 mile runs 2.5 miles next week.
For the achilles I am doing some calf strengthening exercises and will be rolling the calf on a daily basis. I will see how this week goes and will make adjustments as needed.
I am working on body composition but my only real goal right now is to get to January 1 at the same weight I was for Louisville. After that I will focus on the weight loss.
Thanks for all of your help
Bill Eckert
I do set my seat height just as you said. I am not sure what I am pushing with as I pedal. I just pedal. I will pay attention during my rides to see if I can feel what I am doing.
On the body comp. That is only until January 1. I do want to be faster. I want to get my half time to under 6 hours in Augusta this year. Goal for 70.3 Florida is around 6.5 hours. Fastest so far is 7.5 hours but I have a lot of extra weight that I think can gain me a lot of time when I don't have to carry it around the course.
I said that Louisville was one and done but I get it now. I now understand why the pointy end people get so stressed. I always wondered why they were so worried, heck, they knew they could finish. But for them it wasn't just about finishing and now I understand.
For me, there really is no point in doing another IM just to finish. I have done that and now I find myself wondering just how fast could I do it if I lost the weight that I need to. Then after that, who knows. So my focus this year is losing weight, staying injury free, getting some things dialed in, and gaining some speed. So going to stick with the two HIM and some sprint and olympic races that are yet to be determined.
Thanks for all of your help.
Here's your updated Season Plan, as promised. This is where you'll return to post all your "coach" questions as responses; I'll see them and reply. This first post is my best outline of how to proceed with your races, but you can ask any / all questions you want. So post away, know that I reply here usually Monday & Friday each week.
Power User Tip: Click the Star icon by the Title of this thread to subscribe, and you'll get email updates when I do reply.
Coach Notes
Your Races
Ironman 70.3 Arizona (TBD) #70.3Arizona_20
Season Update
These are your recommended training plans, including the date you should start each one (sometimes you won’t complete a full plan but transition to another one). You can change your plans on within Final Surge by clicking on the Training Plans > View My Plans. If you need help manipulating your plans in Final Surge, be sure to check out our Help Site. Remember, you can learn more about each plan and find related plan resources on the Plan Descriptions and Resources page.
Your Notes
IM Louisville 2017 16:09, Augusta 70.3 (2015, 2016, 2018), Chattanooga 70.3 2016, Florida 70.3 2018.
I have not done any races of any kind throughout 2019. My training through April 2019 was pretty good. The middle of 2019 I have done some biking and some walking/jogging but nothing structured. I started back with some consistent cycling in middle September and have added some walking/jogging in the past couple of weeks. I have had issues with Achilles Bursitis in my left achilles that comes and goes. Best I can tell it has a lot to do with calf weakness and calf tightness. Foam rolling and strengthening exercises seem to help.I have been doing 4-5 bikes per week since 9/16. Average weekly is 72.4 miles. I would say my bike fitness is on a Level 2/Level 3. Running has been very inconsistent this year with very little mileage through the middle of the year. I just started back with walking/jogging on 10/17. I am mostly walking with some jogging a minimum of 2 miles every day. I have to be very careful with mileage and intensity so that I do not aggravate my left heel. My run fitness is Level 1. I am using the durability plans right now and planning to do the outseason in January unless you say I should do something else. I am working on losing some weight right now and just focusing on building back a base level of fitness through consistency. My plan is to do IM Arizona in 2020. I don't want to do it to just finish. My goal is to be a lot faster. The best thing for me to do that is to lose some weight and stay healthy. I am not too worried about any focused IM training until about July. Between now and then I just want to build a strong base of fitness, lose some weight, and stay healthy.
Let's get to work!
~ Coach P
Thank you Coach P. The video is awesome!! Watched it multiple times. I will digest the information and let you know if I have questions. One note is that I am planning on the full in Arizona not the half. It looks like the plan is set up for that so I don't think anything needs to change.
As of Sunday, 11/10, I have 26 days straight of either walking or running, mostly walking a minimum of 2 miles each day. I was actually able to run/walk a fair amount last week and I got in 18.8 miles. My current average is 15 miles per week over the last four weeks, mostly walking. I have been running in Brooks Glycerin but something changed in those with their latest version. I just got a pair of Hoka One One Bondi and love them. On the cycling side, I have an average of 72 miles per week for the last 8 weeks. I had been doing 4-5 days per week but with the added load from the walking/running I dropped it back to 3 days last week. Last week I did an FTP interval day, a recovery/steady state day, and an ABP day. It seemed to work.
