Steven Cummings 2020 Official Coach Thread [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
- Atlanta Publix Half Marathon 3/1/20
- Ironman 70.3 Florida (2020-04-19) #70.3FL_20
Your Notes
Returning member here! I started with EN in 2012 and here is my brag list 2012 IM Florida (11:22) , IMCDA (11:37) and CHOO (10:52) both in 2014, and IMLOU in 2016 (10:32). There were lots of half irons and out seasons even in the non full ironman years of 2013 and 2015.
My last long tri was in 2017 at Augusta 70.3 (5:14) so many cramps my run fell apart. I have mainly been running the last two years and my last big race was a half marathon in November (1:44). Currently running 3X per week, finally got on the bike again in November so currently doing 2X per week but need to find my watts, and I can still swim just don't ask how far.
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 January 10, 2020
- On 1/13/2020 Load the EN*Half Bike Focused to end on 4/5/2020; Let's try for Level 2 on the Bike and the Run!
- On 4/6/2020 Load the Post Half Iron Transition Plan, All Levels (2wks) to end on 04/19/2020
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 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
@steven cummings
Steven,
Welcome back! Super cool have you with us again. Coach Patrick has continually rewritten the half plans every year. So, some stuff might look familiar and some things will be new. You will be doing the Half-Marathon on the way to Florida 70.3. While you training is primarily focused on peaking for Florida, we can make some tweaks to fit in the half marathon. We can chat here if you have any questions about modifying workouts etc. Let me explain a bit more about your first training block.
The Bike Focused Half plan OutSeason has 3 weeks of work followed by a test week. It has FTP bike work during the middle of the week, then an ABP (Always be Pushing) bike ride on the weekend. We host several rides on Zwift over the weekend and a shorter 30 minute FTP test type race on Monday. The ABP (Always Be Pushing) ride that is around 3.0-3.8 W/kg, or a CNC (Cruise and Crush) ride that is around 2.5 W/kg but has a few max efforts (45 sec, 4+ minutes, then a 30' sustained effort). A lot of the athletes on the Team ride on Zwift and coordinate ride times using the GroupMe chat (see below for the link). After week 5 you will shift to 3 bike workouts a week with some shorter max power efforts earlier in the week, and a steady state effort later in the week. After week 7 there is a challenge ride, which is a really long ride and then followed in the next couple of weeks by some race paced intervals and race rehearsals.
Running. You will see a description for TRP (Total Run Pace) this is a pace that is between Z1 and Z2. It should be easy and you should be able to carry on a conversation. That is the pace you will do a bulk of your work in this OutSeason phase. Here is it all about frequency and consistency. Early on, say the first 5 week block, focus on getting the duration in. If you feel good and want to mix up the pace based on the workout - go for it - but as you are transitioning back to structured training we want to play the long game. Consistency and frequency. As you get more consecutive weeks, you can earn the right to mix up the paces. But, early on consistency, frequency, and be conservative on the pacing. You will see a split long run. This is great way to get the distance and duration in without the lasting fatigue of one massive long run.
Remember to give us an update on your homework,"What will make this season a success?" and "What is your current limiter?" What are your goals for Tulsa? and How do you rank your swim, bike, and run? I want to help you get the most out of your EN membership and training.
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
Half-Marathon
A few thoughts on getting setup and organized.
First off, think of this as an opportunity to get fitter, smarter, and share your experience with the rest of the team. Coach Patrick has designed a Season Roadmap for you. The progression of workouts will get you fitter and prepare you physically to race but, getting smarter about training and race execution is what sets Endurance Nation apart from other programs. Here you have access to Coach Patrick (11x Kona qualifier), a library of his Coach Lessons, and the experience of hundreds of other athletes across all age groups - willing to share their advice and what has worked (or not) for them. We would love to have your experience and voice in those forums too.
Want to know the best equipment to buy? Where to stay for your race? How to triage you week of training when you have to travel for work? How to ride hills efficiently? How manage your power and heart rate on a hot day? You name it the Team can help you and make you a smarter athlete. There is free speed out there just by being smarter at how you play the game. Check out the GroupMe, forums and the learning section from the main Endurance Nation page to get started (see below for links).
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.
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.
To make comments, select the activity and 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.
Here are a few things to do:
#1 Subscribe to your Coach Thread.
Subscribe to your 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 questions, its always here for your reference.
Here is how:
#2 Get setup in Final Surge.
It looks like you are all setup here. We see that you already linked your Strava to Final Surge so you should be all set.
#3 Down load the Final Surge App
Final Surge | Mobile Apps
https://www.finalsurge.com/apps
#4 Join our GroupMe chat and join the Team
Our forums and GroupME chat its a great place to learn, ask questions and connect for accountability with other Team members. Need to buy a new training gadget? What is the best xxxx? Want some advice about your race we? We have someone on the Team that as done it before and can help you race like a veteran. Ask in the group chat, start a forum post, or just search the library.
Your new Friends are waiting for you.
GroupMe 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 a running dialogue with the rest of the Team
GroupMe
· EN Live 24/7 [Join Here]
· Run Group [Join Here]
· Zwift Chat [Join Here]
· Events [Join Here]
· Race Groups [Join Here]
Forums
You have complete access to the entire Team, Coach Lesson Videos, Race Execution Guidance and tons of race reports to help you learn more about training and racing.
SignIn
https://endurancenation.vanillacommunities.com/categories
Learn More about your Outseason Plan
SignIn
http://members.endurancenation.us/TrainingPlan/TrainingPlanCentralPage.aspx#full
#5 Customize your workouts in Final Surge
You will eventually do run and bike tests. You don't have to do them right away. But, in the next few weeks we'll schedule one when you feel ready. Then we will use your average heart rate during the test to set you customized workout 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/
My goal is to make your first month of Endurance Nation as simple and as awesome as possible! I want to help you get the most out of your workouts, Final Surge, learn more about race execution and how the team can help you get to your race goals.
Talk with you soon,
Matt, Training Plan Coordinator
@steven cummings Great to chat with you today! It was really hep fun fo rme to get caught up on all the things you are up to, and hwhere you are on the "path" back to your former tri self. It's all about the journey, and the good news is I Think you are already in a great place from the start!
Equipment
Schedule:
Key Priorities:
Training Plan:
I updated your plan to reflect the 4/19 race date and added in two weeks of the "prep" plan for the Half Iron distance.
That second week Has room for you to test on the Swim and the Bike! Looking forward to hearing how they go!
~ Coach P
PS - Let's update your profile picture when you get the chance…it really helps the Team to "get to know you" a lot better.
You can do that by following this animated GIF (below)…good luck!