Hard bike block VS IM weeks 11 to 14

Francis Picard

Hi Team,

I've been having a discussion with Patrick in my micro forum regarding on what could be done to get a faster biker split. 

Background:

Start NOS last year,then went on GF plan until first week of april. Start HIM plan to first week of June where I started the advanced IM plan up to IMMT.

Since 3 races my bike splits are exactly the same (1-2' more or less) and its getting frustrating, the good thing is that I get on the run IMO fresh and that might explain my run time.

On transition post IM plan until next week, suppose to resume IM training 9/12 by loading IM advanced week 11.

Goal:

Be able to get a faster bike split for IMAZ.

Patrick proposed me to do do as follow for the month of September ("Hard bike block") before getting back on IM plan:

Mon - Swim 

Tue - FTP Ride, short brick 

Wed - Interval Run, optional swim day. 

Thu - 110% FTP ride, short brick 

Fri - Swim 

Sat - 2.5 hour ABP ride, 60' steady run off it. 

Sun - 2.5 hour ABP ride, 60' steady run off it.

I like the idea, but not really sure If should stick to the IM plan, my main worry is that I will not do weeks 11 to 14 and 15 is camp week. I might maybe push week 15 to 16 like I did for IMMT build or increase my ABP ride to 3.5hrs by 30' increment in the last 2 weeks of the "hard bike block"

What I like of this hard bike block is that I can keep a good run volume which I wish to keep what I had build for IMMT.

My options are now:

1) Stick with the original plan and load IM advanced plan;

2) Do the original proposed plan by Patrick

3) Do the plan proposed plan by Patrick but on weeks 3 and 4, increase by 30' each week the ABP ride

What do you think ?

Thanks all for your input!

tim cronk

FP, Patricks plan is perfect . I see nothing wrong with adding to the Saturday ABP as long as you can still hit your mid week FTP/V02 numbers and focus on the amount of ABP time accumulated not just adding to the ride time. I'd treat Sunday as optional intensity depending on how I feel and keep Saturday as the Quality day. Tues and Thurs bikes should be very high quality. What does quality mean? To me it means 85% for ABP , 100% FTP , and 110% V02 ... Remember this is a bike block, go easy on the swim and run (except weds run intervals) and focus on the bike/quality. Its also coming at a perfect time for you. Starting next week you have 11 weeks to IMAZ , you can do a solid 4 week Hard Bike Block, 1 week recovery if you do that 4 week block right you will probably need it , 4 weeks IM plan specificity, 2 week taper. You just did an IM, don't worry about a camp week or long rides , whatever long endurance you may lose in the Hard Bike Block (which will be minimal) will come back easily in the 4 weeks of IM specific training.

Robert Sabo

That second ABP ride will be very hard especially if you are adding time on Saturday. That plan^ is more productive then a few extra 100 milers at .70.

Shaughn Simmons

Hard to improve w/kg in the middle of an IM plan......while managing the volumes of SBR.

That said, you have one race behind you this year, a HUGE training base and you are not a novice.

You're gonna need to be patient with yourself, listen to your body and realize that the run speed could suffer while you are focused on the bike block.  When Sunday rolls around, How do you feel? Am I doing anything that will compromise the volume and quality of next week's schedule?

Walking that thin line is necessary to go to the next level, but it is a tricky business.

I did some of that myself this year and made it through without major injuries or setbacks.

Keep fighting and leading FP!

SS

Francis Picard

@Tim : Nice idea, should "maybe" increase only one ride and focus on getting real ABP quality time. I have an area near where I live that are not allowed to cars, I can do 2 laps in 150', thats what I tried yesterday and the distance works, its flat and fast. As for the swim, I will see those as recovery, I will stick at 40' session - about 2800 meters. My only question to you: do you think this 4 weeks without "long distance / split run" will negatively impact my run or the 4 IM specific work will bring it back to where it was for IMMT ?



Robert: you are right, it will bring alot more fatigue, yesterday when I did 65 (2h20hours) at ABP, I got 153 TSS, IF: 0.80, VI: 1, compare to 270 TSS for a 180KM. I think at this point, the 100m, 112M ride will be more for mental confidence and will be done at camp weeks/RR.

