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Francis Picard Official Coach Thread

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    @Coach Patrick here is my IMLOU RR - over happy considering that I did 2 races in 8 weeks and 3 in the last 3 months.

    - I miss the 60' swim per 9 seconds!
    - Bike is really an issue, I need to find a flat course - my best bike was in AZ last year with a 5:28, IF:0.7 and VI: 1.04
    - Run: I should had start walking the aid station from the start to take time to eat, but at least I went "slow" on the first 10km
    - Register to IMLP next year was a stupid idea, I got influenced by the fact its a EN key race.

    I feel physically and mentally ready to jump on the NOS train !

    My instinct is to do the bike focus level 3 - what do you think ? its my third year and I know you suggest to go on the run focus..

    Also I was wondering why you want me to be on the intermediate level since I am a sub 5hr 70.3 and 11h 140.6

    Not urgent to answer !

    Thanks
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    just see the dashboard and your os video.

    Do you think I should do RD + zwift races and do the JOS ?

    My A race is IMLP.. so I guess its better to go with JOS but you suggest the NOS ?
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    I think you need to respect the work you did this year. It is very easy to start training again, but it can reduce your race potential next year. I would prefer that you do run durability right now.

     Another words, get some good baseline running in and go crazy with this with Races during the week. Start off at 25 miles a week and by December you should be running 35 miles a week with hopefully a similar Swift power performance. You will be fit but also rested and ready to crush January when it comes.

    This is another should versus could decision point. Of course, I support you no matter what you choose. 
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    Ok thanks ! Will do what you recommand
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    @Coach Patrick  cuz its been a while I didnt write here. Just want to give you an update on my post IM training until JOS starts.

    I loaded the RDP 9 months out
    week 1 - 34KM
    Week 2 - 36KM
    Week 3 - 38KM

    On every week I swam twice - total of about 4000m/week. Did 2 races + ABP ride.

    Not feeling tired at all at the moment, starting to feel well rested and I think it was a good call from you to suggest to go that way instead of jumping into the NOS train. I did a FTP when I started the RDP program, was really disapointed that it wasnt higher than it was (275), I even got a drop in my FTP 275 to 272, not a huge drop but still. The good thing about this is that last year when I started the OS, I had a 215W FTP, I'll take it.

    As you might have read on the ABP groupme, I did get the tube cut today, so I cant train for about a 10 days, so I should resume mid of next week and will be doing RDP - 8 months. Will start the new year with the JOS and do the work to get ready for IMLP which will be one of my 2 2018 A races - the other one will be IMAZ.

    One last question, its my 3rd year with EN, I am suppose to go with run focus, but as you know I dont see any improvment on the bike considering the time & energy put in it, should I go for a bike focus OS with some hacks (Paul Curtin's style). I am also wondering if I dont see any progress, is that because I dont work correctly ? I would think that maybe its not the volume that is an issue but more on "how I work on the bike"

    Thanks


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    @Coach Patrick I think we both forgot about this, you never everything except the last paragraph

    Just coming out from RDP 9,8 and the last 2 weeks of the 7 months out. + 2/3 The Zwift bike rides/races.

    Thanks!
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    @Francis Picard - thanks for the bump! In retrospect, I think that having you do RDP was a really really good call. Between the holidays, weather and work...it would have been HE11 to make that happen. :smile: (See what I did there?!!!!). 

    Anyway, I agree on the Bike Focus OS. I only want one "quality" run from you a week....you are a strong runner and so it's tempting to run really fast all the time like you see the other guys do. But you don't NEED to be a faster runner, you need to be a stronger biker and a more patient runner. 

    IOW, I would happily take you at 2017 run fitness in 2018....i would give up all potential run awesomeness for what we could do on the bike. 

    Most of Paul's work comes in during race prep, but there's plenty of good OS work. I would stick with the 2 x quality OS, then try to get in on the early Saturday ride (MGCC if that works) as that's really solid. Then I would have one day where you ride easy and seek Le Tron bike. There are plenty of fun / not too hard rides out there that would work...but this longer, steadier ride could do it.

