Marleen Valk Official Coach Thread
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
- 12/21/2019 (Running) Half marathon
- Ironman 70.3 Oman (2020-02-21) #70.3Oman_20
Your Notes
Hi Patrick,
Great to be back. I have planned IM70.3 Oman on 21st of Feb. That race is a comeback race for me since I haven't raced last year. I have a injury on my ankle/hip which is treated by physical therapist and osteopath. Injury is getting better and I can run 30-40 min with short intervals. But my load capacity is still low
My goal is to enjoy racing again after a tough year and getting back in shape again. After Oman I will plan the rest of my seasonRight now I am doing:
Swimming: 2x a week
Cycling: 2-3x a week: 1 longer session (1:30-2h) and 1 spin or indoor interval session.
Running: 4x a week about 30k a week, (longest run 1:15h, rest short runs 30-40 min)
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 November 12, 2019
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!
- On 11/11/2019 Load the Durability Balanced Plan 2 (8 months out) -- 4 weeks to end on 12/08/2019
- >> Transition Early <<
- On 12/2/2019 Load the EN*Half Bike Focused to end on 2/23/2020 (Do level 2 sessions)
- On 2/24/2020 Load the Post Half Iron Transition Plan, All Levels (2wks) to end on 03/08/2020
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 General Discussion 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
@marleenvalk Welcome back. Super cool have you with us again. I'm glad to hear you are feeling better and getting over your injury. I am Coach Patrick's Training Plan coordinator. I'm here to help make your first 30 days as awesome as possible. I'll show you how to get the most out of your workouts, Final Surge, modify workouts, and learn more about how the team can help you get to your race goals.
The dropped the minimalist HIM plan into your Final Surge, but I back dated it to Jan 1, 2019. It will not impact any of your future training. It is just an easy way to look at the entire plan. This helps you compare the minimalist plan to your current plan. Click on the calendar header and pick Jan 2019 to check it out. Keep in mind you are doing weeks 9-20, for each plan.
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
Here are the top 5 things I like to share with you in order to get the most out of your workouts, Final Surge, learning and linking back up with your EN community.
#1 First thing! 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. 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:
#2 Get setup in Final Surge. Coach Patrick has just made your season plan in Final Surge, so you can sync your Garmin or Strava (only one!) and get your workout data uploaded. (Chose Strava if you ride on Zwift.) Just chose one, otherwise you will get double workouts recorded in Final Surge.
In Final Surge: Workouts -> Garmin / Device Upload
#3 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.
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.
The data together with the comments, 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.
Final Surge | Mobile Apps
https://www.finalsurge.com/apps
#4 Customize your workouts Final Surge
When you are ready you can run a 5k time trial or race and use your average heart rate (or pace) during the event to set you customized workout zones.
You will do some run and bike tests this week. 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/
#5 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 and join in the Team chat - races, training, questions, accountability. You name it.
#6 Learn More About Your Plan. Videos! Too easy!
Use the link to Run Durability on the right - or just scroll 3/4 of the way down the page.
My goal is to make your first month of Endurance Nation as simple and as awesome as possible.
Chat with me here and let me know if I can help,
Matt, Training Plan Coordinator
@Marleen Valk Just checking in. How is it going?