The "Let's Get You Thinking About the OutSeason" Thread
Hey Folks,
August has become the time of year where PnI step back, assess what's work, what hasn't, and how to do better. For us, our coaching/planning year kinda runs Oct 1 thru Sept 30 so you'll begin to see us focusing more and more on putting things in motion for the 2011 season.
A huge, huge part of what we, as Team, do around here is built in the OutSeason -- what you folks new to the Haus have thought of as the Off Season. A few notes for you:
- Our views on OutSeason training are radically different from you've likely read and done in the past. Rather than go into detail here, we STRONGLY recommend you take our Rethinking the OutSeason seminar. Ludicrous amounts of detail for you to absorb.
- This coming OS will be our 4th (!!) as a team. Wow, time flies!
- New peeps or peeps who've never done an EN-style OS: see the results, the "work WORKS" vibe, the team-ey ness stuff you've begun to experience as a member? About 80% of that is shaped in the OutSeason.
Quite simply, we can not overstate the power of having an 400 athletes training, thinking, learning, and focusing on the same stuff at the same time. Is a very, very powerful tool that truly makes Endurance Nation what it is: a community of wicked smart athletes, doing the work, getting faster, having fun, and supporting each other.
Right now, everyone is focused on their A-race and as a result, you're all doing the various flavors of HIM and IM training plans but because your races are spread all over the calendar, you're not all completely in sync with regards to what your workouts are, the issues you face each day, etc. Much of this goes away during the OS and we are able to get everyone on nearly the same page.
So, long story short, we are going to do what we did last year and do everything we can to get as many of you as possible starting the OS at the same time. Or, more specifically, on 1 of 3 big OS starting dates:
- October 4th: start your OS here if you are finished with your '10 A-races and your first '11 A-race is about May 15 or earlier. For example, athletes racing Cali70.3, Wildflower, IMSG, IMBrazil, OZ, NZ or other early season races.
- November 1st: same deal, but for A-races after about June 1, 2011
- January 3rd: for athletes with late season 2010 A-races: Kona, IMFL, AZ, Coz, etc. You'll need a break, it's the holidays, best that you just disappear and do your own thing, dropping back into the Team on January 3rd.
Questions:
Why no December OS start?
In our experience, the time between Thanksgiving and Jan 1 can be pretty much a wash. In other words, if you start your OS on December 1, December is just going to be messy, for a number of reasons, and 80% of you will likely want to just restart the OS in January. We've seen this a lot over the years.
How does the OS fit within the whole of my 2011 season?
Please read this wiki article, about transitioning from the OS to your A-race training plan.
Please see the Season Planning Tools for more guidance on how we plan a season using our training plans.
Other questions? Post to this thread
Homework for the vets:
Please give us your thoughts on "the power of doing the OS as part of a Team," ie, doing your best to start the OS training plan in one of these three main starting blocks. Please relate to the new peeps your experiences with the community learning, training, motivation, and accountability systems we create for ourselves in the OS. Thanks!
Comments
do team members get access to this seminar automatically or do we have to register for it?
Fergus
It's free but you have to register for it. It's delivered to you in installments, one lesson every 4-5 days.
FWIW, I was hoping/looking forward to Dec OS after IMFL... I back calculated my 2011 schedule (A++ race IMWI in Sept, A race, Eagleman HIM in mid June)... so Dec OS is my only real option to get in the full 20 weeks and a transition period.
Last year I had to start OS in mid Jan bc of surgery... so I only did about 14 weeks, no transition time, then 6 weeks of HIM prep (which, I might add, was more than enough to get me ready for the HIM - but there was no break). I certainly appreciate your experience with Dec OS folks and the inherent problems with training through the holidays - that makes a lot of sense... but for me it would be nice to have set workouts to get me back in the groove after a month off and to keep me honest, so to speak, during the holiday party season. More importantly it would be really nice to (1) complete OS and reap the benefits and (2) have the much needed and deserved transition time before having to jump straight into HIM prep for Eagleman because after EM I will be jumping right into IM training for IMWI. Just my two cents... I'll go with the flow and likely cut OS a hair short and then only do 4 or 5 weeks of HIM prep (but still no room for transition)...
I should also note, for the newbies, that OS groups are GREAT! I was new to da haus in December and having a group of folks doing the same stuff everyday helped me so much (although I was benind... they knew what I was going through and were very supportive and helpful)... not only for accountability but for the inevitable questions that I had... not to mention it was a great way to start meeting folks through the forums. So starting with a group is definitely the way to do it!
TAKE THE BREAK NOW BEFORE THE OS- YOU NEED IT!!!!!!!!!!!
Ditto to what Nemo said.
I will be starting in Jan OS and I am just starting to lay out plan for next year.
got it... thanks, Nemo! I'll be a Jan OS peep two years running! I know I can do it and be more than ready for EM.
Tried to register online for the seminar but being a pesky foreigner it would not let me continue as I dont live in one of the states. Wheres the love?
Fergus
Thanks for the advice, all!
@Fergus, use my address to sign up:
607 Parker Ave
Monrovia, CA 91016
@Mike, recommend you start the OS plan in October and use it for cross training. Please see the Season Planning Toolkit in the wiki for help with planning your season and post questions to the Macro thread not to this thread. Thanks!
