Patrick Burns [PlanEN]
Here's your personal Coach Thread, 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 here to guide you through your first year on EN, so you can always come back here.
As you'll see in this forum, I handle all manner of edits and changes. So post away, know that I reply here usually M/W/F each week.
Power User Tip: Click the Star icon by the Title of this thread to subscribe, and you'll get email updates when I do reply.
Coach Notes
Your Races
- 11/02/2019 (Running) Tyranena Half Marathon
- Ironman Tulsa (2020-05-31) #IMTulsa_20
- Ironman Wisconsin (9/13/20) #IMWI_20
Your Notes
I have done three IMs - Arizona (2012), Wisconsin (2014), Santa Rosa (2017). I've done several half IMs as well (I just don't remember all the years) - Augusta, Racine, Austin, Mountain Madness (non-IM brand Half), Madison. I've also done numerous Olympic and Sprint tri's as well, qualified and raced Age Group Nationals and raced a couple of TTTs here in Illinois. Based on the guidance below, I am on the edge between level 2 and level 3. My IM personal best is 10:56. I hesitated to select level 3, but my plan was to begin the outseason at level 2 and then transition to level 3 at some point.I did a reverse periodized plan focused on the 70.3 in Madison this year, which was in the middle of June. The idea was to then sign up for IM Louisville, but life happened. We had a death in the family, and that just changed things. I refocused in the fall, and raced a TTT with my friends in September and then turned my focus to the outseason. I am trying to focus on my running for now, thus the Half Marathon in November and then planned to switch to the bike focused plan in January for IM Tulsa. I am running four days a week, cycling three, swimming two and strength training two as well.
Season Outline
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 Final Surge by clicking on Training Plans / My Plans. Learn more about each plan on the Training Plan Central Page.
>> Last updated by Coach on October 29, 2019
- On 10/28/2019 Load the OutSeason for Triathletes (Run Focus) Plan, 14wks to end on 2/2/2020
- On 2/3/2020 Load the -- Swim Camp to end on 2/9/2020
- >> Transition Early <<
- On 2/10/2020 Load the -- Bike Focus Block, 2019 (6wks) to end on 3/22/2020
- >> Transition Early <<
- On 3/9/2020 Load the -- EN Full Run Focused to end on 5/31/2020-
- On 6/1/2020 Load the Post Ironman Transition Plan, All Levels (4wks) to end on 6/28/2020
- On 6/29/2020 Load the -- EN Full Bike Focused to end on 9/13/2020
- On 9/14/2020 Load the Post Ironman Transition Plan, All Levels (4wks) to end on 10/11/2020
- On 10/12/2020 Load the Run Durability for Triathletes 1 (9 months out) -- 4 weeks to end on 11/8/2020
Training Plan Support in Your First Month
You can connect with @matt limbert as needed in your first month to get dialed in with your training plans and data. You can set up a call with him online here: https://calendly.com/new-member-phone-call/1 and he'll be on this thread shortly!
Your Homework
Tell Me Your Season Goals
- What will make you consider this season a success?
- What's your biggest limiter right now?
Start Learning
Every month we hold live events as part of our commitment to make you just as smart as you are fit. Feel free to visit our Coach Lesson page and our Office Hours page to find the next opportunity to connect with Coach Patrick and your Teammates.
Contact Points
As part of your journey to becoming a Self Coached Triathlete inside TeamEN, we are prepared to give you excellent support for your first 90 days. Our goal is to transition you from live, in-person support to using our digital resources and the Team to help you continue your progress as you execute your Three Year Plan.
These are all the key points in your first year where we must talk. Please remember to include your phone number.
- Welcome Call in Week One (set it up here)
- Training Plan Call in Week Two to talk about your season (set it up here)
- End of Trial Call -- We review your experience & Unlock Year One / Race Execution for you (set it up here)
- End of Season Call -- We review your year & Strategize for your End of Year Gap and Year Two (TBD in this Coach Thread)
Questions
- Coach Questions - Right here in this thread. Always reply to this same thread, it keeps a record for us as we evolve together!
