Nam Lam 2017 Official Coach Thread
Here's your personal Coach Thread, as promised. This is where you'll return to post all your "coach" questions as responses; I'll see them and reply. This first post is here to guide you through your first year on EN, so you can always come back here.
As you'll see in this forum, I handle all manner of edits and changes. So post away, know that I reply here usually M/W/F each week.
Power User Tip: Click the Star icon by the Title of this thread to subscribe, and you'll get email updates when I do reply.
Your WHY and Goals
Coming soon...see homework below!
Your Races
- 09/24/2017 70.3 SuperFrog (C)
- 11/19/2017 Ironman Arizon (A)
- 04/16/2018 Boston Marathon (B)
- 05/27/2018 Mountain to Beach Marathon (A)
Season Outline
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.
- Last updated by Coach on 07/30/2017
- Complete the Trial Testing Week, save your Bike and Run Zones to the My Zones Page.
- On 7/31 Load the Intermediate 2017 EN*Half to end on 9/24/2017
- On 8/28 Load the Intermediate 2017 EN*Full to end on 11/19/2017
- On 11/20 Load the -- Post Ironman Transition Plan, All Levels (4wks) to end on 12/17/2017
- CHILL OUT for a few weeks to reset your head, do some fun runs, etc!!!
- On 1/8 Load the -- 2017 OutSeason / Run Durability Plan, 14wks to end on 4/15/2017
- On 3/5 Load the Advanced Marathon [Balanced], 24 Weeks to end on 5/27/2017
Coach Notes
Now that you are "back" after last year's injury, it's time to get into long course mode. I am sure you have been training (you can tell me more in our Coach Call: set it up here) so it's more about transitioning you to our Basic Week for maximum results. We'll get you into a Half Plan first, then bridge you (before SuperFrog) into our Full plan for IMAZ. Along the way you'll have lots of learning to do in the Training Plan sidebar as well as in the Racing Member Resources section.
Then we recover, close out 2017, and kick off with our OutSeason® Training Plan in January. We'll boost the long runs a bit at first so you get the maximum impact from our program as you build to Boston, but then we'll jump you into our proper marathon plan for Mountain to Beach.
As your year unfolds, we'll be able to adjust and do more, but this is our starting point!
Contact Points
These are all the key points in your first year where we must talk. You can schedule all calls with me for these times online here. Please remember to include your phone number.
- Welcome Call in Week One (set it up here)
- Coach Call in Week Two to talk about your season (set it up here)
- End of Trial Call -- We review your experience & Unlock Year One / Race Execution for you (set it up here)
- End of Season Call -- We review your year & Strategize for your “gap” and Year Two (to be announced)
For short or last minute questions, we recommend you use the Red Chat Icon on the main Members website.
We have also organized a complete chart of the best ways to contact us online here.
Your First Month on the Team
You have quite a few things to do when you start up. There are instructions on the top of the website, but you can review them under Resources / 0-- First 30 Days on EN. If you have any trouble, don’t hesitate to reach out via the chat icon on the main Members website here.
Your First Year Inside Endurance Nation
RACE EXECUTION and how we can help you get faster by being smarter on race day. There are no medals for great swims or getting to the top of a hill first — on race day only your finish time counts. There are many ways of being faster, and here are some of the resources we have to help you out.
- The Four Keys of Race Execution Video: The Coaches walk you through the macro level elements of a successful race.
- Distance Specific Guidance: Learn the fundamentals of racing Short Course and Long Course events, from each discipline to pacing zones, etc.
- Race Specific Pages: We have aggregated information on specific races from the internet, race reports and even our own coaching resources. You can find your race Master Racing Page section.
- The Race Forums: You can search for race reports or connect with your teammates. There are sections for 70.3, 140.6, and Marathons.
Your Homework
Tell Us Why You Choose EN & Your Season Goals
- Please reply below with WHY you chose Endurance Nation and WHY you train/compete.
- Whenever possible, please identify your goals -- time, body composition, completion...the sooner you put them down the sooner we can get towards achieving them.
