Francisco Javier Rodriguez [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
- Ironman 70.3 Hawaii (2020-05-30) #70.3Hawaii_20
Your Notes
Nothing for over a year an a half at least. Completed a 1/2 Ironman in 2017 with your training program an a couple local races since. I took a year off from endurance training while supported my wife with training for her figure competitions. Still attending the gym, but weightlifting the majority of the time. So really, I think I’m starting from scratch
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 27, 2020
- On 1/27/2020 Load the OutSeason for Triathletes (Bike Focus) Plan, 14wks to end on 05/03/2020
- On 3/9/2020 Load the EN Half Bike Focused, 12wks to end on 05/31/2020
- On 6/1/2020 Load the Post Half Iron Transition Plan, All Levels (2wks) to end on 06/14/2020</p>
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
Hey Francisco,
Welcome back! Let's get to work transitioning your current strength and fitness into some endurance fitness for Hawaii 70.3. I alot of the notes below will look familiar to you. I included them as a quick reminder to get yourself all set up again.
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
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 Race 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, Boston Marathon PR 3:05, and several Boston veterans), 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, and paces etc. 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, 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 Down load the Final Surge App
Final Surge | Mobile Apps
https://www.finalsurge.com/apps
#3 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. Check out our ultra runner's race plans and race reports to learn more about training and racing at the ultra distance:
#4 Customize your workouts in Final Surge
If you have a recent 5k. Use your average heart rate to set your customized EN 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.
#5 Get Smarter with the OutSeason Plan and Checkout the Opportunities to Learn How to Race Smarter
Getting Stronger on the Bike - Understanding your Training Plan Structure
All of the Training Plans are explained here. The Half IM plan is about halfway down the page. 6' video and a few short paragraphs.
http://members.endurancenation.us/TrainingPlan/TrainingPlanCentralPage.aspx#half
Check out the Opportunities To Learn:
Use the Table of Contents links at the top of the page to jump to that parts that interest you.
The 4 keys to race execution video is a good place to start. Patrick talks about
#1 Racing is Execution NOT fitness
#2 The Line - is where you start racing. For the IM, that is mile 18 of the marathon. All your decisions set up your ability to race when you get to that line. There is no such thing as a good bike split followed by a poor run. The bike sets up the run.
# 3 The Box - All day long you are going to race inside a box defined by what you can control. Ask yourself "What do I need to do right NOW to create the conditions for success at The Line?
# 4 One Thing - Before the race, you need to be able to answer the question: "Why am I doing this race?" During the course of your race day, expect your body to have a very convincing conversation with your mind: "This is really starting to get old and very painful. You need to give me a good reason to keep going forward. If you can't give me a good one, I'm gonna slow down."
While these may seem simple, the process of pacing, adapting to conditions, and managing fueling/hydration is more detailed in the text and in the video.
http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/RacingMemberCentral/RaceExecutionDetails/MasterRaceExecutionPage(HalfFull).aspx
Detailed Race Preparation and Planning resources (Impact of Heat on Pace calculator, Pacing with Power on the Bike, etc.)
http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/Wiki/tabid/91/Default.aspx?topic=Race+Execution
Check out Coach Patrick's videos under Learning -> Coach Lessons - "How to race in the heat," "Checklists and Race Logistics Matter,"
Here is the one that explains workouts in your Half Plan:
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. Get smarter and start learning
Talk with you soon,
Matt, Training Plan Coordinator
i think i have everything going now. plan loaded to final sure (awesome addition from last time). i have my Zwift account going and i know where to find the files, but i am having an issues getting them to the Zwift file in my computer. i sent Zwift and email requesting my member id number, hopefully i can get that going. meanwhile, i will be recreating the workouts in the custom workout option.
i have two huge question i would like some guidance on.
@Francisco Javier Rodriguez
Nice job getting set up in Zwift and Final Surge. We really like the calendar integration and the sync options with Strava and Fina Surge.
Here are some details on downloading the Zwift workouts, but it sounds like you are on it.
Download the zip file and unzip them to a file folder on your computer. You will put them into a file with your "Zwift rider number" Mine is 126767. Yours will be something different. Unzip the folder there.
For example, my rider number is 126713
Documents -> Zwift -> workouts -> 126713
It look like this. You can see the the other workouts I built below the "Level 3" folder.