- General Questions - Simple stuff can go to the Q & A Central Forum for the Team to answer. For example, Best Bike? How to improve run cadence? How to flip turn?
- Need Help? - Please check the EN Help Site first!
- Admin Questions - Billing or orders or whatnot? Use the red chat button at the bottom of the Members Site (not forums) or email us here.
- Specific Questions about a Race or Power, etc? - You can post those into the General Discussion Forum and set the title or tags for that topic. Race questions to the Racing Forum, etc. Not sure where to post? Put it in the General Discussion forum and we will sort it out. Whatever you do, PLEASE ask your questions!!
For short or last minute questions, we recommend you use the Red Chat Icon on the main Members website.
We have also organized a complete chart of the best ways to contact us online here.
Your First Month on the Team
You have quite a few things to do when you start up. There are instructions on the top of the website, but you can review them under Resources / Trial Member Welcome.
Your First Year Inside Endurance Nation
This will be unlocked after your trial expires.
Looking forward to working with you this year,
~ Coach P
Comments
Thanks Patrick! I've been going through all the details and had just a few questions/thoughts. First, I plan to continue swimming once or twice a week during the outseason, because I have the time. Especially right now. I know typically you recommend dropping the swimming, but if I enjoy it and I have the time and it doesn't prohibit the completion of my other workouts - is this OK?
I see in March when I start running longer runs, that you've split them up in to two runs on the same day. Similar question, if I've got the time in the morning to run for the full time, is it OK to do this as one long run?
I've spent time in both final surge and the EN website, reviewing all the resources. Well, looking to see all that is there, I haven't had time to review them all - there's a ton of info there! Which is awesome. One thing I didn't see in the execution section was something on pacing in the heat. Going from Chicago to race in Tulsa in May...I am a little concerned. Not overly concerned, but I want to be smart about how I approach the race if the temperatures get really hot. Is there a guideline or rule of thumb that you'd advise? I was a plan member back when I did IM Madison, and went to the Four Keys talk, and brought my best friend with me. We both thought it was fantastic.
You'd asked a couple of questions. First, what will make me consider this season a success? I would like to set another IM PB, so I'm looking to better my time from Santa Rosa. I also want to make sure I enjoy the race as its happening. I was so focused on executing my plan in SR that I forgot to enjoy myself. And, second, what is my biggest limiter right now? The run, definitely the run. I have designs on trying to get fast enough to qualify for Kona, but in order for it to even be a possibility, I've got to improve my running. Unfortunately, I have limiters, from lots of injuries. I'm trying to be as smart as possible and build up my durability so that I can build in speed work over time. It's been a pretty long process, as in I've been working on it for the past three years.
I think that's it for now. As I continue to go through the annual plan, I'll add comments and questions here. Thanks again!
@Patrick Burns That's cool if you want to keep swimming. Use the Final Surge App to make comments on your workouts. (See my next post for how to download and use the App.) There is a lot of work on the bike during the OutSeason - it kinda piles up in a sneaky way. As long as you keep hitting your numbers, keep swimming. If you miss the training targets in a row and your post-workout comments are telling you are fatigued. Cut back on swimming and rest until you come back around. This will be good practice for you managing your workload and will help when you move into the specificity of race training later.
Good question on the split run! We like the split run, because it provides the same training effect of a long run - without the lasting soreness or overall fatigue of a single long run. The split run enables you to get more quality training days in and we can squeeze in a bit more volume than we could in a single run. So, yeah you could do it in a single run. The split run is more ideal.
Racing in the heat. Coach Patrick has a series of videos for racing in the heat: Here is one http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/Wiki/tabid/91/Default.aspx?topic=Racing+in+the+Heat%3a+Managing+Expectations+and+Perf
If you want to become a TeamEN member you get access to the entire Coach Lesson video library, where Coach Patrick talks: Racing in the Heat, How to taper, How to peak, Using Your Data.... See them all here:
http://members.endurancenation.us/Learning/CoachLessons.aspx
Also, check out the wiki - Race Execution - Racing in the Heat
http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/Wiki/tabid/91/Default.aspx?topic=Race+Execution
He has a ton of other videos - available as part of TeamEN as well as access to the Forums where all the Team members talk about there tips to racing in the heat.
