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2020 IMSG Season Roadmap / Planning Thread

Coach PatrickCoach Patrick
in Ironman St George

The flow is Fall Training / Racing / Fun into the November OutSeason®. Recover with Swim Camp and then roll into 12 weeks of Race Preparation to end on the big day, May 3, 2020. 

This is a pretty compressed timeline given the early nature of IM St George on the calendar. You’ll be relying on the quality of the OutSeason® work moreso than the volume of a longer build. That said, there will be no hiding from long indoor rides. Be sure to catch up on all things Zwift with your trainer set up and the Team so we can train together this winter!

Level 1 / Complete Athletes:  Your top goal is consistency this whole training block; missing time will be costly. You are effectively training to hit the volume targets of March and April, and those will be indoors.  You will want to start swimming in January with the OS Swim Supplement. And if you are a first-time IM athlete we’ll be looking to extend some of your weekend rides in December and January to prepare for the later volume. 

Level 2 / Compete Athletes:  You need to stay healthy in the Winter (get that flu shot) and consistent (get that Zwift set up ready). It all starts with good rest for you in the Fall, so if you need to take more time off before the OS starts, make it so. The goal is to get as strong as possible in the OS and then, after some recovery, turn that into a solid baseline as you add endurance to the schedule. You’ll be doing all the Race Prep bike sessions as written, so start mentally preparing now!

Level 3 / Win Athletes:  Start with what the Level 2 guidance has, and we build from there.  Body composition is key, so the focus begins January 1 (enjoy the holidays first!). You might swim this whole block of time, but don’t get ambitious with more than 2x a week until the new year. Plan on doing some of the longer rides in Zwift with climbs at 100% trainer feel; short of a training camp it’s the best way to prepare for the work that lies ahead on race day. Identify what part of the race is critical for your success, so that you can work to focus on that in the Race Prep!


Here is the Basic Outline


  • On 10/28/2019 Load the OutSeason Run Focused Plan, 14wks  to end on 2/2/2020
  • On  2/3/2020 Load the Swim Camp   to end on 2/16/2020
  • On  2/10/2020 Load the EN Full Bike Focused    to end on 5/3/2020
  • On  5/4/2020 Load the Post Ironman Transition Plan, All Levels (4wks) to end on   5/31/2020


Bike Course: 

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Run Course:

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Basic Notes


  • Why Run-Focus OS but Bike-Focus Full? You’ll need the solid run foundation set early before we focus on the bike given how challenging the IMSG bike course is 


  • Managing Your Fall Exploits (Racing vs Fun vs Running). The most important thing is to show up to the start of the Nov OS rested and ready to go. If you are just staying active, that’s an easy transition. If you are racing a tough Ironman® then you might need to aggressively stand down in order to be ready to absorb the work. First timers will want to get some fall riding in and perhaps a fall 13.1 race if possible.


  • What About Early Races? There really aren’t many early races unless you want to travel; and races aren’t great about getting you the Time you need to train to be fit. I would look instead for a training camp or long training weekend. 


  • Will there be a Race Camp? Tentatively yes, we are looking at Scottsdale, Arizona in March / April timeframe...stay tuned to the forums.


Advanced Options / Personalization


The guidance above is good for 90% of the Team. There are some of you who, depending on where you are on the Three Year Plan might Be looking for a different flow of “focus” plans. Here are some reasons that alternatives could work for you:


  • Situation: You are starting with a run injury / issue, so early biking is better. Solution: Go bike focused for both plans. 


  • Situation: You have demonstrated an ability to run fast in run races, but not in a 70.3 or IM.
  • Solution: Go bike focused plans for both to build the bike strength you need. 


  • Situation: You did bike-focused for both plans last year, and are looking for more run focus.
  • Solution 1: Start with the plan as listed and if you need to make adjustments as we move from OS to Race Prep we can do it at that time.
  • Solution 2: If your OS Run history is good, but race day runs aren’t, then go Bike OS, Run Race Prep. 


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