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Donnacha Holmes - 2018 Season EN Elite

edited March 27, 2018 3:38PM in Coach*EN 🔒
Age Group, Height and Weight.
40-44, 173cm, 156lbs & falling!:-)

140.6 Best Time in Last Five Years
Fast IM Austria 2015 = 9:38 or Tough Hilly Lanzarote 2016 = 10:06

Your Strongest Discipline *
Run

Your Weakest Discipline *
Bike

Your Weakest Discipline: Tell Us More... *
It's probably not my weakest discipline anymore but i dont come from a biking background and feel i can improve more and perform a better IM bike split. 

I have worked very hard at my biking power these past few years but as its the longest leg of an IM and the best discipline to make up some time in a race i feel any extra time i have should go into the bike! Besides i love biking! :-)

Your Injury / Difficulty History *
Ok so last July, after competing in IM Lanzarote(May 21st) and preparing form HIM Dublin(August), i had a bike accident and broke my right collarbone, fractured right scapula along with a punctured lung and fractured ribs. 
Some hospital time, some surgery with titanium and a bunch of screws and 6 weeks off the bike with 16 weeks of no Running or Swimming had me seeing a PT once a week and surgery follow up's etc.... 

Finally i began to train again and started the NOV OS plan(it was my goal to start the OS NOV). I also included some light swimming into the OS plan on my PT's recommendation to help build shoulder strength and help stretching the weaker right arm/shoulder. Aside from this I've had a relatively injury free few years but i regularly go to a sports Physical Therapist who helps keep me in check!

Top Three Lessons Learned in your triathlon career. *
1. Patience, both in training and long course Racing is key! 
2. Consistency in training is key! 
3. Recognising fatigue and being smart about it before its too late! 

Your Top Three Races / Events this Season (with dates):
IM UK July 16th 2017 

Thats it for now as my work changes about but i may include another Half Ironman Race in September time. Unless i fluke a Kona slot in UK! :-)

Comments

  • @Donnacha Holmes -- Great to talk with you last week. Thanks for your patience, and for sharing your background with me. I know we have a tight timeline through IMUK but I'm excited to see what we can do!  :wink:

    There are two critical things we discussed pre IMUK...your Zones and the Course. 

    Your Zones: 

    Looked at a few of your long rides and runs...I can't tell how hard you were riding, etc, but I can see how they average out.

    Long Rides: 141 to 142 Avg HR
    Long Runs: 143 Avg HR

    I can tell from Sumner long rides that you take off at the start pretty hard-core, but then once you're through the first 15 miles and then you dial it back a bit. On race day you will be able to do that because that will cost too much... So you need to be supersmart. Based on those numbers above, you want to make sure that we get your bike heart rate down into the 130s early on. By the end of the ride it will be in the low 140s, and you can run right off the bike at that heart rate according to your long run effort.

    The goal in both cases is to have you build your efforts across the course of the day, which means remaining steady with the power/pace. The only wrinkle that could be different on race day is the temperature, so you can add a few beats(Say 3 to 4) two these numbers to keep you honest. But nutrition becomes a bigger component as does your speed at the end of the run.

    The Course: 

    Here are my notes for you. I think the course is perfect for endurance nation style execution… unlike Lanzarote, you have some great rollers here to get momentum and speed without crushing yourself on the Watts.

    Key Bike takeaways here are the The early watts on the bike in the first 5 miles, and then building your effort across the remainder of Loop One into Loop Two. 

    Key Run takeaway is being as smart as possible with those first 5 miles. We have to keep your heart rate low, and you got to eat like a rockstar in here. The rest of the day will be going back and forth over that hill which is just tough. I'd like to see you build your effort through each of those loops so that the third one is her strongest from a heart rate perspective. 

    Here's the video

    https://endurancenation.wistia.com/medias/icabrf4h9p?embedType=async&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=640



    Your Homework
    • Please identify when your future race rehearsals are, so we can take a look at that data.
    • If you aren't already using 100% race nutrition, now is the time.

