Robert Patrick 2019 Official Coach Thread
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.
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Coach Notes
Total bummer about your race, but at the end of the day it is only so much you can do when it's that cold outside sometimes move from competing to simply survival. In your case seems like you really weren't able to realize your fitness which is why I'm excited to have you refocus and move forward towards what's possible in 2019.
That said, we have to be really smart about your body and make sure we’re not over doing anything. Given the complaints that you've had around your hamstring and the sciatic nerve we really have to be careful. Those are long-term issues that need to be managed. If you haven't already, it’s a good idea to work with a physical therapist to try and see if you can identify the root cause and determine some exercises that will help keep it at bay. That additional recovery you need will be key all year, and is also why I think we should start of the year as simply as possible.
>> NOTE: I have loaded the first four weeks of the Run Durability Program for Runners program into your account, and made sure Monday/Friday are maintenance and strength days, not true training.
Here's what I'm thinking: we kick things off of the Run Durability Program (RDP) for three months which gives you an opportunity to dial in a baseline level of running with at least two days off a week. Welcome to cross train as much as possible during this time. During the first four weeks, I am not concerned at all about volume or pace. I just want running frequency and it can be short after a nice easy warm-up. Speaking of warm-ups, here is a link for you to check out a warm-up that I strongly recommend: https://youtu.be/YdenOdoz-MI
Once you get out of the Run Durability Program it’s into the January OutSeason® and begin our traditional build into Lake Placid. You should consider looking at early-season opportunities for bike volume as they fit your schedule so we can continue to use the bike as a tool to build the aerobic fitness you will need to be successful on race day. Let me know what you think!
Your Races
- 07/28/2019 Ironman Lake Placed (140.6)
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 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 10/26/2018
- On 10/29/2018 Load the -- Run Durability for Triathletes 1 (9 months out) -- 4 weeks to end on 11/25/2018
- On 11/26/2018 Load the -- Run Durability for Triathletes 2 (8 months out) -- 4 weeks to end on 12/23/2018
- On 12/24/2018 Load the -- Run Durability for Triathletes 3 (7 months out) -- 4 weeks to end on 1/20/2019
- On 1/7/2019 Load the OutSeason (Bike Focus) Plan, 14wks to end on 4/14/2019
- On 4/15/2019 Load the Swim Camp to end on 4/28/2019
- On 4/29/2019 Load the EN*Full Run Focused to end on 7/28/2019
- On 7/29/2019 Load the Post Ironman Transition Plan, All Levels (4wks) to end on 8/25/2019
Your Notes
Just did Ironman Louisville. Was the 3rd full ironman. DNF'd the race (first ever DNF). Was pretty bummed. Weather was awful and I feel like the cold and rain on the bike really affected my race. Had a good swim, very good bike considering the terrible weather. Bike was 5:44 in driving rain and cold which landed me 21st spot in my age group... felt pretty decent about that. During the bike I started peeing and just couldn't stop... understand this may have been cold induced diuresis. I peed probably 10 times or more on the bike... usually I go once. Was feeling pretty terrible by mile 80 but I hung in to finish the bike. I rode the same power plan I rode through training many times so I definitely didn't race outside my plan. Anyway... I didn't finish the run and was pretty bummed. Training and lead up to the race went pretty well. My current fitness feels pretty solid. I have had some nagging injuries... pain in sciatic nerve down left leg... some hamstring issues (tight / cramping) too. Nothing that is serious... just nagging. One thing I think Iearned this year is that I need some extra recovery each week (I'm 47 years old). I adjusted my plan to have a 2nd off day... usally on the day I had the 1 hour bike ride... I didn't cut out any high priority workouts. So, I have to manage / limit my volume to avoid overtraining.Fitness is pretty solid. Goals for latest race at Louisville was 10:45 and I was on pace in training to hit that but DNF'd the race (see explanation above regarding cold weather and peeing too much on bike). I do feel like I need to drop a few pounds in the outseason.... If I could lose 10-15 lbs I think I would see significant improvement. I'm about 195 and would love to race at 180. I have some nagging hamstring / sciatic nerve pain that I'd like to see heal up / subside. Since Louisville I've been doing the post ironman plan. Big thing I learned last year is that I need to have a little extra recovery and manage my volume to not get overtrained.
Let's get to work!
~ Coach P
Comments
@Robert Patrick Your thread is over here...sorry for the confusion!
Thanks @Coach Patrick . When you get a moment can you provide thoughts on adding a 50 Mi Ultra / Trail run for November 9, 2019 and how that will affect training after finishing lake placid? Thanks!
Will do. If you haven’t already, I suggest you head over to the ultra form as @Gabe Peterson have started a group thread there that is relevant to this conversation.
So here are my thoughts. Basically you’ll need to do some of this running leading into Lake Placid as foundation work for the ultra. This means a run focus program for the Iron Man. You will need some aggressive recovery for about two weeks after the Iron Man and then we transition to a run on the program leaving you up to the ultra.
You can always load the ultra plan, but I believe that the early weeks will be more hiking focused to build up some resiliency while we still allowed for recovery of your aerobic system.