    When we talk race prep, we'll want to factor in one or two Big Bike weekends as you build. So for Placid this is in June, and again in early July (unless a camp factors in there). Then you can reboot for AZ...thoughts on dates?

    ~ Coach P 
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    Hi @Coach Patrick !

    I am back! As you already know I did "race" a 50 mile last week end, here is the race report :

    https://endurancenation.vanillacommunities.com/discussion/25109/la-chute-du-diable-first-50-miles-trail-run-race-report#latest

    Goal this week was to rest and resume IM training next week.. and you know rest of the story - dont think you approve that stupid decision..

    So far this week, I went for 30 minute walk during lunch time, did 2X 20'ish zwift session.

    Tomorrow I go try compass navigation to ensure my understanding is still as it was when I was younger, so I will climb the trail hill, without running the downhills.

    Saturday will run on trails for about 35-55' and Sunday off.

    Monday, Tuesday I was thinking to go swim and a 45' run on trails during lunch time.

    Wednesday is travel, I will drive to TN unless plan changes, I have booked client meetings (dont blame me!) in NYC and DC, so logistic will be easier to drive and I could get on work calls while driving. I also have ship a lot of sport gear to my friend's house in Cincinnati to grab on my way back.

    I plan to arrive in middle of nowhere late Thursday. Will sleep in Friday morning. Race starts at 7AM Saturday morning and will come back to Montreal Monday hopefully.

    I cant really write a race plan for that race as we are not allowed to GPS watch, so cant get my pace and we will get the course map on Friday night during bib pickup.

    Post race week will be a rest hard z11 to slowly resume serious training the week after (9/24 - week 13) - we could then catch up at that moment to see how we can adjust training until IMAZ, I would bet a run volume reduction and focus on the bike.. but lets talk about that after BFC!

    Francis

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    you have a literally read define what it means to be crazy. I don’t think we even have a word for inside the team. I’ve been following you and your workouts and have a good.

    I know you were traveling now and it seems like you are in a good place. I think the hardest part about that Races thing as focused as you can even though there are so many unknowns. Really do your best to stay inside your box and make the best possible decision at every juncture.

    Don’t ignore The messages that your body is sending you, but don’t obey them either. The longer you can stay mentally focused the better off you will be. To that end, how do recommend having some kind of supplement with caffeine as a resource for you. I can’t wait to hear from you once you are back! Good skill!

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    RR is there :

    for now I plan to rest hard for 2 weeks then go on RDP and will see in January, might jump into the 50 mile plan after ?

    Thanks!

    I am more stupid than I thought, BFC didnt convince not to apply at the big boy!

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    @Francis Picard - yes to two weeks of rest, but for some reason I thought you were doing Iron Man Arizona? Is that off the table now?

    🤔

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    Yeah IMAZ is off the table. I have no willingness to put energy on another IM with all new responsabilites at work. It was really in the back of my mind even before LP.

    I am taking a yeaf off triathlon, I think its mostly cause I dont enjoy/have fun on the bike. Dont worry, I stay here.. but you will need to get a 100 mile plan :)

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    ok. so what’s the post NEIPA plan for you? maybe you need to tell me your 2019 plan so i can formulate an idea....

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    my NEIPA plan for 2019 is :


    1) March 31, 2019 Rattler

    2):

    if i can get a slot for Leadville it will be Leadville 100M  on August 21-22, 2019

    If I dont get a slot for Leadville it will be Vermont 100M on July 21-22, 2019

    If doing Vermont, I might maybe place a 80km or 100K in August or early September

    3) Moab 240 October 12 to 16 - this will highly depend if all the people actually talking about goes in, If I am alone I might go down to a 200M run (Tahoe or Bigfoot in OR)

    I think we can plan up to Rattler and see the results from there and then adjust ?


