Sorry. I forgot your Kickr, Strava, Garmin deal. Once it gets to Final Surge we will be good. I can't see your Final Surge data connection - but your bike intervals yesterday uploaded from Strava to Final Surge just fine. Just go for your best effort - I'll help you with the post test analysis if needed. More!
@Charlie Blackburn Nice FTP test. 301W 5' and 247W 20' Nice work. You look really consistent (minus the data drop outs - Any idea what those were about?). Even cadence around 90. I'm say you got the effort just about right. No crazy spikes at the beginning. No dramatic drop off in power. You were really around 240 - 270 the entire time. Way to get after it.
@matt limbert Thanks for checking so quick. OK So actually a few things.
1. I have never done the 5 min test then the 20 min test. That blew! In a good way though. I have always done just the 20 min and there is definitely a difference. The protocol said it wold "soften" me up a little. Like a lot! If I had not done the 5 min before I would have been higher which is fine. I think my number is lower due to inexperience with this particular method.
2.I The data drop outs were due to some mechanical issues. My gears were slipping which definitely impacted my test. I had to hit pause for a couple of seconds to get it in the spot where needed. I had to keep going though. Never had that in the past workouts. I will get bike tuned up. The bike is only 1 year old but my fault because it needs some love by the bike shop.
3.I think I could have smoothed it out much more had I not had those issues. The effort was there for sure but I can execute it better next time.
Do I enter just the 247 in the calculator and just keep the 301 in my head for V02 workouts? Any final advice? I will get the swim test in on Friday.
@Charlie Blackburn Yep. Put 247 in there. The workouts will be challenging out the gate, so give it 2-3 weeks. That was your max effort. Those intervals are no joke. Yep, keep the 301 in your head. No final advice. Nice job getting after it. I'm here to help.
@matt limbert Hey Matt sorry to bug you about this but I did my swim test according to the protocol today. It said to do 1000. I did yards. My average was 1:39. First time in the pool since May. Nowhere to go up up :). When I went to enter the number in the calculator it asked me for a method but when I tried to chose the 80/20 or the SOLAR method it never really plugged in the rest of the values. It was asking for a 400 / 200 pace but the protoco in the EN thread said to do 1000. I traditionally am OK with technology so if there is a trick then let me know and I will do it. Thanks
@Charlie Blackburn Thanks for asking. I'm here for you! I love all your testing. Way to get after it this week!
You did the test correctly. You used the calculator correctly. There is no trick. The swim workouts don't update like the bike and run workouts do. The swim workouts are more old school where you remember your threshold pace and follow the instructions. Typically that means swimming at threshold or 5 sec above or 5 sec below your threshold pace per 100. The swim workouts don't have the zone 1,2,3 references that the bike and run do. You can round yours to 1:40 to make the math easier.
@matt limbert In the prior plan my bike actual wattage zones automatically populated in my plan. This was nice but not a deal breaker. I see that in my new plan you loaded it just says "Zone 3" or "Zone 4" with no actual "232-247" watts. Is this right? Do I need to do something to get it populated? I have the zones saved in my little training zone application thingy..... Thanks much.
@matt limbert My schedule is pretty open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday next week. Is there any bump in volume I could do or just stay with the plan? Could do bike and swim. Running still needs to be babied through the plan :). Thursday will be a longer (ish) run ... Thanksgiving. Thanks
@Charlie Blackburn Good to hear from you. Glad to see your training is coming along! Nice work.
Yeah, you could swap the Sun Bike (ABP) ride with the Tues (FTP) run. That would give you an extra bike this week. You need to baby the run anyway. We don't want to go too crazy, because the following week is a test week. So, we don't want to bury you this week. But getting in the extra bike is a good option.
@matt limbert Matt I have a question. I have a 4.5 hr ride scheduled for Friday. I think I move it to Friday for schedule reasons on my own a few weeks ago. Anyway, I have put in as long as a 4 hr ride indoors. The weather Friday will not really allow me to split the time from partial outdoors to indoors. I have done this before which helps break it up a little and not be out in 40 degree weather for a bunch of hours. I have been doing Level 2 for most workouts. Do you have any tricks / recommendations to still get similar stress stimulus for the day or split a portion of it up or something for indoor rides? Thanks
Priority: High
Bike: Challenge Ride Day
Choose Your Ability Level:
-Level 1 [TSS 179 | IF 0.63]: Long ride day, all Zone 1 (148 - 172 watts). Goal is to challenge your fitness and mental limits with this ride. Target ride time is 4.5 hours.