I have been sort of following the the Balanced Durability plan with some added days for walking and cycling but I do like the Durability Plan for Triathletes. My plan is to modify the cycling to add an interval day, a steady state day, and keep the ABP day. I will also add some walk days to fill out the run days for the week. I also have a short swim session (800m) planned on two of the days that I don't cycle. It is just an easy continuous swim to get me back in the groove. I have not swam since September 2018 so that first day back was brutal. The second day was much better. I don't feel like there is too much cost with those swims and it actually helps break things up a little. So my next week looks like this:
Monday - Swim 800m, Run Skill (30')
Tuesday - Bike Intervals (60'), Recovery Run/Walk (2 mi)
Wednesday - Tempo Run (40')
Thursday - Bike Steady State (60'), Run Skill (30')
Friday - Swim 800m, Run Rolling Hills (45')
Saturday - Bike ABP (90'), Recovery Run/Walk (2 mi)
Sunday - Long Run(70', Not really ready to go this long so probably just 45'-50')
On any of the runs above, I will run/walk or just walk as I need to. I have been doing a lot of walking over the last four weeks but I do not care as I feel like it is building some durability. I am already starting to feel the difference.
Let me know if you think any of that is too much. I feel like it is working but you may have a different perspective.
Bill, thank you for all the detail. You and I are on the same page.
I really appreciate how conservative you are being out of the gate with regards to the run. I agree that walking is a great place to start. I'm thinking if we can exercise some good run restraint through Thanksgiving things will be really good moving forward. Just as an arbitrary deadline for you.
I am okay with you doing the Durability for Triathletes Plan. No problem whatsoever for me it's more a function of having a week that fits your schedule and achieves the goals that we want, in that order.
The way that you are supplementing things means that we have a solid fit (because you have flexibility). I agree with you on the swim. As long as you're not trying to swim with intent, I think you'll be fine. Just like the run, this is all in our reentry and getting a better baseline.
Yes, I knew you were doing the IM I'm not sure why I said the Half. My apologies for the mixup. Enjoy the training!
~ Coach P
Coach P,
Thanks for the response. I started "running" a good bit more last week. I only just walked one day last week. I got in 20 miles running with a 4 mile run on Sunday. Not trying to go fast and working in walking breaks as needed. I am feeling pretty good and things seem to be staying in check. I do not want to add any miles. Got my three bikes in with no issues and swam one day. I think I will keep those right where they are.
Right now I am struggling with the scheduled long run on Sunday. I have been fine up until now with just doing what I have been doing. I am still fine with that but my mind is trying to convince me that I need to do a longer run on Sunday. I have read enough on here to know that is not true, especially at this time of the season and given that I am trying to rebuild. I also know myself enough to know that this is a recipe for disaster for me. I think for right now the 4 miles I did on Sunday is about my limit. I think that is okay, especially given the fact that I am doing something 7 days a week right now. So that is where I am going to stay. I may even do a little less this next week.
My plan this week is to do 3 miles per day. 7 days at 3 miles is 21 miles and I think that is more than enough or me. I think I can cap my run distance there through the end of the year. I may add a little bit on the long runs in a couple of weeks but I will see how things are going before I make that decision.
Bill E.
Coach P,
Congratulations on IM Arizona. Awesome race!! I was tracking everyone all day and was watching your race as #2 was trying to catch you on the run.
Left a note last week and figured you would be busy with IM AZ so was not to worried about it. Mostly just an update on where I was at.
Lat week went real good. I ran all seven days with all days running using walking as short rest breaks. Total was 21 miles. As of yesterday I have 40 consecutive days running or walking. Still feeling good as long as I do the things I need to do to maintain. I got in 3 days cycling for 81 miles and 1 swim day. I like where things are at so going to the same thing again this week.
Now a question. I have some friends that want to do 70.3 Chattanooga on May 17, 2020. I have looked at my training and that falls in the middle of the get faster block. I have some very specific goals for IM AZ and do not want to punch a hole in my training that may derail me. If I was just trying to finish AZ it would be fine. However, I want to come in under 12 hours in AZ and I know that is going to take a lot of work and that work is really done through the OS and the GF training. Your thoughts and input would be greatly appreciated.
Bill E.
Coach P,
Not going to do Chattanooga 70.3. Just made that decision to take that stress out of the schedule and focus on what is important to me.
Last week was good for run but not so good for bike. I got in 6 runs last week, Monday through Saturday. Only got a little of bike in on Thanksgiving day riding course support for a local half marathon. Maybe not such a bad thing in reality because I was feeling some fatigue last week and just made it through with the run to complete the month of November. I had 46 days straight of doing something. I took Sunday and yesterday completely off. I feel sooooo much better today than I did last week. Lesson learned once again, rest is important.
I am starting Durability 3 this week. I had already planned on just following the plan and taking the planned rest day and after last week that is a definite. My average run mileage over the last 6 weeks is 18.6 miles. That is a mileage that when I try to go over it in the past I usually start having problems. Given that I am probably still not going to do any extended long runs. Just getting in 3 miles a day, 6 days a week should be enough to continue building durability. I will follow the planned runs as much as I can as far as tempo/skill runs.