    Training Adjustments

    • Add rolling hills to your long runs, and work to flatten them as you will on race day. 
    • Chill on the start of your long rides, I want your best hour (HR / Power) to be your last hour from now on!
    Remember, your regular questions should go in the coach forum, and you and I will check back in in approximately 4 weeks. Please schedule your next call here: https://calendly.com/pmccrann/30min 

  • @Donnacha Holmes - Thanks for the note about Week 18 and your weather...I think we just sent all that rain over to you, sorry!!!!  :neutral:

    I see you did a Race Rehearsal in Week 17 vs Week 18 as planned...that's okay, that might work in your favor. The goal of Week 18 is an additional bike volume pop...but you are already in a great place according to TP.com.

    So I suggest you tackle it on the Turbo as this: 

    Sunday (Today) - OFF
    Mon - Swim Only
    Tue - Bike 4 hours Turbo, Brick Run 
    Wed - Swim AM, Run Long
    Thu - Bike 4 Hours Turbo, Brick Run
    Fri - ABP Ride from 2-3 hours.
    Sat - VO2 Run
    Sun - OFF

    The bike sessions should be 30 to 40 minutes of warming up, then repeat intervals of 20' just higher than Race Watts, 5' easy spin to recover. So if your goal watts are 185, then these would be: 

    1. 185 / 160
    2. 190 / 160
    3. 195 / 160
    4. 200 / 160
    5. See how "high" you can go within your time. 
    That gets you quality without the total time...I'd prefer Tues / Thurs both at 4 hours, you can "dial down" the Friday ABP ride if required. 

    Please keep me posted!

    ~ Coach P


  • Hi Coach Patrick, so IMUK didn't go to plan! It started out great and everything was going to plan, i had a good swim and T1 but after a fall on the Bike after 60km due to wet roads i ended up losing close to 27minutes trying to get the bike apart and out of Di2 cash mode as i was stuck in the 12 rear cassette gear which was fine for a while until i reached the climbs. It eventually started working again after stopping and taking the bike apart twice to reach the battery and Di2 junction box and pressing every button combination i could think of and i did get to finish my race in 10:36:06 and 17th in my AG.
    So to be honest i feel a little short changed and unlucky after all my effort and training this year so I'm going to sign up for IM Maryland on October 7th and have another shot this year.  
    I've read the revenge race protocol and I'm wondering if this is the route i should take or if you've any thoughts or experience on the Maryland Course and also transitioning between last weekends race and gradually building back up to Maryland in October? Thanks in advance.
    Donnacha
     

  • @Donnacha Holmes - I was just looking you up and was like WHAT HAPPENED on the bike...you easily lost a ton of time there...top 5 effort otherwise. I didn't even know DI2 HAD THAT MODE so you are lucky to have fixed it. And kudos to you for gutting it out. 

    You should feel shortchanged...and IMMD would be perfect for you. Step one is a two week break. One week HARD off, second week like stuff on the bike and swim...then we can talk. Can you set up a call with me next week, say Tuesday when I am driving back from lake placid? 

    https://calendly.com/pmccrann/30min

    ~ Coach P
  • Hi Coach Patrick, thanks for your reply and its no problem to chat next week but i cant get a calendly slot until August 3rd as everything is booked up between now and then. Unless theres another way to chat next week i can schedule August 3rd and take an easy transition back to training until then? Thanks again.
    Donnacha
  • Hi Coach Patrick, i hope all is well and Lake Placid went well for all the team?
    So by the time i got to book a calendly call slot on your schedule it had pushed me out to August 8th but in the meantime can you guide me back into the training Post IMUK. This is week 2 after IMUK and I'm fine just swimming and Biking some but the following weeks 3 & 4 post IMUK before we can chat on August 8th are probably more important to get back into some structured training. Do i dial in the last 10 weeks of an advanced Ironman plan and go again? Or is it an opportunity to tweak around with stuff and do some big gear  strength work on the bike or IM Maryland flat course specific workouts etc...? Looking forward to hearing from you. 
    Donnacha 
  • @Donnacha Holmes - sorry for the delay in finding this...actually more rest isn't that bad, although I'm not sure what you chose to do. So let me know. 

    Preparing for IMMD will require a few changes, b/c it's your second and b/c it's such a flat course. 