-Level 2 [TSS 179 | IF 0.63]: Long ride day, all Zone 1 (148 - 172 watts). Goal is to challenge your fitness and mental limits with this ride. Target ride time is 4.5 hours.
-Level 3 [TSS 179 | IF 0.63]: Long ride day, all Zone 1 (148 - 172 watts). Goal is to challenge your fitness and mental limits with this ride. Target ride time is 4.5 hours.
Coach Notes: (1) This is your "Epic Day," as a super long bike. If required, you can swap with Sunday. Focus on pacing, nutrition & position. (2) Goal is to focus on aerobar time here, doing more time in the bars than last week. This will really help you on race day.
How do you feel about replaying the workout from last week + 1 more interval? For a total of 3.5 hours. It would look like: Level 2: [TSS 187 | IF 0.79] 3 x 25' (15') between Zone 3 (198 - 210 watts) and Zone 4 (235 - 247 watts). Then 2 x 20' (10') @ Zone 3 (198 - 210 watts). Just add one more of the 25' intervals and recovery periods to the workout.
Here is my reasoning:
The TSS math works: I ran the numbers in Training Peaks and this will give you the targeted TSS. We could add more intensity and rack up more TSS in a shorter period of time, but that doesn't really meet the intent of the workout. The intent of the workout is to get a bit more volume at a lower intensity, practice fueling, build confidence, and mental strength to go long on the bike. If we added more intensity to gain TSS faster, that intensity will make it harder and might impact the follow on sessions. You can still practice the fueling and hydration, plus get the mental strength aspects with only adding slightly more than you have already done on the trainer.
which leads me to....
3.5 hours on the trainer is legit. 3.5 hours on the trainer is really equivalent to a 4+ hour ride outside. All the coasting, lights, stops etc from an outside ride add up. We both know that there is no place hid on the trainer. Your body will get a very similar stimulus from the 3.5 hour ride inside as a 4+ outside.
You did a great job with last week's ride. You crushed those intervals last week. You finished strong on each interval and you overall power built across the entire ride. It looked good to me. +1 more interval will be challenge (hence, the challenge ride LOL😂) but you don't need to go to the well and do 4.5 hours inside. There is limited return on that investment on your preparation for Galveston in April.
Wow. Thanks for this detailed information. One piece of me really just wants to hit the goal time prescribed. Your alternative plan sounds real good as an option. I will do that. Your point on nutrition practicing is well taken. Now is the time to start focusing on that. Just gotta say that the quality of information you provide back to me in a concise way is superior. Like I said, I had paid larger money for a coach last year and never got this kind of detail. You guys give me everything I really need and very little of the stuff I don't need. I really like this approach. Have a nice day. CB
@matt limbert Hello Matt. I upgraded my account but may need a little help on what plan to load given the timeline etc. I just did the 5 min 6 week hack and did an FTP test yesterday. It was avg 255 so FTP of 242. I am racing WACO on October 18th. I dont really need an appointment to chat unless you want to. We can do this over thread. Just let me know next steps. Background: The plan I was on before worked well. I still have to be careful on the running. Right now I can tolerate 2 runs a week of about a total of 1.5 hrs of time. Then 1 longer run of 1 hr. 3 total runs if needed. I would be OK if I started the first two weeks at 2 runs then build form there. Biking is better so whatever you call for is fine. Swimming: I have no access to a facility at this point but could do extra biking or elliptical etc cross training. I do have a lake here and could get a swim in every 7-10 days if needed. It is kinda painful to go there given logistics etc but could do it if no facility opens up by July 1. Here in Illinois we are still very much locked down for the most part. THanks
@Charlie Blackburn Great to hear from you and have you back. 👊 Let's get you ready for Waco! Glad to hear that you liked the plan from before. We will start with that as a baseline and modify the running.
We will certainly focus on the bike. Adding some dryland upper body work combined with elliptical or cross-training will set you up nicely for when the pools open up. Just 10-15' of dry land work (core, push-ups and bands - if you have access to them) + the 20-30' aerobic component from the cross training will make the transition to the pool easier.
We want to get you setup with plan you can routinely execute and fit into your schedule. We will use the first few weeks to build consistency.