    Other than that, so you can consider I have the following stuff for the next months:

    a) new responsabilities at work which will probably request another 10-15 additional hours per week - I am sure inconsciently that made me choose to put triathlon aside for a year to get all thing stabilized

    b) will go to PT to have my groin fix once and for all, thats an issue I had when was playing water polo at high school and with trail running it came back, It wasnt that much of an issue on road running

    c) I believe putting some weekly time in the weight room could help considering the size of the projected race - tell me if I am wrong

    Thank you !

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    @Francis Picard - ok, I see what's up. I like RDP right now on a very basic level. Endurance stuff on the bike over the weekends, but easy. We can then get you to you PT this fall so you are healed in the groin. The goal will to have you in the UltraPlan by January for Rattler.

    This gives you two months to sort yourself and work...does that sound good?

    If they don't give you exercises from PT, we can work some into your training. I recommend you check out the Functional Strength Programs in Final Surge. There are three installments each, with 5 key exercises in them. You can add to this program, but these exercises should be your baseline level of work.

    Onwards!

    ~ Coach P

    ps how will you handle the run miles in Le Winter?

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    Perfect ! yeah a good 2 months to have everything settle etc. When you mean endurance on the bike, I guess thats maximum 90 minutes ? I dont think I can mentally do longer than 90 minutes

    The PT I go is specialized in sports and she is an ultra runner too, the last time I had to visit her she provided me with exercice, so I am pretty sure she will give me some to do. Appointment is tonight at 4PM. I am pretty confident nothing is broke, probably I need to strengthen something. Good new is that its not an issue that bothers me that much, its mostly annoying and I tend to maybe hold off on the downhills. Will keep you posted!

    I will also do the other exercices as written in the RDP

    As for your question concerning winter, all major work being done on the house, I can finally think of buying the TM, but will for sure keep on running outside, adding hills will be a challenge with snow, so will need to use the potential TM and have it incline at 20%.


    thanks!

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    Quick update.

    Groin just need to get stronger considering all the movement it makes during an ultra trail.

    I have 3 exercices to do daily for 3 weeks but she doesnt recommand not doing any run. So will resume training next week with RDP 1

    I am done with my questions until March after Rattler when I will able to tell you which 100M I am doing =)

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    I am glad you’re going to take the time to rehab in the groin. Can you ride a bike or do some kind of cross training in the meantime? If not, you might want to dedicate a few days to the gym where you can do those exercises as well as some other strength work as preparation for the torture you are going to endure next season. You would have to avoid doing squats or other exercises that were target the groin but there’s plenty of other things you can focus on.

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    hi le @Coach Patrick ,


    quick update

    I've been doing groin exercise and I can see a difference after 4 weeks of work and RDP. I dont feel anything after intervals work. I will keep doing these exercise until January 1st per her recommendation, last time I visited her she recommend 3 weeks but suggest to keep going considering the good results until I get back on long distance training.

    I end RDP 1 on Sunday and it was a good way to rest the body after that season, I didnt feel it was a hard program but perfect to reboot things. I avg 40 mile per week. When I looked at my avg mileage for the last 8 months I was at 24.. so I guess I went a bit too much but its probably the run streak. I am actually feeling comfortable when only running most of my runs are at easy pace except the 2X1M.

    I have the following 3 questions:

    1) I was planning to stop the run streak when I get on the 50m plan - what do you think about that ? I will keep doing gym work (weight, planks, push ups) - you should see my pipes, they are so hard!

    2) When going 16 weeks backward from Rattler, I should start December 12 the 50 mile plan. I know we talked about start it on first week of January, but going back 16 weeks has me start on December 12. - What do you suggest ?

    3) When city bike goes down on November 15, I was thinking about run commute to work, its 2M each way, so it will add an additional 30 mile per week. I will consider these commutes as an equivalent of the 30' strides run.

    Thanks!

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    I’m super pleased that you are doing all the good work with related to your physical self care. As you progress to the season it’s important to remember that you are demanding a great deal from your body and we have to be very smart about how we distribute your effort. While the run durability program didn’t seem like very much, he did put up some great numbers and this is a great steppingstone to what you’ll be doing on the 50 miler plan.

    I agree that doing the run streak on the 50 miler plant is less than ideal. You need to build in some recovery as your body has shown you. I don’t know exactly how much recovery that is, but we absolutely need to keep room for it to happen.