    1) we should alternate weeks of cycling where long rides are divided as evens (8, 6, 4, 2) are two ABP rides of 50 miles each followed by a brick run; odds are a long steady ride of 4-5 hours with the usual Race Pace plus stuff. 

    2) long run caps out at 4 weeks to go at 2 hours. Until then it's about a 90' run (ish). Need to be cautious here. 

    3) swim all you want. In fact, weeks 6, 3 and 2 should all be prettty big swim weeks for you. 

    4)  The main bike modification is to include some big gear writing. This means intervals where you spend time at a lower cadence. So if your normal cadence is 90 rpm's for example, you can do repeat intervals at 10 to 15 RPM slower with the aim of holding roughly the same watts.  So for the longer rides this would mean spending the first hour just writing normally to get into it.

    On the ABP rides you can do 2 x 30 minute intervals with six minutes at the lower cadence and four minutes at normal cadence. 10 minutes of rest after each. 

    On the long rides, your warm-up should be closer to two hours and then for the middle hour you can do five minutes of standing in a bigger gear at low RPMs (no worry about specific watts) and five minutes seated at normal watts. Do 6 of those for an hou, then a normal 30'...then finish strong for the last 60 to 90 mins. 

    5) hip and hamstring flexibility. Staying around for that long is a lot of work, so it will be helpful for you to pick up some yoga or similar work to make sure that your flexibility remains high despite additional Racing. You can do this on your own or do something like a yoga class. 
  • @Donnacha Holmes  - Good call yesterday. Nice to talk without having to chase you on the bike!!!  :D

    So, as you can tell I banged on your TPcom a bit to get you dialed in until IMMD. Here are the highlights:

    Dial that Run Down - Your mileage peaked last week...no point in continuing to push harder right now, the cost will be too high come race day. Here are my target mileages for you into the race: 
    • 9/11 = 60k run, long run of 100'.
    • 9/18 = 45k, long run of 90'
    • 9/25 = 35k, long run of 10 miles no later than Thursday.
    • Race Week is easy.
    Keep the Bike Up - You have a bit more biking in you, but after this weekend it's less about the whole ride and more about the ride nutrition and pacing in the last 30 miles. So start smart...and be steady, but focus on a good last 90 minutes.

    Swim is Good - Do more if you can but no pressure. Maybe also find a place to swim here in the US so you can swim Tues, Wed, Thurs to keep up your sharpness.

    Also, once you approve me in strava, please set it up EN Style when you can!

    Let me know what you think!

    ~ Patrick

    Ps - your next invoice comes on the 15th, no worries!
  • @Donnacha Holmes

    Great call today!!!! Excited to help you out. Big picture wise, your fitness "mountain" is massive, so not a ton of new work to do...more about getting race-specific. 

    Training by Discipline:

    Swim: Three times a week with one longer pull day and one Red Mist Day. Monday is a skill or short speed day.

    Bike: Two shorter / harder events to keep the sharpness, and one longer steady day. In the aerobars, eating and always turning left. Optional fourth day steady / active recovery on Friday.

    Run: Medium-long Tempo run (15k) and a longer steady run, no flashy bits (30k). Then it's just one speed day (Monday) and easy running. You can throw in a few strides at the end of the steady brick runs, but you don't need to push all the runs here. That will set you back, trust me.

    Training Data / Peaks: 

    All we really want is about 1000 to 1100 TSS per week right now. Your numbers are high enough already, so don't need to go nuts at all. 

    Basic Week Schedule: 
    • Mon - (1) Swim, (2) Run with Speed (1km @ 5:30/threshold)
    • Tues - (1) KISS RACE only, no run please. 
    • Wed -  (1) Wed medium - long (6:15 / pace), (2) Pull Swim day...Warm up then do 10 x 300 pull, etc. 
    • Thu - (1) Wagon 100k + Tempo/Race …. (2) EZ brick run of 5k @ LRP. 
    • Fri - (1) Swim only, long. Red Mist workout would be great here (10 x 400 as 4 / 3 / 2 / 1 faster by each grouping). (2) If you have extra mojo, just 2.5 to 3 on the bike for 60 to 90 minutes here is ok.
    • Sat - (1) Race or MGCC. Just a good hard quality day on the bike. (2) Optional 5k brick run at Zone 3 effort (eat before heading out).
    • Sun - (1) Long Run…easy pace, lots of nutrition. Goal is about 30k here.