You were also going to do Galveston but then all the virus stuff happened. What is the update on your knee? Progonsis? Any additional physical therapy? I thought you were scheduled for surgery? What happened with that?
@matt limbert Yes on Galveston. If I had done the race I was going to look more at surgery. However, I still want to race so it will get moved down the road. I met with my Dr. on that last week. We decided that since my symptoms seem to be more under control (swelling, locking up, general everyday pain) that we will wait to do real consideration of the surgery. We will still do the hyaluronic acid shots in my knee at the end of June because they seem to work and help the knee pretty well. I have done no PT. If you think I should include some time while I can't swim then I could check into that as an alternate use of time. However, my run will comparatively suck in the way of time but I will be able to get it done I am sure.
I am unable to fully let it rip on the run which compromises the time and fitness etc but I am OK with that. I still want to complete and train with what I can do. As comparison, I did a IMVR race on May 8-9th. My training floated around 9:30 - 8:50 per mile during that time. I did the 10K portion with some rolling to moderate hills in an 8:14 average pace. The overall effort was a 7 out of 10 so that will give you an idea of where things are for that.
Swimming was just fine before Galveston cancelled. I was very happy with that. I was going to eye up around a 29 min swim if my navigation went well.
Bike was OK. I still seem to do better with shorter intervals (maybe just because the way I am wired either mentally or physically). However, my bike of 2:30 hours (like race rehearsal) never seemed to quite match up on the watts side with what my training did. I really want to try and close the gap between what I am doing in training and what I should be able to hit (watts) by the time I get to the race rehersal rides. I also have a lot of trouble with anything over 12 min intervals. I can't seem to hit goal watts on those but 10ish and under are fine.
Waco will probably be the only race unless they open up here in IL by September then I will do a B/C race on September 12th which is local OLY race. Just let me know what plan to load and if I am doing a hybrid (2 plans etc. over the entire period and I will get rolling) Thanks Matt. CB
@matt limbert Correction to above. My Avg for 20 min test was 266 so that would be a 252 FTP I guess. Not the 242 I have above. I read the full workout not the 20 min portion originally. I will monitor for what plan or plans I should use over time. Thanks
@Charlie Blackburn Great to have you back! Really pleased to see what you were able to accomplish with the six week plan and it's nice knowing you have a hard number. If you just did the 20 minutes, and not the five minutes before it at a higher intensity, then probably 245 is more likely the number we should use. In the meantime, here is the training plan progression that I'm recommending for you:
On 6/1/2020 Load the -- EN Half Prep Plan, 4wks to end on 6/28/2020 [ 4 weeks ]
On 6/29/2020 Load the -- EN Half Prep Plan, 4wks to end on 7/26/2020 [ 4 weeks ]
On 7/27/2020 Load the -- EN Half Bike Focused, 12wks to end on 10/18/2020 [ 12 weeks ]
On 10/19/2020 Load the -- Post Half Iron Transition Plan, All Levels (2wks) to end on 11/1/2020 [ 2 weeks ]
On 11/2/2020 Load the -- Durability for Triathletes 1 (9 months out) -- 4 weeks to end on 11/29/2020 [ 4 weeks ]
On 11/30/2020 Load the -- Durability for Triathletes 2 (8 months out) -- 4 weeks to end on 12/27/2020 [ 4 weeks ]
On 12/28/2020 Load the -- Durability for Triathletes 3 (7 months out) -- 4 weeks to end on 1/24/2021 [ 4 weeks ]
Essentially this involves loading our preparation plan, and then modifying it for around one. You will repeat it in version two but with the normal workouts. Then we move into the race preparation plan. Our job right now is to connect your bike strength and run health with a plan to get you ready for the race.
So 6/1 to 6/28 you will do level 1 run and level 1 or 2 bike. The next block I'd like to see you try the level 2 runs but still keep it to 3 sessions a week. You might even get to Level 3 on the bikes.
Key sessions in this block will be getting you to do both challenge rides as that volume will really boost your fitness. Those longer workouts play a critical role as milestones in your season.
I have loaded the first plane into your account to end on June 28 you can pick it up starting on June 29 or let us know and @matt limbert Can help!