Looking forward to working with you this year,
~ Coach P
Comments
Thank you for your welcome email. Trying to get my assignment done before our first coach call:-) Hopefully this email will give a high level summary of where I think my areas of opportunity are.
Coach Michael Collins (MultiSport) recommended EN to me. You interviewed him last year on a podcast after IMAZ16.
Like most triathletes, I am a KQ hopeful and am looking for a club and program that have proven success. I'm have attempted 2 IM events and gotten improvements but would need help in the following areas:
1- Bike fitness. I averaged about 17.5 mph on a race, but paid a lot for it, so my run suffered. What is the expected improvement of power per a specific period of time in the intermediate plan that you assigned for me? Is a 15% increase in average wattage over 12 weeks of training realistic? I now have a PM.
2- run after bike. I can run a mary at 7:40 pace, but couldn't keep a 9 min pace in an IM. I would like advice on a faster marathon in an IM. I read the writing on 1/2 IM ( 3 mi, 7mi, 3.1 Strategy) and really like it.
3- nutrition and hydration day before and during the race. I saw this somewhere on the site and will read it carefully again.
4- 4 days out of the month, I can't follow the program because of work. What's the best course of action?
Thanks for all your time. Looking forward to talking with you.
Nam
Chat soon,
~ Coach P
1) On your FTP, I would go with 225 as your current FTP. I think you can hit it, and it's not so hard that it's going to hurt you from chasing that number.
2) The bike is where it's at. You are already such a good runner, we need to get you comfortable just spinning pedals. The way our plan is written you will already be getting in Sat / Sun ride days. That "double" session is really effective at building your fitness up...so do your best to get that in as much as possible.
I remember you said that you do work sometimes on the weekend...so if that happens, I suggest you modify your week like this, so you can still get in 3 bikes. If this means you need to drop a swim, I am okay with that.
3) We will want you to target two bigger weekends -- back to back 5 hour rides. Ideally these will be mid-September and mid-October. Let me know what you can set up and I can work with you from there.
4) Your nutrition will be key. If you haven't already, use a long ride to do a Sweat Test. This will show you just how much you need to drink and eat so you can start practicing for AZ!!!
5) Really be careful with the run pacing on the long runs. We don't need fast there (like you normally do) we just need steady. So maybe use more HR here!
Keep me posted!
~ Coach P
So finally had time to reflect and settle down after IMAZ. I am very happy with my training, race preparation and race result. 11:03. PR'ed by about 15 min. Finished my run strong and passed about 120 runners in the last 4 miles. Your advice on doing back to back long rides helped. I think I did 4 back to back long rides before the race. I also did really well with nutrition and hydration and had no qualms with peeing on the bike x 3. Still lots of opportunities for improvements from the race though. I know. I have a race report to draft up.
So for 2018, I plan to do the following races:
A race- IM Canada- 7/29/2018
B Race- Mountain to Beach Marathon- 5/27/2018
C Race- Boston Marathon- 4/16/2018
I know. I saw the recording about the need to prioritize and yours and Coach R's advice of not doing a marathon around the time of IM training. Too bad I signed up last year before joining EN in August.
So. I took 2 wks off and now doing my 4 wks of Run Durability and planning to do Jan OS. Is this what you would advise? Thank you for your time and feed back.
Nam
That said, it can’t be done. I suggest you plan on doing run durability through January 7. On January 8 you can start the out season play with us with an extra run focus in preparation for the marathon.
Please let me know what your goals are for both Boston & mountain to beach. I can be more specific when I know that.
So I did 3 weeks of the DR in December. Yeah!!!. Felt great until I got sick x 2 weeks. Fortunately, I was able to jump back on w the JOS on 1/8.
As as far as my goal for Mountain to Beach vs. Boston, I really want to BQ again. It’s easier to BQ at Mountain to Beach, so I am fine with making Boston a training run. Besides, I really want to invest in the JOS and get stronger on the bike.
My IM for the year is IMAZ. That’s all.
