Rhett Bratt 2017 Official Coach Thread...
So you are headed to IMLou. I think you’ll enjoy it, and the bonus of the race is plenty of time to get ready. Not so much time that you aren’t training, however! 
Since you are interested in IMLou, you should check out our resource page here: https://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/MasterRacingPages/IronmanLouisville.aspx
Also, there are tons of Race Reports in the Forums if you search at the top or browse the Race Forum.
As for training with Power, we recommend you check out our partners at TrainerRoad (www.trainerroad.com). With a few tweaks, you can have power indoors on your trainer with your laptop…and that experience is a $40 exercise in seeing if you like training with numbers. Power is incredibly useful in training and racing, but only if you USE it. Many folks get power and it just flashes at them…so starting with TrainerRoad will be a good test.
Alternately, you can lurk in the Power and Pace forum. Lots of stuff there and you might find some interesting stuff to follow.
I hope that helps to get you started!
~ Coach P
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Comments
First real week of workouts in the books -- I was doing demo on a bathroom remodel early in the week and tweaked my neck, so I didn't do my swim workouts on Monday or Friday. Substituted core and upper-body strength workouts instead. I'll be good to go this week with the swims though.
Hit my target HRs throughout the week with the exception of the Sunday run -- I ran with friends and had a lower HR than the workout called for. Definitely feeling the cumulative effect of the workouts in soft tissues (first full week of workouts in a couple months), especially in my hips and hammies, which are the usual suspects for me. I'm stretching religiously and rolling sporadically, but don't feel worried -- feels like always when I'm coming off a period of low volume and low intensity.
Question: is warm-up part of the workout time, or is it in addition? I'm looking at my preseason workout plan week 2 Tuesday 60-min bike workout, which calls for 8x2-min Z4 intervals (16 mins + recovery time between, so at least 24 minutes total), plus 20 mins Z2, plus 15 mins Z1 -- I'm not good with numbers, but I think that's at least 59 minutes without the 25-min warm up. Unless I'm missing something!
BTW, love the IMLOU resource page -- tons of great info. Looks like they've moved the date recently though -- looks like it used to be in August, now it's in October. I assume the course is the same though.
Yes the WU should be included in that time. Our "total time" is an estimate, however, so don't feel locked into it. That final Zone 1 time you reference ^above^ is optional...you can drop it to make an hour...or keep it if you have the physical and logistical bandwidth! Somedays you need an extra warm up, other days you are ready to go out of the gate!
Course is the same save for a small bike tweak...thanks for the reminder on that!
~ Coach P
TYhanks for checking in! That's a bummer, but you did the right thing to rest. I recommend you do this week for time, not intensity...hopefully you feel more like yourself by the time the weekend comes around!!!
~ Coach P
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
Transferring your focus to be "run only" is not an easy decision, but it's likely the right one. Most athletes do 80% of the damage of their bodies when they attempt to cram fitness into a window that is simply too small. In your case, we will be able to build your run incrementally between now and December and hopefully step the stage for a fantastic 2018 season without overreaching now.
We already have a fantastic plan that's perfect for triathletes: our Balanced Marathon Training Plan. This combines running with a little bit of cycling and swimming to allow you to still feel like a triathlete while you build your run.
Getting up to speed will be a stretch right now....so here's what I recommend:
Let me know you have any questions!
~ Coach P
keep me posted!
~ Coach P