    Race Execution:

    I think the smart focus is on maximizing the first 100k of your bike through cunning and guile (while respecting your limits and the run). Per the call, let's use Best Bike Split (https://www.bestbikesplit.com/member-race-details/90492) to make sure you are getting all the free speed sections early on. Then we can transition to smarter / steadier riding over the back half as we dial in your body for the run.

    Note, if it's going to be hot as ballz then we don't force the bike, we focus on keeping smart so that you can still run. 

    Run execution is smart, eating and super cool all day. Last 10k is when you gear things up. Early miles will be fast on their own.

    Nutrition: 

    Would like to see your past plan for some edits. And want you to test 1 gel per hour on your next wagon ride. Plan on 1 clif Block per 2k when you run, always from now on, and ideally you have a belt to carry some fluids so you can practice drinking a bit then as well. It DOES take practice. 

    General thoughts for you: 
    • T2 = small banana as you run out to settle your tummy and get some potassium in there. 
    • First half of the run is where most of your calories come in...do it right and you'll be okay mostly on coke and some fluids in the second half. 
    • If the aid stations really are 4 to 5k apart, then you should absolutely plan to run with a belt to get more fluids in as needed at least until the second half of the run. 
    Look forward to hearing your nutrition stuff!!!

    ~ Coach P

  • @Donnacha Holmes Back with some macro structure for you...Note I have added the 
    Bike Focus and the Full plans into your Final Surge account; as you do them they will autocomplete and also appear on Training Peaks (thanks to your Garmin, etc). 
    • On 6/18/2018 Load the Bike Focus Block, 6 Weeks to end on 7/29/2018
    • >> Transition Early << 
    • On 7/23/2018 Load the EN*Full to end on 10/14/2018
    • On 10/15/2018 Load the Post Ironman Transition Plan, All Levels (4wks) to end on 11/11/2018
    • On 11/12/2018 Load the -- Run Durability 1 (9 months out) -- 4 weeks to end on 12/9/2018
    All of the ^above^  is loaded into your Final Surge account through the IM. We can figure out next steps when we get there. 

    When you and I talk we can discuss the macro steps, specifically: 

    • Swim Focus
    • Bike Training Elements
    • Run Focus Workouts
    • Heat Acclimation
    • Nutrition Training
    Looking forward to it and thanks for your patience. I wanted to get the plan up first!

    ~ Coach P

  • @Donnacha Holmes -- 11 weeks to go and time to check in. Let me know when you want to talk. 

    I see your bike and run volume are coming around. In terms of targets, we want to get that bike up in the 250 miles per week (400km) and the run steady at between 55 and 60kms.

    This means the bike has to come up, but the run can stay steady....deal? 

    Let me know re the call!!!

    ~ Coach P
  • I think with the plan change this week to EN Full the bike will hit 400km easily. I’m keeping the run steady and building up the Bike & Swim each week. I’ll book in a call. Chat then 
  • Do you ever run less than 10k??!!?!?!  All the runs...you can do short runs as well. Looking forward to the call!

    ~ Coach P
  • @Donnacha Holmes  - good call today! So my notes are below by discipline. 

    In addition, time to start training with hydration - 2 bottles per hour on Bike (build up to it if required) and 4oz fluid per run mile (yes, you'll hate me). 

    Let's plan on connecting second full week of August!

    Bike Rides: 
    • 1 x KISS / Zwift
    • 1 x ABP in the 3 hour range
    • 1 x Steady/Long/NOT HARD
    • Added Volume Weeks on 8/6 and 9/3.
    Run:
    • Split Long Run on Sundays; eventually building to a 2 hour run (single run).
    • FTP once a week, then VO2 + Hill Running.
    • Frequent running otherwise at TRP

    Swim:
    • 3x a week now.
    • 4x a week in taper.

