Sorry for the confusion. Since we hadn’t talked since last fall I didn’t know what you’re up to! I had assumed there was some time off but I’m glad to hear otherwise.
You don’t need to jump into the race prep plan any earlier than 12 weeks out. So you still have a little bit of time between now and then. You can either continue without the OS workouts, or, you could use the bike focus plan to bridge from the OS to week nine of the full plan.
You are welcome to do the L3 workouts as you see fit, but remember you can totally “cherry pick” them. You can just do the bike or you can do the run. Or maybe you do one L3 run work out a week but the rest are L2. It’s 100% up to you.
It’s really your call on the half. I would rather you dedicate one weekend to a bunch of long riding is that would likely help you more. I believe your execution and process management are already at the pointy end. So if you can pick a weekend where you can bike Friday Saturday Sunday and go along all three days, that will be a much better investment. Let me know what you’re thinking of in terms of dates and options.
@Coach Patrick - awesome sauce! I will continue doing the bike focus OS until 3/18 and then load up the EN*FULL plan. For this week I was originally making this my test week, but after I heard from you I am back in the bike plan.
Sounds good on the L3 workouts. I've been feeling great and love to add additional run miles here and there (TRP), which works like magic. The run groupme was super motivating and it has helped soooo much.
I won't do a 70.3 before June then. It's not worth the time and money and I agree with you - I'd rather have a quality weekend without additional chaos. I can do it whatever weekend you believe that big volume should happen so I'm all ears
@Daria Matthews - Sounds like we are on the same page! Really excited to see how well established you are already and pumped to follow you over the next few critical weeks as we ramp up.
Your two volume week options are either the week of April 30 or the week of May 14. The first one is Week 15 and would give you the opportunity to do three bigger bike this. The second is Week 17 and really would limit you to two bigger bike days.
One is not better than the other but I’m assuming one maybe better for your schedule. Pick one and then you and I can go back-and-forth as it gets closer to determine the best way to plan it out.
@Coach Patrick - I'm very excited as well! Let's shoot for April 30th as the big bike week since I'd love to get 3 versus 2 bigger bike days.
When I switch to wk 9 of FULL IM Plan should it also be bike focused? And are we skipping swim camp? It's totally fine, but I was just wondering. Since I'm in this Bike OS for only 2.5 more weeks should I still do the heads/tails sheet? I haven't done my run test, but have done my bike test.
I see that some folks post their weekly mileage updates (etc.) here so I can do that if that would help you determine where I stand or are you ok looking at my strava activities?
My next mission is to figure out my nutrition plan so I will do the sweat test again in the next upcoming weeks and use your spreadsheet to calculate this fun stuff.
I think that's it for now. Thank you and happy Wednesday!
Great update! Let me see if I can get all your questions.
First, yes to a sweat test soon please. Working on the nutrition is a critical success factor for you.
Second, that last week of the all season is meant to be tested rest. If you need to rest, that is the time to do it. I don’t believe we have room for some camp this year so plan on that week being later.
Third, yes please enter the test info and the heads Sheet. I use that for seasonal progress.
Fourth, yes to the bike focused full PLAN please.
I will check your Strava whatever you need me to. So just let me know!
@Coach Patrick - thank you! I have a question for this weekend since we're at a 2 day swim meet with prelims/finals so I'm looking at having not enough time for anything else, lol! I'm in wk 5 of the bike OS (I think I could be in wk 13 or so since I have been doing the OS before I officially decided on a race) and am not quite sure how to get the most crucial workouts in for the week. Next week is my last week in this OS before jumping into wk 9 of full IM plan. You mentioned above that the last week of the OS is meant to be tested rest, but wk 5 is showing up as the test week. I didn't test this week since I just did my power test just a few weeks ago and I hate doing the run test with passion. So, I could try and get a long bike ride in one of these days this weekend (or even tmrw) or split it into 2 shorter, but stronger rides. I did my long rung yesterday so I could get a few shorter ones done in the next few days. I've been above 1000 TSS for the last couple of weeks so should I consider next week as my rest week? That's also what I kinda wanted you to look at in my Strava - where am I - am I doing just fine, not enough, too much? I upgraded my TP to premium so I plan to study up on all the fancy CTL/ATL talk since I've never paid attention to that - not the fun part of racing in my opinion. I can send you the TP login if that would help. Also, what's a good run mile avg for IM season? Thank you!