    Taking a day where you do core strength or some of the gym work will be really important.

    I am not sold on the December 12 started simply because of the holidays. Unless you guys are staying home and not doing any trouble and there’s no issues here, usually December is a terrible time to start a new training plan. That was why I recommended January. You tell me how things look, but I think we could easily have you continue doing some quality running without the “weight“ of a true plan.

    I think you should start an alternative city bike program with mountain bikes for Hardcore people like yourself who want to commute all year but take over the industry in total Canadian domination! :)

    I love the idea of the 2 mile commute we just have to balance that against the days off will need in the ultra plan. Maybe when we get to the 50 miler time of year we can map it out and see what it looks like and what your other commute options would be

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    Hi le @Coach Patrick

    Week 3 of RDP 2 is almost done, quick update so you can read on the plane.

    1) Groin all good but I hurt myself at the left shoulders in the weight room.. I maybe went too hard on the weight lifting, I didnt do anything since ~10 days - hopefully I will be able to get back soon, I believe in doing 2X30 mins per week specially for ultras running. Weight is 4 pounds higher than my IM race weight, as a family we made some changes to our diet, the issue I have is I am always hungry before going to bed and sometime walk to the fridge and binge a 750m pot of greek yogurt... So I need to figure out why and adjust accordingly. But overall feels better in my body, job is hard mentally but glad I can randomly disconnect anytime of the day. Fatigue is gone, I am feeling good and really looking fwd to the long 4-5hrs on la mountain.

    2) AVG mileage is now at 46 mile per week, during the last 3 weeks my avg increased per 6 mile, which I think is a conservative and safe increase, I see RDP 2 as a level to get comfortable at 40-45mpw avg elevation is around 4000-5000 ft per week too, my avg total time run is 6h20 per week at the moment. I know you are not a fan of volume or any other target when on RDP, but what you suggest ? less mileage and get more time on feet by adding more hiking ? Just keep doing what I am doing and increase the avg per 2m until reaching 54mpw ? - Will obey to what you say

    3) As for the 50m starting date, we are home during the holidays, but the family visits us, not much activities and I dont work during that period, but will follow your advice and just spend time with the family and will start the 50m plan on Dec 31, which is the first week of January. Let me know which week you want me to cut or start from etc.

    4) I am starting to have a better view on my 2019 season which seems to be :

    a) Rattler on April 1st - 66k

    b) Bear Mountain on May 5 - 80k

    c) Vermont on July 21 - 100k

    d) BFC on Sept 21 - Unknown distance

    Will either be Leadville if I can qualify or it will be another race - but for sure I wanna get to the 100 mile, this is the goal for this year, maybe a 200 mile if I can find close. Also in the lottery for Big Backyard - that a last man standing race in October.

    I "believe" the progression in distance of these races and the space in between gives enough time to recover and train - but would like your input. For now, Rattler is my AAA race as I really want to qualify for Leadville, so I am open to any suggestions from you regarding the build to Rattler.

    5) As discussed on groupme, I will give a try to run commute starting this Monday, goal will be to run commute on days where its a 30' run, the distance is ~2m each direction. Discussion with the groupme helped me figure out the logistics (yeah I need assistance on basic stuff lol) - Will give a try for a week and see from there if it makes sense, goal would be to run commute until Christmas vacations, I will not run commute when I will be on the 50m, I will follow the plan.

    I understand you are travelling and racing in the next few days so no rush to answer ! - with all these questions dunno if a call would be better someday :)


    Enjoy your week, win it and hope you get your annual KQ !

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    @Francis Picard thanks for being patient with all of this, just giving the depth of what were working towards, I agree that a phone call is probably best. Use this link to set up a call for this week: https://calendly.com/pmccrann/15min

    If none of those times work, let me know!

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    edited January 1, 2019 3:01PM

    Hi @Coach Patrick

    quick update !

    Not really exciting for here are few points:

    1) Bike seat raised, now doing 2 rides per week - 1 race + easy spin after and the CNC week end ride. That is my goal - about 2h30 total bike time per week.

