Coach P March Training Update
March training highlight was the Texas Race Camp, even if the weather didn't cooperate! The hours continue to build up across all three disciplines. Fatigue is high but not unmanageable; then again ask my colleagues what my productivity has been and you'll probably get a different story. 
Thanks to your input, Team, I have set minimum sleep to 7 hours vs 6 which has really helped. Also enjoying Mike Roberts swim project thread which has been super informative. Thank you!
Also managed to go the whole month without a PT visit, and somehow survived the massive fundraiser 5k for the kids elementary school (we raised over $17k!).
You can view all my details in Strava here: www.strava.com/athletes/291894
The Swim
Currently in a 4-swim week program with average yards around 10k. This is (hopefully) a good platform for the final swim push that I need to make a meaningful difference in my swim performance. Usually I don't do ^this^ part of the swim, waiting until now to get to 10k.
Make no mistake about it, this is no year-long swim project, but it is a fair amount of focus for me given my history.
Up Next -- looking to hit around 14,000 a week for the next 4 weeks if I can make it happen.
The Bike
March saw the return of the #triathlon bike (P5). We also added long Friday rides come into effect, most of them indoors. This has not been easy, but the work has been really solid. Most of my long ride watts & HR have been consistent with past years -- good.
I have seen the FTP and VO2 efforts fall as well. The focus has moved from hard number chasing to "best effort" and let the numbers fall where they may.
Up Next -- two bigger rides a week are on the plan, hoping the weather plays along. I will work in some harder efforts within those sessions as well as keep one FTP session during the week.
The Run
Built the run up to a consistent 40-ish miles a week, mostly at my low-Zone 3 effort. This has been across 4 x 10 milers a week, with two of those being a split long run on Saturday.
Times have slowed a bit from Jan/Feb where I was more 6:30s than 6:40s, but the fatigue has gone up. I also initiated the transition to one long run on the weekend, with 13+ then a 15+.
Up Next -- (1) a return to some FTP running as integrated into steady runs. (2) and two bigger run weeks closer to 50 miles/week, including a few 18 milers. This means more back-to-back running. I am a little concerned about this, will end to stay on top of the nutrition and recovery.
Body Composition
Good but not great. I have been eating clean but not super lean. I am low 180s so need to stay smart to break 180. Still debating how badly I want to suffer here.
Just about six weeks left to TX so time to make a solid push. Shiny side up!
Thanks to your input, Team, I have set minimum sleep to 7 hours vs 6 which has really helped. Also enjoying Mike Roberts swim project thread which has been super informative. Thank you!
Also managed to go the whole month without a PT visit, and somehow survived the massive fundraiser 5k for the kids elementary school (we raised over $17k!).
You can view all my details in Strava here: www.strava.com/athletes/291894
The Swim
Currently in a 4-swim week program with average yards around 10k. This is (hopefully) a good platform for the final swim push that I need to make a meaningful difference in my swim performance. Usually I don't do ^this^ part of the swim, waiting until now to get to 10k.
Make no mistake about it, this is no year-long swim project, but it is a fair amount of focus for me given my history.
Up Next -- looking to hit around 14,000 a week for the next 4 weeks if I can make it happen.
The Bike
March saw the return of the #triathlon bike (P5). We also added long Friday rides come into effect, most of them indoors. This has not been easy, but the work has been really solid. Most of my long ride watts & HR have been consistent with past years -- good.
I have seen the FTP and VO2 efforts fall as well. The focus has moved from hard number chasing to "best effort" and let the numbers fall where they may.
Up Next -- two bigger rides a week are on the plan, hoping the weather plays along. I will work in some harder efforts within those sessions as well as keep one FTP session during the week.
The Run
Built the run up to a consistent 40-ish miles a week, mostly at my low-Zone 3 effort. This has been across 4 x 10 milers a week, with two of those being a split long run on Saturday.
Times have slowed a bit from Jan/Feb where I was more 6:30s than 6:40s, but the fatigue has gone up. I also initiated the transition to one long run on the weekend, with 13+ then a 15+.
Up Next -- (1) a return to some FTP running as integrated into steady runs. (2) and two bigger run weeks closer to 50 miles/week, including a few 18 milers. This means more back-to-back running. I am a little concerned about this, will end to stay on top of the nutrition and recovery.
Body Composition
Good but not great. I have been eating clean but not super lean. I am low 180s so need to stay smart to break 180. Still debating how badly I want to suffer here.
Just about six weeks left to TX so time to make a solid push. Shiny side up!
