Home Coaching Forum 🧢

Mary Russo Official Coach Thread

edited October 26, 2017 6:44PM in Coaching Forum 🧢

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 Notes

I’ve returned after 2 years away. Looking for structure and discipline that the Team offers. Not even sure how best to describe what I’ve been up to. 

Best to say I have lost a lot of fitness and would like to start at ground zero and rebuild my fitness.


Your Races

  • 06/03/2018 Rev3 Quassy
  • 07/24/2018 Ironman Lake Placid (A)
  • 10/21/2018 Marine Corps Marathon


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 09/20/2017
  • Complete the Testing only if needed, save your Bike and Run Zones to the My Zones Page.
  • On 10/2/2017 Load the -- Run Durability 1 (9 months out) -- 4 weeks to end on 10/29/2017
  • On 10/30/2017 Load the -- Run Durability 2 (8 months out) -- 4 weeks to end on 11/26/2017
  • On 11/27/2017 Load the -- Run Durability 3 (7 months out) -- 4 weeks to end on 12/24/2017
  • On 1/8/2018 Load the Intermediate OutSeason / Run Durability Plan, 14wks to end on 4/15/2018
  • On 4/16/2018 Load the -- Swim Camp to end on 4/29/2018
  • On 4/30/2018 Load the Intermediate EN*Full to end on 7/22/2018, do Quassy "on the way" to #IMLP.
  • On 7/23/2018 Load the -- Post Ironman Transition Plan, All Levels (4wks) to end on 8/19/2018
  • On 8/20/2018 Load the Balanced Marathon, Intermediate Level to end on 10/21/2018

 

Coach Notes

How to Train This (And Every Fall) Inside Endurance Nation   (GroupMe Chat for RDP)

https://endurancenation.wistia.com/medias/aal07zdrbp



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 ... Just get caught up on EN! (set it up here)
  • Coach Call in Week Two to talk about your season with Coach Patrick (set it up here)

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

Looking forward to working with you this year,

~ Coach P

Comments

  • @Mary Russo - Good to catch up on the phone...I updated your Roadmap above with Quassy and MCM so they are "officially on the record."

    Here is what I recommend based off of our notes...

    • Run durability to get your "game" back. Doesn't have to be sexy, just log time and easy time at that. We can worry about "run fitness" later, etc. It will help with both early (pre OS) and late (MCM).
    • Let's do a sweat test for you at some point, maybe Jan/Feb, so we can learn and then practice good hydration pre-Placid. We want you ready. 
    • Also, don't worry about the weight...be healthy, eat clean and let's see where things shake out. I think you are just in a down cycle. We don't want to get drastic with anything and then have further issues. 
    Let me know what you think!

    ~ Patrick
  • So glad to be back!

  • Hi Coach Patrick 
    I need some advice. I have a torn meniscus.
    It stinks.
    i have been water running.
    is that ok?
    Advice or modification needed?
    I am in Jan OS right now 
  • @Mary Russo - So sorry to hear that! Since I’m not a doctor, can you tell me what professional opinions you’ve gotten about it? Are you planning on surgery or is it a nonsurgical tear?

    There are plenty of ways to work around what’s happened but generally speaking it takes about 6 to 8 weeks to heal if you’re not doing surgery. But in that case we can’t do a lot of weight bearing work. And there’s a good deal of homework you need to be doing around strengthening your quads and hamstrings as well as your lower leg.

     I’m not sure what, if any, of those activities you’re doing right now. 

     So yes, I like the water running but before I go prescribe a full program could you please let me know what your doctor or Ortho says? 
  • Thanks Coach,
    Ortho has me doing strength exercises for leg/knee. Wanted me to wait 4 weeks to see how it went before considering surgery. I thought that was a good plan til I had to deal with the pain all week. My Plan was to reach out today to see if we can move things along but I am going to try to stick with it. 
    I am following JOS plan right now and just doing runs in the pool for time.
  • @Mary Russo - Ok...my understanding is there are two types of tears, one requiring surgery more than the other, but at the same time, I know that swelling can really be a PITA for analysis as well. So definitely the rest is best. 

    In that same vein, I believe you COULD bike at low intensities during this time, but only AFTER the swelling has gone down. It might be worth a call to the DOC to find out what you could do in the meantime to stay sane. I imagine you can swim with a pull buoy (no kick) and you could do some upper body strength work as well.

    Please keep me posted! 
     
    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!


  • Hi Coach Patrick,
    I am following up to see how to modify my training post meniscus surgery. The surgery was 3/23. Turns out there were 2 tears (inner tear and an outer tear) and a lot of arthritis. All cleaned up now and I want to know how to best rehab and strengthen as well as how to modify my training til i am able to run again. I was able to swim 1000 yds 3/25 and was back on the bike 3/27. Last week I was back to my Tuesday bike class for about 3 hr; followed it with an hour on the elliptical Wed; Thursday morning 1 hr strength and conditioning; 1 hr bike. Then, everything hurt...lots of ice on Friday. Planned to swim but work got in the way so it was a total rest day. Saturday was 1 1/2 hr bike followed by elliptical and pool run. 
    What changes should i be making to my week? I am in OS Wk 14.
    Thanks
  • I forgot to add, PT is Monday and Wednesday. I am doing strength workouts Tuesday and Thursday; biking Tuesday and Thursday and Saturday (also doing elliptical and pool run post bike); doing an elliptical/pool run wko on Wednesday and Sunday. 
  • Mary - In your return we want you to be active, but not too active. I could see you doing 60 to 90 minutes of non-weight-bearing activity a day as balanced between cycling, swimming, and physical therapy.

    I assume that you go on for about 3 to 4 weeks before we start doing anything serious or with quality in mind. The goal here is to keep your joints mobile and your fitness levels at a good baseline. Anything excessive could risk of setting up the good work done by your surgeon.

    Yes, I know reading this sent you into palpitations because you will be losing some aerobic fitness. Remember the goal is to bring your infrastructure up to speed with what we are trying to achieve cardiovascularly. 

    Consider the training between now and mid May to be an investment in the rest of the season and a great rehab from your knee.

    To be clear, the basic week you’ve laid out above is perfect. I don’t really want you doing much more than what you have written there, and if you have more than 90 minutes of work to do in a given day please separate them by 8 to 12 hours when possible.
  • Thanks Coach
    i will consider it an investment and make the most of the work that I am able to do. I will keep a paper bag nearby to help when the anxiety kicks in
  • @Mary Russo you are too funny. Write an EN on that bag and you should be all set!!!!
  • Hi Coach P
    How should I modify the split run? 5 weeks post surgery and am able to do a 1/2 mile run 1/4 mile walk for 4 miles.
    advice?
  • @Mary Russo -  Thank you for checking in! In the interest of keeping you healthy, I think it’s almost better to split that run between two different days. Something like a medium distance run on Tuesday, your bike threshold work out on Wednesday (short Brick run), and the other half of that medium run on Thursday.

    Monday and Friday are no running to recover, And then you brick off of both of the weekend efforts on the bike. How does that sound
  • Ok, so I think I will extend my run today to an hour or 1:15, maybe extend tomorrow’s brick run and then run 1:15 or so on Thursday. The plan has a Tuesday scheduled 50 minute run.
    i will add some running to the Sunday ride
  • Sounds good. Let me know how it goes!!!!
  • Wow, super late on the feedback Coach! I have been extending the run to about 10 miles and up to 14 or so on the split runs. I am using the Galloway method to train for and complete the marathon portion of the IM. It’s not going to be fast but I am committed to completing the 140.6 in July. I am beginning to look forward to the last hour finish enthusiasm 😝
Sign In or Register to comment.