  • @Donnacha Holmes - Hey Brobeans!!! 👍 Hope you are settled and have already broken your bike and covered it in grease. 🤣 When you are ready, let's connect to debrief our lessons learned for the year and the race. Ping me when you are ready!

  • @Donnacha Holmes - great call the other week; I haven't forgotten you. Here's my first outline for The remainder of 2018 for your consideration. Let me know what you think!

    2018 Season Review

    • Too much running hurt the early triathlon race. 
    • Successful rest to rebuild
    • Bike watts weren't as high as expected

    2019 Season Goals

    • Need more absolute watts…looking to get to FTP of 325.
    • Maintain run strength.
    • Still be competitive at shorter races (early) but strong for IMMD (Fall)


    Early Season (thru New Year)

    Run consistent now, one fast workout per week for 8 weeks. 

    • This would be a goal of a run streak in DEC (31 days of running).
    • Weekly mileage about 40km building to 50km.
    • All runs at TRP, one "fast" run with no more that 2 miles of speedwork.
    • Long run is just one hour, hilly as you like.
    • Avoid TEMPO / Zone 3 stuff.

    Bike Start Volume Build

    • 3 rides a week For NOV, move to 4 rides a week for DEC
    • 1 is long in the 3 to 3.5 hour range (wagon)
    • 1 is zwift race of 30 minutes, not much longer.
    • 1 is how you feel. Could be tempo work (Zone3) or a hill climb. Not a race. But you could just ride steady for 1.5 to 2 hours as well.

    Swim is totally optional. I prefer not...I'd rather you TRX or Core Strength train.

    ______________________________

    Events

    • Duathlons in Feb/March/April.
    • Half in May.
    • Maryland in October.


  • @Donnacha Holmes -

    Ok, taking a look at your week in TP.com, here's what I recommend...

    • Mon - Keep the steady runs.
    • Tues - Zwift Race plus warm up should be 60-75' all in. 15' brick.
    • Wed - Treadmill steady hills, nothing too flashy just steady.
    • Thu - Wagon Ride
    • Fri - Treadmill Run
    • Sat - Tempo/ABP ride + 15' Brick Run.
    • Sun - Fast Run of the week.


    Rules for the ^above^:

    • Cap the run HR at 140 BPMs through the New Year...except...
    • On Sunday you can warm up and do some fast running. Short but you can get some speed in.
    • I think Saturday shouldn't be all tempo just yet (you did 80' @ .8 IF last Sat). Let's have 60' steady and 20' to 30' at Tempo for now; okay?


    What about core strength stuff....you interested?


    ~ Coach P

  • Thanks Patrick that looks right. I’m goina begin the core & strengthening
    workouts soon.

    On Tue 13 Nov 2018 at 9:22 p.m., Coach Patrick <
    teamenforums+d23241-s6029573@gmail.com> wrote:

    > [image: Endurance Nation Community]
    >
    > ------------------------------
    > Coach Patrick mentioned you in Donnacha Holmes - 2018 Season EN Elite
    >
    > @Donnacha Holmes -
    >
    > Ok, taking a look at your week in TP.com, here's what I recommend...
    >
    >
    > * Mon - Keep the steady runs.
    > * Tues - Zwift Race plus warm up should be 60-75' all in. 15' brick.
    > * Wed - Treadmill steady hills, nothing too flashy just steady.
    > * Thu - Wagon Ride
    > * Fri - Treadmill Run
    > * Sat - Tempo/ABP ride + 15' Brick Run.
    > * Sun - Fast Run of the week.
    >
    >
    >
    > Rules for the ^above^:
    >
    >
    > * Cap the run HR at 140 BPMs through the New Year...except...
    > * On Sunday you can warm up and do some fast running. Short but you can
    > get some speed in.
    > * I think Saturday shouldn't be all tempo just yet (you did 80' @ .8 IF
    > last Sat). Let's have 60' steady and 20' to 30' at Tempo for now; okay?
    >
    >
    >
    > What about core strength stuff....you interested?
    >
    >
    >
    > ~ Coach P
    >
    > --
    > Reply to this email directly or follow the link below to check it out:
    >
    > https://endurancenation.vanillacommunities.com/discussion/comment/270528#Comment_270528
    > Check it out
    >
    >
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