@matt limbert I need a little help. My plan this week calls for testing. I am to load a new plan (see above) next week. My week is now shaping up where I could test either Tuesday or Wednesday but then am traveling Thursday and will be back on Sunday. I am fine with testing next week too on both run and bike? Here are my capabilities this week. Monday= did the easy bike bride workout today; Tuesday = could do anything; Wed = could do anything; Thursday= could bike or run but would be early because of travel; Friday = only run; Sat = only run; Sunday = travel day not able to workout.
I was wondering if I repeat last week as best I can and do test next week as scheduled. or.... whatever you think. BTW My last bike test was around 6/3/20. Have not done run test in a long while.
@Charlie Blackburn How about Run test this week (Wed?) and Bike test next Tues. That way you will be most fresh for run testing this week, run during travel (TRP aerobic stuff, nothing crazy). Travel home Sunday. Aerobic bike monday. Then bike test Tues or Wed. You are close enough to your last bike test, so we should prioritize the run test. Since, you will be mostly running during travel, and travel is hard on the body it would be great to get the new run test done before travel. You will have another chance to bike test again at the end of this next prep block. So, prioritize the run now, and we'll do the bike next time since you just did a bike test in early June.
@matt limbert I have a question on swim. The YMCA is now open to sign up slots for swimming. It is very hard to get a spot though. They limit the session to 45 minutes. How do you want me to navigate it. I was in good shape in March with swimming fitness but am essentially starting over. I think I could get in there 2 days a week at this point but the slots are slim. If you can give me a general guideline then I can roll with that. Thanks Charlie
Good to hear from you. We were just talking about this kind of thing. Basically you are limited to about 30' of aerobic work. Say 10-12' Warmup, Main Set: 20'-25' of work, 5' cool down is effectively your workout. Keep the first couple of sessions low-key, to get a handle on the mechanics and logistics signing in etc. Maybe 100's at your base pace and get a general feel for the water. After a couple of those sessions, you will have a good sense of how much time you have to work with. You should be able to get in the MS1 in those 20'-25' of work. Let us know how your return to the water goes, how you feel and we can get more specific on work:rest ratio and interval types and if you can get the MS1 done during your time slot. How does that sound?
@matt limbert I hope all is well. So I have a general question. We we march along, it is looking less likely that Waco will happen. With this in mind, I need to at least consider some sort of hybrid of keeping going while finding purpose. I will proceed with the plan until I hear different but I need to keep in the back of my mind to plan for options. I plan on doing the DIY Triathlon on August 24th via EN. I also want to do a IM VR race and prefer to do a 70.3 version where I do the swim (at YMCA) but also to the prescribed version IM sets out for their long distance VR race. I assume they will continue these VR races and think later September would be a good time or very early October. This would be 2 in total. I need to consider these with the possibility that Waco may happen but I am just not seeing it with the way TX is now. Any thoughts an insights form you would be good.
Long term..... is there a way I can pay for time to talk over ZOOM or phone? I need to bounce some ideas long term 2021. Possible IM or stay course with 70.3. I need to kick some things around with someone who can help with long term direction. Not sure if that is you or coach P. @Coach Patrick . Happy to pay for that time if needed. As always... thanks!!!!
@Charlie Blackburn Good to hear from you. I'm glad to hear you are considering some other options. The DIY tri is great starting point, it will be a fun event and already has some good energy. I like the way it sets up in combination with another IM VR event about the same time as your original Waco.
You can bounce those ideas in here. You can also schedule a call with Coach Patrick here.
You 1x free check-in call per year. This might be a great time to use it! We are always happy to chat here too before or after the call. Whatever works for you.
@Charlie Blackburn - looks like we missed our call today, but it's not the end of the world. We can certainly block out time to have a long-term conversation as needed. I believe you are right that it's very unlikely Waco will happen. And it's important to plan accordingly. A few smart decisions now will make sure that you were still on course for later this season and into 2021.
I vote that you schedule the half bike focus plan to end at the end of August, allowing you to participate. This will give you a short term focus and will allow you to see where your fitness is that relative to a half. Based on that, you can make some decisions moving forward about which virtual event you wanna participate in. I like the idea of you having you complete hey second half Iron Man if only to be able to do it much better than this first version. This is a very late time of year to begin turning our ship from Fitness to Fast, so having two shots out it would be nice.
Take a look at the workouts I have in your calendar and let's set up a time to talk.