SS: FWIW, FTP is at 270 and I weigh 68kgs, so 3,97w/kg. this block will be to work on getting speed more than increase FTP, I cant figure why my speed is never more than 30km/h avg in race, im pretty sure with that w/kg, I "should" be going faster. As mentionned to Patrick, I didnt wanna leave any unturn rocks, will be sure to track my fatigue and do not dig a hole with that 4 weeks block.

- Thanks for your input !

tim cronk

@FP- yes it will hurt your long run.... BUT not that much... This is a bike focus and you have P's blessing it doesnt get any better than that.... The biggest mistake people make when doing a single sport focus is freak out about losing fitness in the other sports and then over do it... If your bike is your limiter then this is what you need to do... Also keep in mind that single sport focus does work best in the off season.. But you can jam in those 4 weeks and then you will easily recoup whatever losses in the long run long bike in the remainder of hte weeks leading up to IMAZ.... Years ago before my first KQ , I really wanted to do a run focus , that was my limiter, I wanted to work my run, Coach P said you need to be consistently getting off the bike in the top ten before you worry about your run... I listened and worked my bike a bit longer to accomplish that before embarking on the run focus.... Your in good hands... Trust and Believe.

Francis Picard

Tim - thanks ! Really appreciate your guidance.

This "Years ago before my first KQ , I really wanted to do a run focus , that was my limiter, I wanted to work my run, Coach P said you need to be consistently getting off the bike in the top ten before you worry about your run... "

Will stick in my mind, KQ is my goal and that totally makes sense to me. I get out off the bike around 90th, I can catch 50 people on the run, but totally not yet in the KQ field and its because of my bike limiter.

Will give a try to what Patrick suggested, I trust him (if not what am I doing in EN ?!? Hah)

Paul Curtin

Francis - you should consider doing an outdoor FTP test on your race bike. Maybe do the 40-minute test instead of the 20-minute test. (40 minutes as hard as you can, and that power is your FTP ... in the 20-minute test you take 95% of the power number). This will not only validate FTP, but more importantly update your heart rates by zone. Your IMMT data file seemed unusual ... a TSS of 320 suggests something is off and perhaps it's the HR zones.

What I think you should also consider ... and please talk to Patrick about this first ... is doing some power intervals. Something like 10 x 1' all-out (350-400 watts), with 3 minutes of recovery. This is more like the stuff we did in the OutSeason, and a couple of these sessions might be beneficial. These will certainly increase FTP, and could also help your 5-hour power number. Clearly for IMAZ the 5-hour power matters more than FTP, but to me there's a direct correlation between the two.

And one final thought ... how does your bike setup feel? Do you need to make any adjustments to get more power out of the position you're in? Perhaps a fitting session may help optimize your position.

Francis Picard

Paul - good point regarding my fit on the bike.
Last one was done in Spring 2015 and no adjustments since, bringing bike to LBS this week for maintenance and will discuss this topic with the fitter dude

As for the FTP, I think its correct as I did my last FTP test 6 weeks prior to IMMT, I think I need to fix my zones in TP, cuz running a sub4 marathon after 320 TSS is PED territory IMO lol.

Francis Picard

Little update on week 1.

so far did 2X vo2, 2X ftp and 1XABP @ 70%

Just did an ABP ride where I had the following changes on the bike:

1) rear flo disc
2) new tire
3) New cassette
4) The rear wheel doesnt rubb anymore on the brakes !!! (with my old wheel, it was always rubbing and LBS told me it "was normal" that my wheel was too width (19).. yesterday Jon @ Flo sent me a youtube video on how to fix this.. you can bet that I am not going anymore to this LBS ! they cant even fix this.. i've been riding with rubbing pads since I had that bike.
5) Went back to the retul studio to make changes to my bike setup by explaining to the technician my worries, ftp and lack of speed. - Thank you for that one Paul !!!

On my intervals today I was able to hit over 33-34kph

See 3,5,7,9, yes HR was high but that was the goal.

https://www.strava.com/activities/710997046/laps

Did a 6M climb brick run just after, legs were not trashed even with

Feel I have a low hanging fruit there... (hopefully its now psychologic aspect of having new gear) I'll update after week 2 next week.