Yes, please get me your TP.com information so I can check that out.
The testing weeks any of these in our weeks 5, 10 and 14. Maybe you only account of the tests and we five? Regardless, you’ve done a lot of great work and obviously this TSS numbers are high.
Given what you have going on this weekend my recommendation is as follows:
• get your long ride in today / on Friday. If you have to split it I have the first one be just easy and the second one have the intervals and hard work.
• since you have a crazy swim meet, let’s use these two days as your days off to really facilitate recovery. Sleep in as much as you can catch up on reading and be the best number once one fan ever. You’re only homework is to make sure you don’t eat crap food for all three meals (one is OK!).
• I think you are OK to load up the four plan starting on Monday and use that first because the transition week. Do your best to adjust the schedule to match with the plan says and get the right workouts and even if you’re not doing the same level of intensity/duration.
• There will be a chance for you to test likely a week nine of the full plan so you can do that only if you need to. Otherwise do the alternate workouts.
@Coach Patrick - fantastic! Thank you! I will load up the full plan on Monday (I think siri messed up your spelling on that one). I will also send you the TP login via the red support button shortly and update the heads/tails sheet. I will have to re-listen to your podcast on data collecting and adjust the TP screens as well. Please, let me know your thoughts once you take a look the TP.
Your advice on sleeping in made me laugh since we have to get up super early on meet days, ha! But I will definitely eat right....that's normally not a problem.
@Coach Patrick - so I did get my long ride done on Friday and then added another quick one on Sat and Sun. My Friday ride was not strong at all, but I finally felt alive on Sunday. I’m sure it’s because my legs felt pretty fresh with less than 30 miles on them. As far as TP - there are no double entries, but I did update the zones and tried to recalculate TSS back to 10/1/17. It looks like it recalced a few months, but not all the way. So I think at this point that data is useless so we’ll go with Strava for now. Thank you!
Thanks for the update! Super weird about your data I’ll have to go take a look at it later this weekend. I’m glad you took the workouts as they came to you, sometimes just an easy day or two to make a difference versus having to change the entire plan! Keep me posted.
Hi @Coach Patrick - EN FULL bike focused plan wk 9 starts today. 12 weeks to go, gulp!
So I attempted the big day on Saturday, but wasn't really feeling it. Stayed up longer than planned on Friday and I knew I was going to pay for it. I did about an hr long swim as listed in the plan, but instead of 2x300 as MS2 I ended the swim with about 600 steady with pull buoy. I could tell it was going to a be a long day. I wasn't able to get on the bike until a few hours later and when I finally got outside the wind was so bad I couldn't keep the bike steady so I jumped on the trainer (boring!). First 30mins in Z1 and then I started Z2, but for the love of god I couldn't stop yawning and I just wanted to take a nap on my aerobars, lol! Anyway, I got the 4 hrs done, but on any other day I know I would have pushed more - not sure if I needed more sleep or was bored to death or it was a combo. The 60 min TM brick run felt great, which makes sense since the bike was too easy.
Did you have a chance to look at the TP? No pressure The longer I look at it the more I think it may be just fine now.
Looking at wk 9 - there are 2 bike rides listed for Sat (Long Challenge Ride and Long) so which one should I do? I'd love to take it outside this weekend and hit some hills since Boulder will be a lot of climbing - yes! Love to climb.
Running - my last 4 weeks were at 41, 34, 26, 38 miles per week, but if I sum up the mileage in wk9 I get about 30 miles or so. Is it still ok to throw in a few 2 mile runs here and there since that's super easy for me to do? Run durability has helped me tremendously so I want to keep at it while I can.
I think you made the right call to rest. Remember you’re dealing with both cumulative fatigue but also short-term decisions like Friday night. I’m glad that you got it done but happy that you didn’t force anything. That could’ve been a miserable weekend otherwise.