@Coach Patrick VERY Sorry. I had a time zone blip on my end. Very sorry. I would still like to chat for a couple to get a handle on what you think. The information you gave is great. I will set something up and make that call! Thanks
Comments
Surge we will be good. I can't see your Final Surge data connection - but
your bike intervals yesterday uploaded from Strava to Final Surge just
fine. Just go for your best effort - I'll help you with the post test
analysis if needed.
More!
10-4.
@Charlie Blackburn Nice FTP test. 301W 5' and 247W 20' Nice work. You look really consistent (minus the data drop outs - Any idea what those were about?). Even cadence around 90. I'm say you got the effort just about right. No crazy spikes at the beginning. No dramatic drop off in power. You were really around 240 - 270 the entire time. Way to get after it.
What did you think?
@matt limbert Thanks for checking so quick. OK So actually a few things.
1. I have never done the 5 min test then the 20 min test. That blew! In a good way though. I have always done just the 20 min and there is definitely a difference. The protocol said it wold "soften" me up a little. Like a lot! If I had not done the 5 min before I would have been higher which is fine. I think my number is lower due to inexperience with this particular method.
2.I The data drop outs were due to some mechanical issues. My gears were slipping which definitely impacted my test. I had to hit pause for a couple of seconds to get it in the spot where needed. I had to keep going though. Never had that in the past workouts. I will get bike tuned up. The bike is only 1 year old but my fault because it needs some love by the bike shop.
3.I think I could have smoothed it out much more had I not had those issues. The effort was there for sure but I can execute it better next time.
Do I enter just the 247 in the calculator and just keep the 301 in my head for V02 workouts? Any final advice? I will get the swim test in on Friday.
@Charlie Blackburn Yep. Put 247 in there. The workouts will be challenging out the gate, so give it 2-3 weeks. That was your max effort. Those intervals are no joke. Yep, keep the 301 in your head. No final advice. Nice job getting after it. I'm here to help.
@matt limbert Hey Matt sorry to bug you about this but I did my swim test according to the protocol today. It said to do 1000. I did yards. My average was 1:39. First time in the pool since May. Nowhere to go up up :). When I went to enter the number in the calculator it asked me for a method but when I tried to chose the 80/20 or the SOLAR method it never really plugged in the rest of the values. It was asking for a 400 / 200 pace but the protoco in the EN thread said to do 1000. I traditionally am OK with technology so if there is a trick then let me know and I will do it. Thanks
@Charlie Blackburn Thanks for asking. I'm here for you! I love all your testing. Way to get after it this week!
You did the test correctly. You used the calculator correctly. There is no trick. The swim workouts don't update like the bike and run workouts do. The swim workouts are more old school where you remember your threshold pace and follow the instructions. Typically that means swimming at threshold or 5 sec above or 5 sec below your threshold pace per 100. The swim workouts don't have the zone 1,2,3 references that the bike and run do. You can round yours to 1:40 to make the math easier.
@matt limbert In the prior plan my bike actual wattage zones automatically populated in my plan. This was nice but not a deal breaker. I see that in my new plan you loaded it just says "Zone 3" or "Zone 4" with no actual "232-247" watts. Is this right? Do I need to do something to get it populated? I have the zones saved in my little training zone application thingy..... Thanks much.
@Charlie Blackburn Just select and update the new plan. See the last 2' of this video.
https://www.endurancenation.us/help/final-surge-how-to-update-your-integrated-training-zones/
@matt limbert My schedule is pretty open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday next week. Is there any bump in volume I could do or just stay with the plan? Could do bike and swim. Running still needs to be babied through the plan :). Thursday will be a longer (ish) run ... Thanksgiving. Thanks
@Charlie Blackburn Good to hear from you. Glad to see your training is coming along! Nice work.
Yeah, you could swap the Sun Bike (ABP) ride with the Tues (FTP) run. That would give you an extra bike this week. You need to baby the run anyway. We don't want to go too crazy, because the following week is a test week. So, we don't want to bury you this week. But getting in the extra bike is a good option.
What do you think?
@matt limbert Matt I have a question. I have a 4.5 hr ride scheduled for Friday. I think I move it to Friday for schedule reasons on my own a few weeks ago. Anyway, I have put in as long as a 4 hr ride indoors. The weather Friday will not really allow me to split the time from partial outdoors to indoors. I have done this before which helps break it up a little and not be out in 40 degree weather for a bunch of hours. I have been doing Level 2 for most workouts. Do you have any tricks / recommendations to still get similar stress stimulus for the day or split a portion of it up or something for indoor rides? Thanks
Priority: High
Bike: Challenge Ride Day
Choose Your Ability Level:
-Level 1 [TSS 179 | IF 0.63]: Long ride day, all Zone 1 (148 - 172 watts). Goal is to challenge your fitness and mental limits with this ride. Target ride time is 4.5 hours.