Thank you for your feedback.
nam
Once we get the March then we become more serious. So between now and then you can start doing some easy aerobic long runs to prepare you for Boston, but I don’t want anything run hard. In other words, if your marathon pace a seven minute miles is early runs should be 8:00s to 815’s with friends. Plenty of time to run harder later as we tighten things up for your BQ effort.
Thabk you. I got it. So I’ll wait till March, 12 weeks out to load the marathon training program to end at the end of May?
I am around 4 weeks from my 2nd Marathon. Mountain to Beach Marathon ( A race) and Boston Matathon ( B race) are about 6 weeks apart. Just finished my mid distance run today and felt great. Will have my last long run (18 miles) next week.
I miss riding on Zwift with the team. If I want to ride, what day of the week should I do this? How do I hack the marathon training in the past 4 weeks with some riding without loosing my run fitness?
Thanks,
Nam
Nam
Topics: Training plan and volume pop
Hi Coach P,
So I took about 2.5 weeks of rest since the last Marathon on May 27th. I am now getting ready mentally to start training for IMAZ 2018 which is about 22 weeks from now.
I have a few questions for you:
1- What training plan should I load? 20 weeks bike focus or should I string together shorter plans? I don't have a 70.3 scheduled this year, but I could always design a practice one locally if you think that would be helpful.
2- Planning out my schedule, I think I can hack the plan with a 2-3 sessions of volume pop similar to week #15 (day 1: 2.4 swim, day 2: 112 miles ride + 60 min run, day 3: 112 miles ride +30 min run, day 4: 120 min run). Last year, I did 4 back to back centuries around weeks 8 to weeks 17 from the race as you advised and was able to handle it. What should my recovery time between the volume pop be? How closely together can I put these volume pops?
Thanks for your input,
Nam
I think I screwed up by not linking your name into the message above. Could you let me know what you think about my training plan? I am now about 19 weeks from IMAZ. Will continue with week 2 for now. Thanks.
"Nam Lam ✭
Topics: Training plan and volume pop
Hi Coach P,
So I took about 2.5 weeks of rest since the last Marathon on May 27th. I am now getting ready mentally to start training for IMAZ 2018 which is about 22 weeks from now.
I have a few questions for you:
1- What training plan should I load? 20 weeks bike focus or should I string together shorter plans? I don't have a 70.3 scheduled this year, but I could always design a practice one locally if you think that would be helpful.
2- Planning out my schedule, I think I can hack the plan with a 2-3 sessions of volume pop similar to week #15 (day 1: 2.4 swim, day 2: 112 miles ride + 60 min run, day 3: 112 miles ride +30 min run, day 4: 120 min run). Last year, I did 4 back to back centuries around weeks 8 to weeks 17 from the race as you advised and was able to handle it. What should my recovery time between the volume pop be? How closely together can I put these volume pops?
Thanks for your input,
Nam"
I agree with the volume pops, and you don’t have to wait until the last 12 weeks to do them. You could plan on doing one in July and one in August as well. They don’t have to be on the tri bike or at race whites, they just need to be to quality back to back sessions around for hours each. Even if he did it in a small chain ring it’s about laying the foundation and it will help.
Well, the first week of the bike focus week is about done. My run is going down the tube very quickly, but this is a good thing as I needed to give the r hip flexor some rest and focus on rolling and stretching.
I am attempting the 4 hours back to back bike this weekend. Looking forward to it.
Thank you,
Nam
Hi @Coach Patrick ,
I have been thinking about the Kona slot for Ventum bike purchaser. I got the green light from my wife. I’m on schedule to do IMAZ but was waiting a bit longer because I was going to purchase the foundation slot for IMAZ. I have yet to commit financially for any races this year, but have been training steadily for IMAZ as advised by you. My bike is mediocre at best. My swim and run will suck. I will probably end up between 11-12 hours at IMAZ like last year which was my PR of 11:03 ( I’m 48 years old).
I wanted get to get your input. Should I pull the trigger for the Ventum/Kona deal? Realistically, I think I am the 90% of the AG’er that you mentioned who is trying like mad, but probably won’t KQ. I may get lucky and get it when I’m over 55, but that’s like 7 years from now.