Yes I quickly glanced at it over the weekend - it looks all right to me right now. It will be interesting to see how the charts change in the next two weeks as he switch plans. Messara if you can do the challenge ready, go for it. It’s whatever you can handle.
Always yes to durability runs! They really add up and will super benefit you On race day.
@Coach Patrick - that's great about TP and thank you for reviewing it. I may start using that on a daily basis versus Strava.
This may be too early to ask, but I need to plan ahead now. The week of 4/30/18 (wk15) - we decided for this to be my volume week. Will that be 3 days of cycling and what days would it be? As of now that week is the race rehearsal week.
It’s totally up to you. Like I said in my data course that I published a while back, you can continue to use Strava and the chrome browser with the Stravatistix plug in as well.
Generally speaking on a weekly basis I’m only concerned with frequency and covering the distance targets I have for that week. Around Friday I take a look and see what my TSS numbers are in case I need to make any modifications for my Saturday and Sunday workouts to hit my target. But rarely do I look at the overall trend of stuff until it’s time for me to transition to a different part of my season. But that’s just me.
How we structure that week is really a function of what your work schedule looks like.Generally speaking, it would look something like a big Wednesday and then a big Saturday Sunday. I don’t want to have three big days in a row. Doing it like I just mentioned would give you time on Thursday to get in the long run and Friday to swim long to recover a bit. But that does put pressure on your schedule mid week.
Some athletes need to break that Wednesday long ride into two sessions because they can’t go for five hours in a single session. Let me know what you think your schedule looks like and we can go from there.
@Coach Patrick - that sounds good about wk15 and we'll figure it out in the next few weeks. I was just worried that it would be more complicated with the volume week and RR at the same time. I can always take a day off from work to get a long training day done since I've been saving some just for that reason. So as far as 5hrs in the saddle I'm totally in. I love my bike - what can I say
I think I had a good week since I got all my training done and felt strong. So you're saying if I follow the plan and count my TSS then I should be good to go. My Sat/Sun rides were a bit over the planned TSS, but that works for me. However, I am tired today. TP Form today showed -21 so I'm definitely resting.
Today is wk11 of the full plan and it seems very doable. How soon should I start hitting some hills since Boulder has a good amount of climbing?
@Daria Matthews - I love that you’re not only challenge yourself but you’re also listening to your body. -21 Always feels bad the first time around, but you will soon adapt as the new training load becomes the “normal.”
You are right just making sure the TSS is in the right place is all that really matters both across a week and on your long bike rides as well. Thankfully you have all of that mapped out with our workouts.
I don’t feel like Boulder is actually the chili; it’s a pretty darn fast course. So the time you spend on the flats And in the TT position is what will really separate you from the pack. That said, running hills it’s fun and it’s always great to do different terrain. I would probably start off by doing the hills on your Sunday ABP ride as it’s always easier to push the Watts up when you’re going up a hill and you can recover on your way down.
There’s very little correlation between how you attack those hills in training and how you were raised them on the big day, but it is certainly nice to be comfortable with them especially if you can get familiar with the course. I sure hope I didn’t mess up where you live.
Thank @Coach Patrick! When I posted I forgot that y'all went to Mallorca, sorry!
So for wk 15 (next week = big volume/bike week) - what do you think of doing 2 days mid-week and then one or 2 days over the weekend? That week it may be easier on me to do 2 big bike days right after each other (maybe Wed/Thur) and then do the long run Sat or Sun + move the other workouts around it. As far as the swim - my issue is my position in the water, which gets worse when my legs are dead or simply when I'm tired. With that said - should I do this with pull buoy or jut give it my best maybe with shorter intervals (200s vs. the planned 400)?
You should use the pull buoy for sure; you wont be tired on race day after that tapering.
I’m ok with the split rides, but if they are shorter they don’t have to be back to back at all. So Tuesday + Thursday + Saturday with a shorter easy spin for time on Friday and pre-long run on Sunday AM should do you right.
