WTF...EN weekend rides are hard
First season with EN. Went through 20 weeks of OS and a nice 2 week transition recently. I just finished my first week of the 12 week IM plan and I gotta say that the weekend rides kicked my a@@. I only got my long ride up to 45 miles and never did double bike weekends during the OS and transition period and I think I'm paying for it now....just sayin....
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No joke, huh? After you do these for a while you build into them. When your friends start smack talking about their 6-hour LSD riding, challenge them to 3 weeks straight of 4-hour EN weekend rides. All I can say is that you will respond. And that there is NO need to do anything extra than what the plans call for.
If anything, ratchet it down if you start getting too cooked--like cutting the Sunday ride back a little time wise if you need to.
There were no back-to-back weekend rides in OS. We all started from the same place. Fun, fun, fun! Hang in there.
Anyone miss OS yet?
On the plus side, I"m already starting to adapt and respond better. Last week after my first 4-hour I felt like I got hit by a train going out onto the run, this week my brick went much better. What's more I rode with a group today for my 3hr ride which used to be my hard ride of the week, even after having done 80mi yesterday I kept up if not challenged the riders today. I've still got a long way to go, but I'm glad that the volume does appear to be doable if you just stick with it.
Yes they are very hard. They are essentially 7 hours of noodling in 4 hours. The runs are very very hard as well. If you do them you will be hard as well. Only 2 things I know for sure about the EN plans is that they are 1) very hard, and 2) very effective if you want to bet faster. Welcome to the big show.
I have a 3 month old at home and like most a demanding job so life always gets in the way. I recoverd fine from the rides but was just suprised by the effort level. I'm making a strong effort to focus on my recovery the next 12 weeks since my life stress factor is peaked right now so we'll see how it goes.
Its important to remember that just because you are on a 'standard plan' it can't obviously suit everyone without some tweaking - the Al Truscott's / Mancona's will make these changes all the time using their experience of the plans but still seek advice - the Haus sounding-board. USE IT!!
You're not alone Jason and we all share the life issues - part of the journey! :-)
Dan Socie "dude, you are gonna kill the campers!!!"
Coach Rich" uh, yeah, I think I ,ay have undersold how tough this ride was gonna be"
To me, the transition from OS (or HIM) plans to the 12 weeks of IM plans is kinda just like that!!! HOLY MOTHER OF GOD!!!
PS- Olivia- if you are reading this, remember when you wanted to cry? And we all told you to just harden up? That we'd all been there before?? Yeah, we were wrong!
Jason, welcome to the Haus and to real work. My first season as well. EN rides are much diferent from what most are used to. There is not lots of time at zone 1 and 2. It is more intense interval work to make best use of your time and to get you faster. My first few outdoor rides were hell as well. Thought there was no way this was gonna happen. But you will get used to it and get faster. And it definitely does work. For example, I did a sprint the day after a HIM RR and picked up 3mph on the bike. I have 2 little ones myself and would much rather spend 4 hours on the bike every Saturday as opposed to 6-7 as most will do. Just saying
I've rarely managed all the weekend volume, but going hard really pays off with increased fitness levels.
Oh yeah, you're a lot faster too!
tom
I would like to add- LMAO at the title of this thread. My 3rd season in the haus, 2nd time doing iron plan (last year was short and fun stuff). No joke, it's hard. And if you follow the plan without adjusting for life stress, you WILL hit a brick wall and hate EVERYTHING (been there, I know from whence I type). I resolved that- this year I would keep some fun in the plan and take breaks. So last weekend was not per the plan and today was a total rest day. But I am sure I will be ready for IMWI. Of course my goal is always to finish with a smile and no vomiting.
THAT THREAD TITLE SHOULD JUST BE PART OF THE SIGN UP PLAN!!!!
x2 at Michele's post - I opened the thread bc the name made me laugh as I thought to myself "no sh@!"
I did 14 weeks of OS then jumped into the last 6 of HIM... wow... that was quite a shock. But with race day breathing down my neck I didn't have anytime to contemplate much... and I got through it. I'm actually kind of amazed. Maybe that's the way to go, pull the band-aid off fast!
That said, post HIM and 1 week of vaca, coming back to do block 2 of transition was really, really hard, especially considering IMFL wasn't for 20 weeks. So, per coach R's suggestion, I'm doing the last 4 weeks of OS then doing 16 weeks of IM (to work on fast and avoid some burn out). I thought I missed OS but damn, those 60-75 minute workouts sure as heck pack a punch too (I forgot about the leg burn on the last set of the 4x5x30/30s.... I think the tag line should just be "EN is hard"
i just joined Team EN last week, and this weekend was my first experience with the weekend rides. I'm in week 3 of a 20 week IM training plan, and I was doing 12-18 hours a week under a typical Friel plan before joining. When looking at the hours for the weekend, I was confused and thought it would be so easy Wow was I mistaken. I don't think I've been this tired or sore from any training weekend ever. After those two weekend workouts, I was fully sold on the Team EN philosophy. Now I'm really looking forward to doing my testing and following this plan!
Welcome to Endurance Nation
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Adam, I set you up for this thread because we've only heard these comments re "the volume of the plan is too low" about a million times. We just smile and ask you to do one of rides and tell us it's not hard enough.
Another common theme is that our athletes have a hard time finding people to train with, especially after a cycle in our OutSeason plan because:
Day's off: we don't give you many and when we do, we do so for a reason so probably a good idea to take them when we give them to you
. The plan you're using now it's a seventh generation product. Everything just "fits" together and another common comment we see is that plan backs off or changes right when you need it to.
hahaha, coach Rich...you sure did! best way to learn is by experience, right? As my girlfriend said to me this morning after my first bike test and I looked like I was going to throw up, she said, "This Team Endurance thing is going to make you much stronger"
Damn right it is