Bike is fine. I am averaging 68 miles a week for 11 weeks which includes last week with only 8 miles. Before that it was a little over 70. I am fine on the bike and can add some length to the rides as my schedule allows. Plan is to push my weekly bike mileage to between 80 and 100 for the next four weeks. I will need to watch my overall fatigue levels but hopefully working in one complete rest day will help with that.
I am writing these on a weekly basis just to have some record of what I am doing and to keep you up to date. That way when something comes up later in the season, you will have a better background.
Thanks,
Bill E.
Thank you for the updates and sorry I haven't chimed in. I agree, over time that 6 x 3 miles will definitely compound and will yield what we want in terms of gains in fitness...so stick with it! Cycling looks good as well...these are the tough times of year when consistency is challenged, so stay the course...
~ Coach P
Ps thanks for the kind words about my race!
Some updates. On Sunday, December 15, I did a 5 mile run. Not sure why but just felt good and wanted to. The run felt good. I pushed a little but nothing hurt during or immediately after. The next morning noticed a little twinge in my left knee. Took Monday off. Ran 3 miles on Tuesday, slight pain but nothing major. I wish I would have skipped that one now. I have not run since then. The only thing I can think of is that on that Sunday run I had to come down a pretty steep (but short) hill and that I must have braced coming down it and strained something in my left knee. The reason that I think that is because the pain was worse when walking down steeper inclines. I have had this pain before but never been able to pinpoint where it came from but knew it was from doing something that was out of the norm the day before.
I stayed off the bike for a few days until I felt comfortable and then took it easy when I did ride. With the holidays I ended up backing off on the bike as well. Also had to move after Christmas. The moving aggravated things a little going up and down stairs and up and down the ramp to the truck. My right knee even started to bother me a little, probably from trying to compensate for my left knee. Good news is that both knees are feeling good right now and I am ready to get going.
I did not run or bike at all during the major move period as I was just too tired and things were aggravated enough. I did get a few bikes in just before Christmas and one ride in this week. Today is the final day of the moving and there is very little left to do (Note to self, get rid of some junk). Anyway, I am hoping to get a ride in this afternoon and maybe a short run if I really feel like it (probably not). Not to worried about it though as I am starting the January OS tomorrow and I am ready for it.
My plan for the OS is to follow the bike per the plan and to modify the run to just keep a consistent run and avoid injury. I am going to try to do 6 days per week. I am going to start at 2 miles per day for the first week and see how that goes. Week two will be 2.5 to 3 miles per day if all goes well. In my season plan you have me on the run focus for the OS and bike focus for the IM plan. Should I stay with the run focus plan for the OS or should I use the bike focus plan instead given the situation with my run. I would add runs with the bike focus plan and given that I would be keeping my runs shorter I would think that would be okay. I really want to work on my bike FTP over this OS and keep my runs consistent. We can keep an eye on my run health through the OS and make adjustments as things progress.
Thanks for your help,
Bill E.
@Bill Eckert looks like from your Final Surge training log that things have come around a bit for the knee as you are being smart about it. Downhill running, at speed, not a good idea...I have had success with some rocktape. About 5" long, put it lightly on knee below knee cap....then bend as in photo and pull tape tight and adhere to thighs. Looks like a smiley face. Tattoos optional. Let's keep thing rolling as you are now...onwards into Feb!
Hello Coach P,
Hope all is well. Love the Happy Hour meetings and all of the stuff that you are doing during this time. It really is helping me to keep perspective on things.
So I finished the JOS last week. My first time actually making it through one without getting injured or sick. The last four weeks were a struggle and had to dial it back some due to fatigue but I got through it.
Last week I did not test anything and used it as a recovery week and it worked. I am going to do the same thing I did last week. It has been a nice mental break to not do anything real specific training.
Moving forward I do not want to repeat the OS or move into the Get Faster plan. I am still working on Body Composition and would like to do something that will not create so much fatigue/stress. I lost some weight during the OS but it really slowed down as the fatigue/stress accumulated. I really want to continue to work on the Bike FTP and building run durability. I watched the video about the specificity plans and after looking at everything I think the 6 week Bike Focus plan would be a great fit. My plan is to start that plan next week. Let me know your thoughts on this.
Below are the results from the JOS in case you want to look things over.
Bike FTP started at 215 and ended at 252. 17% gain. Admittedly, the start number was a swag but it was close. Peak 60 minute power went from 187 in December to 222 in March. Friday Freight Train has helped with that. Very happy with the improvements on the bike.
Run was a win for me as well. I averaged 15.9 miles per week and was consistent over the whole OS. No test at the beginning but my best 5K time in December was 11:53 per mile. My test in week 5 was 10:16 per mile. Did not test in week 10 because I was feeling a lot of fatigue and nursing another little niggle in my knee. It is healed up know but being cautious. I also have not tested at the end because I just know that it has not changed enough to warrant the effort and I really do not want to do anything to cause any problems. I really just want to build up some more durability.
OS Run Distance:
Run distance since re-entry back in October. The big hole in December is from the knee injury back then and moving.