Its okay to dial the run run way down this week to make room for the bike!
thank you @Coach Patrick, but I may be a bit confused - if they're shorter then they don't have to be back to back? I'm not splitting them since I'm planning on doing 2 x 6hrs (or 112 miles). Anyway, we have storms in the forecast now Tuesday and Thursday so I may just ride whatever days it's not raining since 6hrs on the trainer is not happening. So it may end up being Fri/Sat plus run on Sunday.
I did my ABP in the EN kit yesterday and ended up with saddle sores so that's a bummer (operator error for sure!). This will make these 2 rides not so fun. I will wear real bike shorts, which brings up a question - would you recommend to ride in real bike shorts on race day (since it's my first full I have no idea if people do that?)
One more thing - the TSS seems to be way too low for the 2nd planned ride on Sat Wk 15 (only about 161). I'm just saying in case it's pulling incorrectly for other members too.
Overall, my wk 14 went well (missed one swim) and then substituted Tuesday interval session with a few shorter easy runs on Saturday due to a swim meet. My TP is up to date so feel free to take a look - I think I'm on track, lol!
@Daria Matthews - I am hoping to I was hoping to spread the rides out across the week to accommodate your schedule. If you’re able to get them done in six hours then it’s kind of a moot point. I hope things worked out for you with the weather!
Thank you for the heads up on the TSS issue. I’m not sure how that happened but perhaps it’s because I anticipated the beginners going so short on that day.
It’s 100% your call on the shorts. In my first year Iron Man races, I wore bicycle shorts all day. You can Swim in them and bike in them no problem and even run in them if you have to. Some people like to take a moment and change that’s up to you. I don’t know if my expectations of comfort have evolved or if I have simply lost feeling in parts of my body, but I can wear TRI shorts now with good lube no problem.
your TP looks great; how is your sleep and stress load?
great, thanks @Coach Patrick! Sleep is great and I'm assuming you're asking about training stress load? I think it's fine, but if you're asking about life/work stress load then this week and the next week may kill me Thank you for looking at my TP too!
@Daria Matthews - I was actually asking about both stress loads. Sometimes we can be really strong athletically but suffer on the personal care side. If you are able to get that consistent amount of sleep it will carry you through a great deal of this “life” fraction. So let’s stay smart with that!
@Coach Patrick thank you! In a few days kiddos are out of school so I can get an extra 30 mins of sleep, maybe
So just checking in...I'm tired. These last 2 weeks were super taxing and I'm so ready to race! Anyway, I managed to do the whole week according to the plan except I moved the swim to Sunday (with paddles and buoy since legs were trashed). I struggled on my Sunday ABP, but got it done. And then the 7 mile brick just felt fantastic - legs were on an autopilot the last 3 miles. That made me happy. BTW, the plan for Sunday ABP said Level 3 should do 2.5hrs, but the actual total minutes showed 210 mins (not a biggy, but those two do not match up).
Looking at this week - I may have to move the 18 mile run (oye!) to the weekend and then do the long bike ride during the week. I'll see how the week goes, but I think that should be ok, right? As far as my swimming - as I've mentioned earlier when I'm tired my form suffers a lot so should I continue to use the buoy when my legs are dead? Again, thank you for all your input and feel free to take a look at TP and let me know if there are any red flags.
@Daria Matthews - I trust your personal warning signs much more than the data on Training Peaks! Sounds like we could certainly use some rest. If the long run on the weekend is the way that things go, please make sure the other day is off. If that’s not an option then take next Monday off, Tuesday Swim only, Wed back at it. Investing early in some rest is important.
You may also need to increase exercise calories and add some protein (powder + water as a shake) abt 30’ before bed!!!