Sorry, my bad. Please post to the Macro Thread so PnI only have one place to look for these kinds of questions. Thanks!
Totally understand - I can't imagine the number of questions you guys field in a single day alone! Keep up the great work...
Mike
OK, since I am a "vet" and Rich asked for us to pipe in, here is my .02:
For me, OS is "One and Done!" Most workouts are 1 hour long. I remember when I joined EN in October of 2008 and I looked at the OS Plan for the first time and I emailed my EN NorCal peeps and said, "Only one hour, are they serious? That's it?" All I have to say is that there were many, many ocassions where I almost never finished the full hour. EN OS if fooking HARD! But the results are beyond belief. Total paradigm shift in thinking about winter time training. work WORKS!
The OS Group mentality is what it is all about. HUGE MOJO! Your legs were buzzing the night before from major FT work, you couldn't sleep because of it and you get up ready to bail on the workout tha day. You log into your OS group and dozens of your counterparts felt the same way and they still did the work. So . . . . . when in Rome . . . you go nail those 4 x 1 mile run repeats and you are done and post how awesome your run was. It was only 5 miles total, but it was as much work as a 10 mile run your friends are doing. HUGE ROI!
Lastly, they added a swim option last year but most EN folks don't swim in the OS. The mass majority of us have found almost no issue with this and our swim fitness was back in no time when we exited OS and started swimming in spring. And to be honest, the bike and run sessions in OS are plenty already. I am usually spent from just those.
I am "in" for IM AZ in 2011 so I will be starting January OS. However, I want to improve my run so I will be playing a bit in the earlier OS Groups as I will be doing a lot of the run sessions.
Lookind forward to it.
John
I spend more and more time thinking about long(er) term development as a multisport athlete these days. Two of the main dimensions that keep popping up as the measures of 'development' are (1) am I getting faster, and (2) am I having fun. The EN OS and team coaching approach address both for me. On (1), I recognize that while most of the moving parts of basically going to be the same from season to season - work hard, run this interval, bike that % - there are enough small differences, day-to-day struggles, low points and high notes, and outstanding questions that change from year to year in the quest for progress. No single guide, book, plan or static resource is going to capture all of these. It really does take a village. Often, I learn as much from newbies as I do from WSM.
On (2), I think continuing to keep training in multisport, year after year, is going to yield a faster athlete, but if you're going to put in that time, it darn well better be fun or enjoyable. The team approach really does that. There's a good vibe here. There's a common culture. There's a lingo. People start to write like Rich or Pat. It's a positive space. There's more than enough real estate claimed on other boards or discussion groups where macho dudes yell "HTFU" at other macho dudes across dozens of different threads on fork aerodynamics, and even during the OS, this is a huge robbery of mental energy and a lot of static to distract an athlete from their goals. Long run: a productive, positive and supportive environment is where it's at.
@ Dave (and actually, all others on this forum), I was just thinking last night I am so glad to have access to a safe, civil, productive and focused environment for all things triathlon. I've spent enough time in places where people thought education proceeded best through invective and sarcasm. It may work, but this is a lot more fun.
Dave - really a good thoughtful summary of the long-term value of this team, not just for a season or two, but for a career.
Does this sound like the right OS given my timing?
SS
Shaughn, yes, sounds good. Today I'm going to post some threads to have people rally themselves around Oct, Nov, or Jan start dates.
November it is! Thanks! Can't wait to deal with the mental pain of the OS!!
Thanks Coach, look forward to the battle with such a strong team this year!
past experiences...GFT 2006 (13:30), IM Atlantis (Lake Placid) '08 (12:20), bricked across GA nonstop (24:20), several HIM's (trying to crack 5hrs this weekend at Augusta), several oly's.
I never feel like I can put the 'advanced' labels on anything I do....which OS is for me? Intermediate or the next level?
Thx,
Chris
And...I don't have a CLUE as to when to start that OS plan!
After Augusta this weekend, and the summer I had, I was looking to just chill and ride with the buddies for a couple of weeks. I never put alot of races on the calender. Was wondering about starting my OS plan in Oct, to kill a big spring century and oly tri. But, if I start in Oct, will I have recovered from this summer and this race? Cuz for right now, I'm feeling ok since I've tapered well. But 2 weeks ago...lemme tell ya, I was cooked.
words of wisdom?
Often, when I'm undecided, I'll tend to just jump into these kind of things just so I know what direction to head. You'll let me know if I'm all wrong. Can't break anything, right?
I just signed up for the Nov OS plan. I'll be over in that thread.....
I'm looking to start the OS in October in prep for Regensburg on Aug 7th. I will likely extend my OS by 4-6 weeks. I've been through 2 EN outseasons. I had great results in 2009 with major VDOT and FTP gains. Unfortunately I blew it in 2010 by not taking enough rest after IMAZ and ended up in a 7-month lay off to recover from a host of injuries, fatigue, etc. Ready to go again and really looking forward to starting over again from scratch.
I think doing the OS as part of a group is one of the best parts of the whole Team EN experience. Lets face it, going down to the pain cave and drilling yourself for an hour can be tough to stay motivated for say come Mid-January. Being able to joke about the experience and trade war stories amongst the EN Haus keeps me going though and changes the whole flavor of the experience.
Thanks
Steve