The biggest thing we can do this year is to not give hundred. Sustained time off from training will make things significantly harder as the year goes by. Of course some injuries are unavoidable, but to the extent to which you can listen to your body and make smart decisions, I really encourage it
@Coach Patrick I'm running about a week off on my plan due to a vacation this week. I'm supposed to be in week one of swim camp this week... which isn't happening because of vacation. Would it be possible / reasonable to cram all of the swim camp "swims" into a single week next week when I'm back home... and then proceed on with the EN Full Run Focused Plan beginning on 4/29 per my 2019 plan above in this forum?
@Robert Patrick Just chiming in while Coach Patrick is at camp in Mallorca. Typically missed workouts should be left behind just reset yourself once you are back from vacation on the plan. Part of the two week swim camp is to give the body time to absorb the work you just completed in the OS, thus cramming in extra workouts into the 2nd of these weeks is not the best.
For me if I needed more technique work I'd try to get in some on this work on the swim intervals day for the first week or two of the IM plan.
@Gordon Cherwoniak thanks so much for the help.... your advice makes good sense. That is how I'll proceed!
@Gordon Cherwoniak thanks!!
@Robert Patrick How is the swimming going?
@Coach Patrick I'm training for Lake Placid and am in week 16. I just finished the camp weekend (solo) which went well. By Sunday night I was coming down with flu like symptoms. By Monday I was very sick. I've been in bed for a couple of days and missed training Tuesday, Wednesday, and today (Thursday). I'm feeling better today but still somewhat weak. I hope to resume training sometime this weekend. I don't expect to be able to jump back in 100% though. I'm hoping that essentially losing a week of training doesn't drop my fitness too horribly much. Can you provide some recommendations on how to proceed over the next week or so to get back on the plan / schedule for Lake Placid? Any special considerations or should I just ease back in and hopefully be back on the regular plan in the next few days?
@Robert Patrick Thank you for reaching out. This is both good and bad news.
On the bad side, you have lost some training but it’s not a significant amount.
On the good side, it means you’ve been doing a really good amount of work and that your system just got a bit overloaded. One of the reasons why we get sick during these build it. This is to force our bodies to recover, so this actually could be at the perfect time for you with regards to turning things around to the race.
You still have four weeks to go so there still plenty of work to be done. I’m not sure what you accomplish this weekend but the goal of this week will be to get you back on track so that your Thursday Friday Saturday and Sunday are all great. Everything Between now and Thursday morning should be focused on getting you back on track.
If you can do the sessions that are listed for the time that is defined, perfect. You don’t have to do the intensity. If you can do the sessions is listed and do moderate intensity but not the actual specified zones, even better.
It’s possible you may be 100% back on track right now, but even if you are there’s no need to push it. How we re-enter to the general training load is sometimes just as important as the actual workout you are attempting to do.
@Coach Patrick thanks so much for the advice and encouragement at IMLP. Great experience! I’m considering IMLOU in October. I need to get revenge on my bad run at IMLP :). What would it look like to train for IMLOU this year in October after just completing IMLP? Would it be reasonable to think I might slightly reduce training volume and maintain my current fitness (so my Wife doesn’t kill me)? I think I would need to focus on run after my lackluster IMLP run. I feel bike and swim are in a good spot right now. Anyway... thinking about it and curious what the path would look like. I’m asking in my coach forum but eager for any team feedback too. I may post this in the general forums too. Thanks!
Thanks for checking in and congratulations again. I would basically shorten the recovery to about two weeks and then work your way back up. So essentially one full week of pretty much nothing, and then the second week, following the half Iron Man two week recovery protocol, would have a little more activity on the swim and the bike, culminating with a two or three hour ride on August 10 or 11th just to reestablish some endurance. Then we would probably load a minimalist plan and make it run focused to prepare you for Louisville.
Aside from potential death at the hands of your wife, are there any other work or life constraints we need to be aware of? Also, where are you on the body composition spectrum? Is there an opportunity for us to make an improvement there in two months?
Great! Thanks @Coach Patrick. I'm loading it up and proceeding. I actually ran yesterday and biked today. I actually felt really good. Guess thats how it goes when you walk a marathon :-)... not so worn out afterwords. Anyway, I've registered for IMLOU and I'm determined to get revenge on my bad run at IMLP. I'd really like to see a PR at IMLOU (best was 11:20). I think you bring up a great point on body composition. I'm usually hanging in the range of 190-195 at race time (usually just above 200 in the outseason). I struggle a bit to get below that for some reason. I think there is a definite opportunity there though.
My plan is to focus on workout quality and execution to a higher degree than I have in the past. I'll focus less on volume. I have a couple of tweaks in mind... possibly keeping my long bike ride around 4 hours for most of the weekend rides except for the race simulations (that saves some weekend time for family etc.). I'll try to offset this by focusing on really high quality FTP work during the week and ninja like execution of the long rides on the weekend. I'm not winning the swim but I feel really solid on the swim... even without a great deal of volume... I might even consider swapping out a swim for an extra run if the opportunity presents itself. I think I have some definite opportunity for improvement on the run. I feel confident on the bike and swim but my run just never got where it needed to be this year... not exactly sure why. I'm going to focus on some quality run time for this next phase of training and plan to get that worked out.
The last piece that I think I need to button up better is nutrition. I'm thinking I may have been under hydrating on the bike through by last phase of training. I've also got to work on making sure my stomach is in a good place when the run starts... never had that problem until IMLP.
Thanks so much for everything. You are terrific!
All of that sounds great. I’m standing by to help as needed but your first order of business is to get back into the groove in that first week. Sometimes that’s the hardest part. Keep me posted.