No worries at all @Coach Patrick! I had to switch Sat/Sun rides anyway so did the RR on Sunday. I'm in the process of getting my race plan together, but I may need your help as far as what I should aim for. Since this is my first full IM, I'm not sure I have a sense of what power and HR I should aim for or how conservative I need to be . Based on my last bike ABPs and RRs, I feel I should aim for somewhere around 137-142 avg watts/124-138 avg HR (to be able to run a steady marathon). Keep that HR for the first 6 miles on the run and then I will let it drift up a bit to a nice steady pace that I can keep. I will write up more detail in my plan, but just wanted to get your thoughts on the "ballpark" numbers. My goal is to keep it simple and have an awesome experience. And yes, I'm going through all the docs in the master execution page/wiki etc...trying to digest it all
Come out when you get a second maybe identify the dates of some of those key workouts? I can then David to take a look at them specifically as those will be the best target to use. I think maybe you’re already doing that but it can’t hurt for me to take a peek as well. Remember, our goals for your first Iron Man or mainly centered around Nutrition) and smart pacing. The basic execution stuff. Speed and excellence will follow.
Comments
Sounds good on the L3 workouts. I've been feeling great and love to add additional run miles here and there (TRP), which works like magic. The run groupme was super motivating and it has helped soooo much.
I won't do a 70.3 before June then. It's not worth the time and money and I agree with you - I'd rather have a quality weekend without additional chaos. I can do it whatever weekend you believe that big volume should happen so I'm all ears
Thank you!
One is not better than the other but I’m assuming one maybe better for your schedule. Pick one and then you and I can go back-and-forth as it gets closer to determine the best way to plan it out.
When I switch to wk 9 of FULL IM Plan should it also be bike focused? And are we skipping swim camp? It's totally fine, but I was just wondering. Since I'm in this Bike OS for only 2.5 more weeks should I still do the heads/tails sheet? I haven't done my run test, but have done my bike test.
I see that some folks post their weekly mileage updates (etc.) here so I can do that if that would help you determine where I stand or are you ok looking at my strava activities?
My next mission is to figure out my nutrition plan so I will do the sweat test again in the next upcoming weeks and use your spreadsheet to calculate this fun stuff.
I think that's it for now. Thank you and happy Wednesday!
Fourth, yes to the bike focused full PLAN please.
I will check your Strava whatever you need me to. So just let me know!
Also, what's a good run mile avg for IM season? Thank you!
• since you have a crazy swim meet, let’s use these two days as your days off to really facilitate recovery. Sleep in as much as you can catch up on reading and be the best number once one fan ever. You’re only homework is to make sure you don’t eat crap food for all three meals (one is OK!).
• I think you are OK to load up the four plan starting on Monday and use that first because the transition week. Do your best to adjust the schedule to match with the plan says and get the right workouts and even if you’re not doing the same level of intensity/duration.
Your advice on sleeping in made me laugh since we have to get up super early on meet days, ha! But I will definitely eat right....that's normally not a problem.
Thank you!
So I attempted the big day on Saturday, but wasn't really feeling it. Stayed up longer than planned on Friday and I knew I was going to pay for it. I did about an hr long swim as listed in the plan, but instead of 2x300 as MS2 I ended the swim with about 600 steady with pull buoy. I could tell it was going to a be a long day. I wasn't able to get on the bike until a few hours later and when I finally got outside the wind was so bad I couldn't keep the bike steady so I jumped on the trainer (boring!). First 30mins in Z1 and then I started Z2, but for the love of god I couldn't stop yawning and I just wanted to take a nap on my aerobars, lol! Anyway, I got the 4 hrs done, but on any other day I know I would have pushed more - not sure if I needed more sleep or was bored to death or it was a combo. The 60 min TM brick run felt great, which makes sense since the bike was too easy.
Did you have a chance to look at the TP? No pressure
Looking at wk 9 - there are 2 bike rides listed for Sat (Long Challenge Ride and Long) so which one should I do? I'd love to take it outside this weekend and hit some hills since Boulder will be a lot of climbing - yes! Love to climb.
Running - my last 4 weeks were at 41, 34, 26, 38 miles per week, but if I sum up the mileage in wk9 I get about 30 miles or so. Is it still ok to throw in a few 2 mile runs here and there since that's super easy for me to do? Run durability has helped me tremendously so I want to keep at it while I can.
Thank you!