-Level 2 [TSS 179 | IF 0.63]: Long ride day, all Zone 1 (148 - 172 watts). Goal is to challenge your fitness and mental limits with this ride. Target ride time is 4.5 hours.
-Level 3 [TSS 179 | IF 0.63]: Long ride day, all Zone 1 (148 - 172 watts). Goal is to challenge your fitness and mental limits with this ride. Target ride time is 4.5 hours.
Coach Notes: (1) This is your "Epic Day," as a super long bike. If required, you can swap with Sunday. Focus on pacing, nutrition & position. (2) Goal is to focus on aerobar time here, doing more time in the bars than last week. This will really help you on race day.
@Charlie Blackburn
Hey Charlie, great to hear from you!
How do you feel about replaying the workout from last week + 1 more interval? For a total of 3.5 hours. It would look like: Level 2: [TSS 187 | IF 0.79] 3 x 25' (15') between Zone 3 (198 - 210 watts) and Zone 4 (235 - 247 watts). Then 2 x 20' (10') @ Zone 3 (198 - 210 watts). Just add one more of the 25' intervals and recovery periods to the workout.
Here is my reasoning:
The TSS math works: I ran the numbers in Training Peaks and this will give you the targeted TSS. We could add more intensity and rack up more TSS in a shorter period of time, but that doesn't really meet the intent of the workout. The intent of the workout is to get a bit more volume at a lower intensity, practice fueling, build confidence, and mental strength to go long on the bike. If we added more intensity to gain TSS faster, that intensity will make it harder and might impact the follow on sessions. You can still practice the fueling and hydration, plus get the mental strength aspects with only adding slightly more than you have already done on the trainer.
which leads me to....
3.5 hours on the trainer is legit. 3.5 hours on the trainer is really equivalent to a 4+ hour ride outside. All the coasting, lights, stops etc from an outside ride add up. We both know that there is no place hid on the trainer. Your body will get a very similar stimulus from the 3.5 hour ride inside as a 4+ outside.
You did a great job with last week's ride. You crushed those intervals last week. You finished strong on each interval and you overall power built across the entire ride. It looked good to me. +1 more interval will be challenge (hence, the challenge ride LOL😂) but you don't need to go to the well and do 4.5 hours inside. There is limited return on that investment on your preparation for Galveston in April.
Let me know what you think?
@matt limbert
Wow. Thanks for this detailed information. One piece of me really just wants to hit the goal time prescribed. Your alternative plan sounds real good as an option. I will do that. Your point on nutrition practicing is well taken. Now is the time to start focusing on that. Just gotta say that the quality of information you provide back to me in a concise way is superior. Like I said, I had paid larger money for a coach last year and never got this kind of detail. You guys give me everything I really need and very little of the stuff I don't need. I really like this approach. Have a nice day. CB
@matt limbert is the best!!!!!!
@Charlie Blackburn welcome back from Maintenance mode. Please update @matt limbert with your plans so he can help you reach those goals.
@matt limbert Hello Matt. I upgraded my account but may need a little help on what plan to load given the timeline etc. I just did the 5 min 6 week hack and did an FTP test yesterday. It was avg 255 so FTP of 242. I am racing WACO on October 18th. I dont really need an appointment to chat unless you want to. We can do this over thread. Just let me know next steps. Background: The plan I was on before worked well. I still have to be careful on the running. Right now I can tolerate 2 runs a week of about a total of 1.5 hrs of time. Then 1 longer run of 1 hr. 3 total runs if needed. I would be OK if I started the first two weeks at 2 runs then build form there. Biking is better so whatever you call for is fine. Swimming: I have no access to a facility at this point but could do extra biking or elliptical etc cross training. I do have a lake here and could get a swim in every 7-10 days if needed. It is kinda painful to go there given logistics etc but could do it if no facility opens up by July 1. Here in Illinois we are still very much locked down for the most part. THanks
@Charlie Blackburn Great to hear from you and have you back. 👊 Let's get you ready for Waco! Glad to hear that you liked the plan from before. We will start with that as a baseline and modify the running.