    2) Done with the RDP programs, the only hack I did was to do the 50 mile long run (the 3hrs run) - I have to tell you that anyone who wanna join the 50 mile plan seriously need a solid running base, this program is legit IMO.

    3) Run commute is down since 12/20 until 1/7 - holidays, but still running everyday. Goal is to keep going in January. The way I see commute will be one direction is directly to work and the other direction will be a quality run (basically the day's wkout)

    4) Will stop run streaking on 1/11 - d100

    I wanna wish you a happy new year to you and your familly (including the cat) :)

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    Please ask your Cat to take a picture of you on your bike so I can see how the position looks.

    Thank you for the New Year’s wishes, same to you and all of your animals. Yes, that run plan is not an “couch to 50 miler“ plan.

    I am excited about your committed bike volume. I know it doesn’t feel like it as a benefit, but I swear that it does! Looking forward to seeing your run commutes from here on out.

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    Hi le @Coach Patrick you probably know already but Rattler is push 2 weeks further, as such I trained for nothing in the last 2 weeks ! .. I even did this week 2 long runs in the middle of the week.. oh well.

    I am still going as the goal is to qualify for Leadville

    what do you suggest ?

    When changing dates in FS, I am back to week 3 so its the way to go.

    on another note, I know we discussed not going over 50 mile per week, but by following the 50 mile plan, it gets me to over 70 miles per week. the way I get to 70 is as follow:

    2 long run (2X21 each) = 42

    4 (Friday are from home) commutes at 4.5 miles per day = 18

    1 tempo run at 10 mile = 10

    total 70

    see below the run PMC:


    Thanks, not urgent for you to answer!

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    Yes, I saw the note. I am glad that you are still going, but I think it’s OK for us to use this as an opportunity to rest a bit.

    The ramp and chronic training in your chart is pretty legit. Will be nice to have a down week of maybe 40 miles before we pick it back up again.

    Your body will thank you later! That said, one of the reasons why your mileage is so high is because you are so fast. You promise that you’re not running hard right?

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    #1 glad we are on the same page, I wanted take that opportunity to rest and
    reset when we will pick it up again.
    for the next 2 weeks I will do:
    Monday to Thursday - commute - total of about 22-25 mile
    Friday long run - 2hrs about 14-15 mile
    Will fit in 2-3hrs of zwift.

    As for your comment for hard... HR doesnt go higher than 125-130BPM for the
    3 hours run and not over 115 for the commute. Honestly cant really go fast
    considering the ice and risk of falling.

    Thanks!
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    I listened to you - last week I ran 38 miles. 2 total rest days of running and 1 total rest day of anything.

    Should we do the same again this week and get back at it next week ?

    Monday: 3 miles run + 30' zwift race

    Tuesday: 6 miles run

    Wednesday: 15 miles run

    Thursday: 8 miles run

    Friday : 5 miles run

    Saturday: 5 miles run

    Sunday: CnC zwift

    Total 42 mile of running

    BTW I am now confirmed for VT100K on July 19. I believe we have plenty of time to build after Rattler for that race by keeping in mind that VT100K is in the progression for an eventual 100-120 miler somewhere in August.

    I got new shoes, ok?

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    Yes to one more “down“ week. Let me know how your body/mind is feeling right now after the rest.

    It’s good to see you out there on the bike and in the races, I continue to think that’s a great tool for you to build the higher intensity fitness that you can get them all running outside in these conditions. Want to make sure we try to keep that up in a matter where the run training goes. For example, this week you could definitely do a short race on either Tuesday or Thursday if your schedule allows.

    If I had to worry about anything, it would just be keeping you healthy given the weather and temperatures.

    I saw the news about Vermont. I am dying to know when you will buy an actual lottery ticket so you can win money instead of winning entry into all this pain and suffering. 😂

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    All good! will touch base with you next week.

    Also, I am now officially register for Moab 240 - how do we train for that
    kind of stupidity ? Good thing we are two EN members doing it =)
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