This may be too early to ask, but I need to plan ahead now. The week of 4/30/18 (wk15) - we decided for this to be my volume week. Will that be 3 days of cycling and what days would it be? As of now that week is the race rehearsal week.
Thank you!
I think I had a good week since I got all my training done and felt strong. So you're saying if I follow the plan and count my TSS then I should be good to go. My Sat/Sun rides were a bit over the planned TSS, but that works for me. However, I am tired today. TP Form today showed -21 so I'm definitely resting.
Today is wk11 of the full plan and it seems very doable. How soon should I start hitting some hills since Boulder has a good amount of climbing?
Thank you!
There’s very little correlation between how you attack those hills in training and how you were raised them on the big day, but it is certainly nice to be comfortable with them especially if you can get familiar with the course. I sure hope I didn’t mess up where you live.
Quick question for this Friday's swim - it says it can be 3500 swim or pull. Would it be pull with paddles or just the swim buoy?
Thank you!
So for wk 15 (next week = big volume/bike week) - what do you think of doing 2 days mid-week and then one or 2 days over the weekend? That week it may be easier on me to do 2 big bike days right after each other (maybe Wed/Thur) and then do the long run Sat or Sun + move the other workouts around it. As far as the swim - my issue is my position in the water, which gets worse when my legs are dead or simply when I'm tired. With that said - should I do this with pull buoy or jut give it my best maybe with shorter intervals (200s vs. the planned 400)?
Thank you!
wont be tired on race day after that tapering.
I’m ok with the split rides, but if they are shorter they don’t have to be back to back at all. So Tuesday + Thursday + Saturday with a shorter easy spin for time on Friday and pre-long run on Sunday AM should do you right.
Its okay to dial the run run way down this week to make room for the bike!
~ Coach P
I did my ABP in the EN kit yesterday and ended up with saddle sores so that's a bummer (operator error for sure!). This will make these 2 rides not so fun. I will wear real bike shorts, which brings up a question - would you recommend to ride in real bike shorts on race day (since it's my first full I have no idea if people do that?)
One more thing - the TSS seems to be way too low for the 2nd planned ride on Sat Wk 15 (only about 161). I'm just saying in case it's pulling incorrectly for other members too.
Overall, my wk 14 went well (missed one swim) and then substituted Tuesday interval session with a few shorter easy runs on Saturday due to a swim meet. My TP is up to date so feel free to take a look - I think I'm on track, lol!
Thank you!
It’s 100% your call on the shorts. In my first year Iron Man races, I wore bicycle shorts all day. You can Swim in them and bike in them no problem and even run in them if you have to. Some people like to take a moment and change that’s up to you. I don’t know if my expectations of comfort have evolved or if I have simply lost feeling in parts of my body, but I can wear TRI shorts now with good lube no problem.
your TP looks great; how is your sleep and stress load?
~ Coach P
So just checking in...I'm tired. These last 2 weeks were super taxing and I'm so ready to race! Anyway, I managed to do the whole week according to the plan except I moved the swim to Sunday (with paddles and buoy since legs were trashed). I struggled on my Sunday ABP, but got it done. And then the 7 mile brick just felt fantastic - legs were on an autopilot the last 3 miles. That made me happy. BTW, the plan for Sunday ABP said Level 3 should do 2.5hrs, but the actual total minutes showed 210 mins (not a biggy, but those two do not match up).
Looking at this week - I may have to move the 18 mile run (oye!) to the weekend and then do the long bike ride during the week. I'll see how the week goes, but I think that should be ok, right? As far as my swimming - as I've mentioned earlier when I'm tired my form suffers a lot so should I continue to use the buoy when my legs are dead? Again, thank you for all your input and feel free to take a look at TP and let me know if there are any red flags.
Thank you!
You may also need to increase exercise calories and add some protein (powder + water as a shake) abt 30’ before bed!!!
Question for this week - ABP on Sunday is listed as 240 minutes, but in the description it states 120 minutes for Level 3. So do 4 hours or 2 hrs?
Thank you!
Its a 4 hour ride with 2 hours of ABP in it. Not sure why I write it like that...you are the 99th confused person. 😢