I really value your input esp from a preparation perspective. Should I or should I not do this?
Thanks for your input,
nam
Hi @Coach Patrick ,
i just realized that the offer expired last night. So no need to make the tough decision:-)
Back to the drawing board. Thanks Patrick.
@Nam Lam you should email rachel regardless just to see. seriously. she’s the bomb dot com and will help you if possible. you need to contact mariah@endurancenation.us. Mariah is gate keeper.... 👍
Let’s see what they say and make a decision once we know if the opportunity is still in place.
Hi @Coach Patrick ,
Thank you for your reply and advice. @Mariah Bridges connected me to Rachel yesterday. I think I won’t know until Worlds 70.3 is over. Thank you both.
Nam
i have my fingers crossed for you! 🤞
Hi @Coach Patrick ,
I hope this reaches you before you spend all the efforts drafting up my training for 2019.
In light of the Rattler Ultra cancellation, I’ll switch back to the following races:
Boston Marathon 4/15/2019. B race
IMAZ 11/24/2019. A race.
I am also thinking of doing IMSR 5/11/2019. B Race. I have not signed up for this race, so I won’t if you advise against it. This is tricky because it’s 4 weeks after Boston.
So there’s no rush in drafting my training plan. I’ll just follow the JOS for now.
Thanks,
Nam
Tell me what you’re thinking for Boston. If you just wanna finish it then we can do plenty of cycling for Santa Rosa. But ultimately Santa Rosa would have to be a B race as well. Let me know and I will get to work!
Hi @Coach Patrick . For Boston, this will be my last “rah rah” Boston run. I am planning to run it real slow, around z1 or 9 min pace. My A race is still IMAZ. IMSR or anything else until November 2019 will be a B race for sure. My main reason to attempt IMSR 2019 is to be familiar with course for 2020. Thanks!
@Nam Lam
Here's your updated Season Plan, as promised. This is where you'll return to post all your "coach" questions as responses; I'll see them and reply. This first post is my best outline of how to proceed with your races, but you can ask any / all questions you want. So post away, know that I reply here usually Monday & Friday each week.
Power User Tip: Click the Star icon by the Title of this thread to subscribe, and you'll get email updates when I do reply.
Coach Notes
Ok, so here's the deal...if Boston isn't super fast, then we are IM training to IMSR as our carrot for the early year. IOW, our goal is to peak the run for IMSR, with a "long training day" in Boston, such that you can have a solid IM run off the bike in SR as your "focus" for that race. Deal?
This means that you need to continue the OS right now..and I don't see much happening in your charts? How can we get you back to these elements:
Let me know what you think!
Your Races
Season Update
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 within Final Surge by clicking on the Training Plans > View My Plans. If you need help manipulating your plans in Final Surge, be sure to check out our Help Site. Remember, you can learn more about each plan and find related plan resources on the Plan Descriptions and Resources page.
Your Notes
Boston Marathon 2018
Mountain to Beach Marathon 2018
Did race IMAZ 2018
I am still recovering from my right hip injury started around August 2018. I took 4 weeks off from running in August. I have been riding consistently on Zwift about 4 hours per week and running about 30 miles per week at Z1 or slower. No issues with riding (20 min FTP of 217 or 3.7 watts/kg), but with running, anything faster than Z1 (8:45 pace) or 170 watts would trigger the hip tightness/pain. After 2 months of physical therapy I am beginning to feel that my hip is improving.
I would like to finish Rattler and Boston, both are NOT my A races. I am planning to stop my BQ streak this year and will focus more on IM training.
More importantly, I would like to continue to build on my bike fitness to be ready for IMAZ 2019 and IMSR 2020.
Let's get to work!
~ Coach P
PS - Let's update your profile picture when you get the chance…it really helps the Team to "get to know you" a lot better.
You can do that by following this animated GIF (below)…good luck!
Thanks @Coach Patrick . Will do. Correction on above. I DIDN’T do IMAZ 2018.