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Comments
In reviewing my season last yr, I was swimming a lot (for me) heading into IMMT and had a great race. My bike and run felt just as strong going into Cozumel (new 5hr power numbers just a few weeks before the race), but I was barely swimming at all. Among other things, I have concluded that swim fitness has a BIG effect on how you feel near the end of an IM bike and run. This is very hard to simulate during our IM training. That's a long way to say that I think this extra swim work will pay off in spades (above and beyond the few mins you may or may not gain in the actual swim leg).
Bike: You are an animal, keep it up. FWIW, I really got a lot out of stacking my long rides on back-to-back days even though day 2 you need to not worry as much about the numbers and just ride hard.
Run: I cannot even believe I'm about to comment given that your paces are like 1:30/mi faster than mine... But... I really think it was helpful to do a short 3-4 mile run on the night that I did my long run in the morning. The first mile or so really sucks, but by the end you loosen up and it does wonders for your confidence late in the IM run. Not that you want to "experiment" this close to your A-Race and you certainly know how to train... But I also know you're not going there just to KQ, but to win and that you experiment on yourself with new things all the time in your training.
Keep us posted, it's fun to watch and learn.
Oh, and one other thing. Step away from the brownies you fat kid.
Thanks for the update, Coach. I've seen the work on Strava, but was curious about how you felt overall. Looks solid.
In the last couple of months before TX last year, I set aside the pull buoy so that I could build a little kick fitness going into what was surely going to be a wetsuit-illegal race. Then, a cold rain during race week, and wetsuits were allowed. It felt strange and constricting on race day because I hadn't been in it for 6 months. Perhaps the best approach would be to prepare for a swim where you'll need a little kick to keep your legs and hips up, but spend a couple of WKOs in the wetsuit . . . just in case. Have you decided how early you'll line up for the rolling start? FWIW, I'd be there stoopid early.
Anything above 40 miles/week for me of running, and injury prevention becomes the priority. Stay healthy.
And if the forecast calls for a lousy weekend in April, we've got 3 int'l airports within 45 minutes and a couple of empty rooms here for free, with plenty of sunny/flat riding nearby.
After riding Oceanside this weekend and getting tired of people passing me on the hills (and of course many were up out of the saddle "crushing it" until cresting, but there were some I could tell were "properly" riding them), I got home and posted "If you're tired of getting passed on the hills, shut your mouth and stop eating poorly" on the refrig and bathroom mirror. Dropping these extra 15 pounds will really help my W/kg before IM Austria
Wow, cool!
@Mike -- your swim input is so valued! I fear I need a time machine to go back and start doing it right (as in October). Somehow I am pretty buoyant (brownies?) even in a skinsuit, but yes I need to build up some kick fitness. Any suggestions??
I know you are WAY more conservative than me, but doing this workout just 3-4 times was really helpful for me. I can't say if it was mental or physical, but it sure was a love-hate relationship that I had with "Jimmy's IM leg hardener"...
@Coach,
WS swims are way more fun, but I actually prefer races where they're banned b/c so many triathletes, including some of the top AGers, have poor/mediocre body position or lack the deep fitness to carry good position for 60-70 minutes. Kicking exerts a disporportionate amount of energy for very little propulsion (maybe 5-10% of your speed). So, during the race, I want to employ the bare minimum kick energy to keep my legs up and help the hips rotate. For me, once past the initial sprint, I try to do a small, 2-beat flick from the hips (not the knees). But that's just me. You have a powerful pool kick (circle swimming behind you is like trailing a battleship), but I assume you'll temper it a bit in the murky swamp they call Lake Woodlands. Then again, you may only have a Powerful/Off switch.
As for training, I would just try to build some deep, total-body swim fitness the next 6 weeks, preferably with 4 swims and 12k+/wk, knowing that non-WS swim will eat more kJs than a WS one (bigger DS effect on the B&R). I probably wouldn't do a single kick set because, again, 95% of my propulsion is hips-forward, so I get way more ROI there. But I also wouldn't be logging one of those 4k pull sets that someone may have hypothetically posted on Strava in the last week.
I think this race sets up great for you. Your B&R look solid, as always. The competition at the pointy end will probably be a little deeper, given the extra slots, so 10 minutes may mean more than usual like it did in MT. Fortunately, the rolling start should help b/c you can't get swallowed by the washing machine. I would still line up early so you spend less time in the heat (remember, it's frequently pretty mild in the a.m.), less passing early on the bike (remember your high VI the first 25mi in '12?), and better opportunity to pace off the fast folks, who will also be up front. Then, just bide your time until Miles 65-80, where (I discovered painfully last year at camp) the big/strong/tough (you) separate from and destroy the wee little mortals (me and others not named Cronk) over the bumpy hills and into the wind. The deed to that run course is in your name, so that discussion is unnecessary.