We will certainly focus on the bike. Adding some dryland upper body work combined with elliptical or cross-training will set you up nicely for when the pools open up. Just 10-15' of dry land work (core, push-ups and bands - if you have access to them) + the 20-30' aerobic component from the cross training will make the transition to the pool easier.
We want to get you setup with plan you can routinely execute and fit into your schedule. We will use the first few weeks to build consistency.
You were also going to do Galveston but then all the virus stuff happened. What is the update on your knee? Progonsis? Any additional physical therapy? I thought you were scheduled for surgery? What happened with that?
@matt limbert Yes on Galveston. If I had done the race I was going to look more at surgery. However, I still want to race so it will get moved down the road. I met with my Dr. on that last week. We decided that since my symptoms seem to be more under control (swelling, locking up, general everyday pain) that we will wait to do real consideration of the surgery. We will still do the hyaluronic acid shots in my knee at the end of June because they seem to work and help the knee pretty well. I have done no PT. If you think I should include some time while I can't swim then I could check into that as an alternate use of time. However, my run will comparatively suck in the way of time but I will be able to get it done I am sure.
I am unable to fully let it rip on the run which compromises the time and fitness etc but I am OK with that. I still want to complete and train with what I can do. As comparison, I did a IMVR race on May 8-9th. My training floated around 9:30 - 8:50 per mile during that time. I did the 10K portion with some rolling to moderate hills in an 8:14 average pace. The overall effort was a 7 out of 10 so that will give you an idea of where things are for that.
Swimming was just fine before Galveston cancelled. I was very happy with that. I was going to eye up around a 29 min swim if my navigation went well.
Bike was OK. I still seem to do better with shorter intervals (maybe just because the way I am wired either mentally or physically). However, my bike of 2:30 hours (like race rehearsal) never seemed to quite match up on the watts side with what my training did. I really want to try and close the gap between what I am doing in training and what I should be able to hit (watts) by the time I get to the race rehersal rides. I also have a lot of trouble with anything over 12 min intervals. I can't seem to hit goal watts on those but 10ish and under are fine.
Waco will probably be the only race unless they open up here in IL by September then I will do a B/C race on September 12th which is local OLY race. Just let me know what plan to load and if I am doing a hybrid (2 plans etc. over the entire period and I will get rolling) Thanks Matt. CB
@matt limbert Correction to above. My Avg for 20 min test was 266 so that would be a 252 FTP I guess. Not the 242 I have above. I read the full workout not the 20 min portion originally. I will monitor for what plan or plans I should use over time. Thanks
@Charlie Blackburn Great to have you back! Really pleased to see what you were able to accomplish with the six week plan and it's nice knowing you have a hard number. If you just did the 20 minutes, and not the five minutes before it at a higher intensity, then probably 245 is more likely the number we should use. In the meantime, here is the training plan progression that I'm recommending for you:
Essentially this involves loading our preparation plan, and then modifying it for around one. You will repeat it in version two but with the normal workouts. Then we move into the race preparation plan. Our job right now is to connect your bike strength and run health with a plan to get you ready for the race.
So 6/1 to 6/28 you will do level 1 run and level 1 or 2 bike. The next block I'd like to see you try the level 2 runs but still keep it to 3 sessions a week. You might even get to Level 3 on the bikes.
Key sessions in this block will be getting you to do both challenge rides as that volume will really boost your fitness. Those longer workouts play a critical role as milestones in your season.
I have loaded the first plane into your account to end on June 28 you can pick it up starting on June 29 or let us know and @matt limbert Can help!
~ Coach P
@matt limbert I need a little help. My plan this week calls for testing. I am to load a new plan (see above) next week. My week is now shaping up where I could test either Tuesday or Wednesday but then am traveling Thursday and will be back on Sunday. I am fine with testing next week too on both run and bike? Here are my capabilities this week. Monday= did the easy bike bride workout today; Tuesday = could do anything; Wed = could do anything; Thursday= could bike or run but would be early because of travel; Friday = only run; Sat = only run; Sunday = travel day not able to workout.
I was wondering if I repeat last week as best I can and do test next week as scheduled. or.... whatever you think. BTW My last bike test was around 6/3/20. Have not done run test in a long while.
Thanks for help.