When I login to Zwift and go to training:
Then click on Level 1, Level 2, Level 3.
Here are the Zwift workouts:
Box
https://app.box.com/s/f3ajy5nmrvmg4ywjxjzmpngr2ozq363q
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On your questions:
Energy, food, and your first couple of workouts. We really want you to shoot for consistency and frequency - especially early on. If you have to dial back on the intensity and just do the time, that is okay. Use these first couple of weeks to get into a good rhythm of working out and fitting all these new workouts into your schedule. Drop some comments into Final Surge. Use those to set goals for next week. All the workouts progress over the season, with a few comments and reminders to yourself you can set mini-goals for each workout based on the last one.
I would like to hear some more, before we solve for low energy. Dialing in the timing of your food, sleep, and the stress of the rest of your day - all those impact your workout performance. You hinted that you might be able to improve your food in preparation for the workout. Think of your food in terms of nutrition (what food choices you make and when you make them everyday) and fueling (what you do during a workout). What are you doing now? How does your life schedule and workout schedule fit together? What have you done in the past that has worked?
Other events. You will have some really good fitness coming out off your half. You could fit those events in but we would like to hear more about: How fast do you recover after past races? When can you typically resume your normal workout routine after a race - 1 week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks? Have you run a 25k or 50k before? What are your goals for those races? What kind of experience are you looking for? You will have to execute either on the fitness you have after recovering from 70.3 HI, with such a short turn around between races there is not time for any 25k or 50k race specific work.
What do you think?
@Francisco Rodriguez Checking in with you! How are things going?
Things are going great. Energy levels are better and I’m trying no to workout to late at night, that’s a real killer the next day. I switch my weightlifting in the mornings to more of a stretching session (I’m not very flexible).
I got the workout files saved to my laptop and moved to my Zwift folder, but they don’t sync to my app in my iPhone, my workaround has been to recreate the workout and a “create your own”, that file syncs to my iPhone. I was thinking about running a PFT test one of the days I do t have a bike workout, to see if I have my settings where they should be. My running is coming along good, but my weak link is my bike.
Do you have any experience with swim in the ocean? River/lake with a wetsuit is not that big of a deal, but I don’t know what to expect about this one.
I decided to to the 25k in July instead of the 50k.
@Francisco Javier Rodriguez
I'm glad to hear the energy levels are better. Good to know that the late night workout has additional "cost." Yeah, weight lifting + OutSeason can be a bit much. Good call on stretching - that will also have a good payoff and is usually good insurance to keep you healthy.
Good job with the workout files. Someone else had a the same problem with their iPad. I guess you need to download those workouts to the device you actually Zwift on. And its nice to hear your run is coming along.
I swim in the ocean during the summer. I find the visibility is the same as river/lake. But, the visibility in Hawaii is amazing. Its like swimming in the pool. The salty water is much more buoyant too, which is nice. The water moves more, but that is not too different than a current or a windy/choppy lake swim. The biggest difference for me is the entry, and duck diving under any surf. What are you most concerned about for the ocean?
@Francisco Javier Rodriguez
I saw you had a pretty good workout streak going before the middle of last week? Everything ok? How can we help?
@Francisco Javier Rodriguez How did it go last week?
Matt, is the plan still to restart the 1/2 IM program this week for August? I started to pick up my activity lastcouple of weeks. And I’m ready to go. Let me know what the plan is.
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Franciso! @Francisco Rodriguez @Francisco Javier Rodriguez
Its great to hear from you. Yes, it is definitely time to get started again. This upcoming week is a kinda a prep week. Consider it a transition from what you have been doing to the full training plan. The focus of this upcoming week is consistency. If you are not feeling up to the intervals and intensity - just get the time in at an easy and aerobic effort - bike or run.
Also, take a look at the workout pattern over the next few weeks and imagine how these workouts will fit into your schedule. We can make adjustments if we need to. Chat with me here or in your Coach Thread.
If you are limited in swimming - that is okay for now. Focus on doing some good plank work (especially the cross body plank - left arm and right foot on the ground, with the right arm and left foot elevated - then switch, pushups and pullups. You don't need to crush these. We just want to start off activating those muscles if you haven't done that kind of work in a while.
Talk to you soon,
Matt