How many months needed from 0 to IM?

Julie Pfeifle

Hello Team!  I am finally emerging from basically a 5 month layoff due to first, family stuff, then a herniated disc... with a stronger core than ever, thanks to diligent PT and Pilates! I had to bag IM AZ, then IM TX, so thinking about an IM later this year.  How many months do you think you need to safely build from basically 0 to IM-readiness?  This would be #7 for me, so not a newb   I would not have any crazy goals, like KQ, but rather simply get fit, keep strengthening foundation, and practice race execution.  I will monitor back very closely and not hesitate to back down if needed.  Also, any thoughts as to how to structure EN plans to get me to the starting line (maybe a @Coach Patrick  question)?

Appreciate any/all input!

Paul Hough

You have lots of time!  Spend Mar to May just rebuilding to a consistent but light to moderate schedule ... nothing serious.  Then at the beginning of June assess your fitness and choose your fall IM.  Florida would be a good comeback venue with 5 months from early Jun to train.

Al Truscott

Julie, the answer is different for each person. My own experience after a 3-4 month injury layoff was: six months to participating in an IM, walking 1/3rd of the run, then 4.5 months more until a more satisfactory result. I basically did three months of an OS plan, followed by 3 months of an IM plan, followed by a month of short course work, then another 3 months of an IM plan.

I would agree with Paul that aiming for IM FL or AZ would be a prudent decision, rather than trying to rush it any faster. Regaining speed is one thing. That comes back pretty fast. Regaining endurance takes longer, IMO.

Shaughn Simmons

My answer is, it depends.

1) Completed OS and GF plans, seasoned/experienced vet going into an IM training plan with a 130 or higher CTL = 9-10 weeks

2) Newbie 1st time IM, no OS, no GF plan, no base fitness = 24+ weeks

SS

scott dinhofer

Julie - 
I herniated a disc in 2015. I was IN Lake Placid 3 days before the race(late July). I feel your pain. Mine was a L4/L5 herniation and I had a full blown Spinal injection that thankfully did the trick!

The Core work is excellent! and this reminds me to keep on it!! I found i was able to ride on a trainer, but oddly, not out of the saddle, so I did a fall focused Trainer Road 40k TT training plan that I hacked somewhere between their intermediate & advanced mode.  I just checked my Training peaks record and it looks like I started running again in November. it also looks like I did not start swimming more than 1x every other week until April. That July I had the race of my life (literally), finishing 10th of 220 in my 50-54 AG at LP. 

I am in a similar spot today. I am dealing with a hip issue. If i run today it will be a 5 day streak, but I am only running 2-3 miles per day. If I can run every day, I hope to string together some low 20 mile weeks via running 2x some days and building mileage by frequency. During this time I have been focused on the bike and know my wattage is slightly above last year at this point. I have not swam in 4 weeks as I had a PRP injection in my biceps tendon, and will be starting again on the vasa in 2 weeks. 

I would ask you, "what IM do you wan to do?" if you pick one further out than Lake Placid starting at zero today, I am willing to bet dollars to donuts (I want some donuts!) that you'd kill it!

PM me your phone # and times to talk if you want some personal attention on this, and by all means hit up P in the coach's forum, that's what you pay for!

Gordon Cherwoniak

@Julie Pfeifle It's probably somewhere in between SS 9-10 and 24+weeks depending upon building up the initial start up.  

In the past I've come off the couch after a 6 month lay off doing mostly nothing to a 26-27 week plan to IM finish.  This was 14 week OS, 2 week transition and a 13 week IM plan.  My challenge has been to build the run up slowly but with the herniated disc I'm sure both the bike and run will need to be monitored.  

August 26th is 24 weeks out from next Monday.  Lake Placid or Canada would be pushing the earlier timeline Tremblant would be 23 weeks out, while Wisconsin, Chattanooga and Louisville would have some flex time for sure. 

As for structure early on it's all about listening to your back and ensuring you can come back tomorrow.   

The only other question is how about a 70.3?  I know I find the pull of IM more so than a 70.2 but thought I would ask the question.   

John Culberson

@Julie Pfeifle: I have made two false starts in returning from an acute flare-up of sciatica, likely caused by a combination of musculoskeletal imbalances stemming from a large L4-5 herniation... that I believe occurred 10 years...and six IMs ago. I consider surgery a last resort, so I need to learn to live (and compete) with the knowledge that training mistakes may have significant consequences. That said, a lifelong base, and experience in regimented training can bring me back pretty quickly. As I have found over the past two months, potentially too quickly. Coach P and my physicians agree that running is the greatest risk (although I believe that hard aero biking on a fixed trainer may not be totally innocent), so I’m focused on patiently giving up 8 weeks on the Wiki “Return to Running” (run/walk) ramp, and keeping my bike rides steady and short with a slow build during that period. Maybe an Aquabike in late June... I have an IMAZ entry. Luckily, there are a group of EN peeps heading to Miami for the Multisport Festival, and I age-up in 2019.

Its getting old limping around and telling people (particularly my wife) that I have sciatica. Common sense tells me that one of these times, (perhaps this time), its not going to go away. My life as a running athlete is at risk, and I will never own a recumbent bike! Masters Swimming with open turns sounds like Putgatory. I’m keeping my options open for late fall, but worst case scenario is an Aquathon/Aquabike ticket to Spain. Slow and patient.