Here is an example of the Forums. Al Truscott is one of our Wicked Smart Members (WSMs). Multiple age group wins and 7x Kona qualifier.
Here is example of recent new member and the advice he got from the rest of the Team after he raced a hot 70.3 in Augusta, GA.
Thanks for sharing your measures of success. There seems like a lot to keep track of during a Ironman - more and more will become second nature. Along with durability, a good Ironman run comes after well executed bike - meaning you are fueled, hydrated and paced within your "should" capability. Some folks chase their "could" bike and end up spending too much on the bike and fail to run to their potential. The Team loves to talk about this side of racing. The OutSeason and the training plan will get you fit and it is great time to build a better bike, so that your "should" bike sets up a good run.
I look forward to chatting with you more. Either here or in the forums.
See my post below on using the Final Surge App to add more value and insight to your training.
@Patrick Burns First! Check out my post ^^^^above in your Coach Thread. Lots of good stuff there. I tried to cover all the questions you originally posted.
Here is some new stuff!
Welcome! I'm Matt and I'm here to help make your first 30 days as awesome as possible. I want to show you how to get the most out of your workouts, Final Surge, and learn more about how the team can help you get to your race goals. Chat with me here in this forum or schedule another call with me here: https://calendly.com/new-member-phone-call/1
First thing! Power user tip! Subscribe to this Coach Thread and get an email when we respond. Your Coach Thread is the best way to get a hold of us, it documents all of your training and it helps to keep the communication moving. Click on the red star and check box just to the right of your thread title. This way you will get an email when we respond in your Coach thread. See 8 sec video here to set it up:
Next, get setup in Final Surge.
I see that you are already set up in Final Surge. Your workouts are posting. Nice work!
To get the most out your training - you need that workout data (DONE!) and the story (still missing). Together, they give you (and us) the complete picture of your training. We definitely want to see those hours, miles, and heart beats - but we also want to know how you felt, mood, how mentally easy or hard the workout was, what you ate and drank on those long rides (helps dial in your fueling and hydration for long races), what went good (as a reminder) and what you want to work on next time. This takes your Final Surge account from just workout data to a full on training log - where you see your progression and become a smarter athlete.
Consider downloading the Final Surge App. This makes it way easier to add comments about how you felt, ate, weather etc (for the bike) and sets, paces etc (for the swim). Those are all super helpful to you as you track your progress, prepare and plan your for your race.
It's super easy to make comments about your workout. Click on the "pencil" icon to tap "how I felt" or "perceived effort." You can add a few notes about what you ate/drank (helps to figure out what works best for you on the bike), how you felt mentally, the weather or any aches etc. Those comments are really handy when you are comparing workouts, tailoring your own training, evaluating progress and planning for your ride. It also makes it easy to look at and plan for your upcoming workouts. Just a quick not goes a long way.
Final Surge | Mobile Apps
https://www.finalsurge.com/apps
Customize your workouts Final Surge
You can use your average heart rate during the test to set you customized workout zones.
You will do some run and bike tests during this training block. You can use that test data to customize your workouts to your individual zones. Once you customize them, the workouts will say 20' @ (135-145 heart rate) vs. 20' @ Zone 2.
Here is how you update your training plan with integrated and customized zones (there is a video here too):
https://www.endurancenation.us/help/final-surge-how-to-update-your-integrated-training-zones/
Your new Friends are waiting for you.
GroupMe is the live version of all things Endurance Nation. This is an app you can download to your smartphone, visit on the web, and even search if you want. The forums are our long-term memory, these chats are Team right here, right now.
My goal is to make your first month of Endurance Nation as simple and as awesome as possible! For any questions you have getting started - chat with me here in this forum or schedule another call with me here: https://calendly.com/new-member-phone-call/1
Talk with you soon,
~Matt
EN Training Plan Coordinator