@Charlie Blackburn How about Run test this week (Wed?) and Bike test next Tues. That way you will be most fresh for run testing this week, run during travel (TRP aerobic stuff, nothing crazy). Travel home Sunday. Aerobic bike monday. Then bike test Tues or Wed. You are close enough to your last bike test, so we should prioritize the run test. Since, you will be mostly running during travel, and travel is hard on the body it would be great to get the new run test done before travel. You will have another chance to bike test again at the end of this next prep block. So, prioritize the run now, and we'll do the bike next time since you just did a bike test in early June.
Tues = either 60' easy bike or 30' run w/ strides
Wed = Run Test
Thurs = Easy Bike before travel
Fri = Run. Travel
Sat = Run. Travel.
Sun= Rest/Travel
Mon= start new plan
How does that sound? Let me know what you think!
@matt limbert Sounds good. If I decide to bring my bike then I will. I will proceed with this plan. Thanks for the input.
@matt limbert I have a question on swim. The YMCA is now open to sign up slots for swimming. It is very hard to get a spot though. They limit the session to 45 minutes. How do you want me to navigate it. I was in good shape in March with swimming fitness but am essentially starting over. I think I could get in there 2 days a week at this point but the slots are slim. If you can give me a general guideline then I can roll with that. Thanks Charlie
@Charlie Blackburn RE: YMCA 45' swim blocks. What to do?
Good to hear from you. We were just talking about this kind of thing. Basically you are limited to about 30' of aerobic work. Say 10-12' Warmup, Main Set: 20'-25' of work, 5' cool down is effectively your workout. Keep the first couple of sessions low-key, to get a handle on the mechanics and logistics signing in etc. Maybe 100's at your base pace and get a general feel for the water. After a couple of those sessions, you will have a good sense of how much time you have to work with. You should be able to get in the MS1 in those 20'-25' of work. Let us know how your return to the water goes, how you feel and we can get more specific on work:rest ratio and interval types and if you can get the MS1 done during your time slot. How does that sound?
@matt limbert I hope all is well. So I have a general question. We we march along, it is looking less likely that Waco will happen. With this in mind, I need to at least consider some sort of hybrid of keeping going while finding purpose. I will proceed with the plan until I hear different but I need to keep in the back of my mind to plan for options. I plan on doing the DIY Triathlon on August 24th via EN. I also want to do a IM VR race and prefer to do a 70.3 version where I do the swim (at YMCA) but also to the prescribed version IM sets out for their long distance VR race. I assume they will continue these VR races and think later September would be a good time or very early October. This would be 2 in total. I need to consider these with the possibility that Waco may happen but I am just not seeing it with the way TX is now. Any thoughts an insights form you would be good.
Long term..... is there a way I can pay for time to talk over ZOOM or phone? I need to bounce some ideas long term 2021. Possible IM or stay course with 70.3. I need to kick some things around with someone who can help with long term direction. Not sure if that is you or coach P. @Coach Patrick . Happy to pay for that time if needed. As always... thanks!!!!
@Charlie Blackburn Good to hear from you. I'm glad to hear you are considering some other options. The DIY tri is great starting point, it will be a fun event and already has some good energy. I like the way it sets up in combination with another IM VR event about the same time as your original Waco.
You can bounce those ideas in here. You can also schedule a call with Coach Patrick here.
You 1x free check-in call per year. This might be a great time to use it! We are always happy to chat here too before or after the call. Whatever works for you.
@Charlie Blackburn - looks like we missed our call today, but it's not the end of the world. We can certainly block out time to have a long-term conversation as needed. I believe you are right that it's very unlikely Waco will happen. And it's important to plan accordingly. A few smart decisions now will make sure that you were still on course for later this season and into 2021.
I vote that you schedule the half bike focus plan to end at the end of August, allowing you to participate. This will give you a short term focus and will allow you to see where your fitness is that relative to a half. Based on that, you can make some decisions moving forward about which virtual event you wanna participate in. I like the idea of you having you complete hey second half Iron Man if only to be able to do it much better than this first version. This is a very late time of year to begin turning our ship from Fitness to Fast, so having two shots out it would be nice.
Take a look at the workouts I have in your calendar and let's set up a time to talk.
~ Coach P
@Coach Patrick VERY Sorry. I had a time zone blip on my end. Very sorry. I would still like to chat for a couple to get a handle on what you think. The information you gave is great. I will set something up and make that call! Thanks