I have questions - you have answers?
This trial period is a sweet idea. However – I really wish it was a little longer or came a little later in the year; I’m still busy trying to digest my performance at IMWI and decide where to go from there.
First off – I most likely won’t become a team member because I’m a cheap SOB. That said – I think the EN Team concept is great for a lot of folks – and the training plan feedback and interaction it provides is incredible. Plus - I’ve seen a lot of athletes have great success on the EN plans. Matt Ancona is a prime example – I remember watching him in his EN kit at High Cliff and thinking – holy crap I’m glad I only did a relay today (and he still rode faster than I did).
OK, I think that’s enough sucking up.
I raced IMWI 3 days ago and blew away my expectations – the day turned out perfectly and things went great. I was fortunate enough to pick up a slot for Kona – so that will be my A race for next year.
Looking at my splits at Madison, in relation to both my AG competition, and the overall amateur competition – the opportunity for improvement is evident – the bike. In 2008 I purchased an outseason plan, but for a multitude of reasons bailed at week 8. The reasons why are unimportant – I simply bailed. In 2009, my outseason consisted of having foot surgery and spending 4 months wishing I could train.
With regards to my run – some may look at a 3:09 IM run and think – that doesn’t need any work. That may be true, but if I turn that into a VDOT and look at the Daniel’s paces for that VDOT – I am frankly horrified. I cannot run that fast – work needs to be done to ensure this wasn’t a fluke.
My bike is just plain weak and stagnant, and it’s really the last piece of the puzzle I need to figure out to accomplish my current long term tri goal.
So – what was I talking about? Oh yeah – how I’m fully intending to complete the 16 week outseason plan I have (2009 advanced bike focus) this winter, and am strongly considering stacking the EN HIM + IM plans together to form the rest of my season; or at the least purchasing them and using what I observe to evolve my current “methodology”.
I also feel compelled to add – that I am drawn to the “canned” EN plans, because they are canned and thought out by someone other than me – in my mind that seems like a huge pile of ammunition for me when I turn into an emotional basket case 2 or 3 weeks out from my A race. Plus – even though I can fit them in, and I get results – I am growing weary of week after week of 20 to 23 hours of training – add in that my wife and I hope to expand our family soon™ - it would be nice to bring the time commitment down, but still be able to improve my performance.
Which leads me to questions:
Considering that Kona will be my A+ race for the year, and that I intend to do the Triple T with a teammate – shooting up one spot in the rankings over this year – which effectively makes it an A- race…
1> Is there any reason for me to purchase an updated Outseason plan over the one that I have?
2> When would you start the outseason plan?
3> If one were to stack a stock EN HIM plan with IM plan to peak for both triple T and Kona – when would you start what and what weeks would you do, etc?
4> Are there planned revisions to the currently available HIM/IM plans that would make it important to wait a few weeks before ponying up for them?
Last key bits of information: In a Percocet induced haze I did also “commit” to doing a 40 mile MTB race this coming weekend, a sprint tri on 9/25, and a marathon on 10/3 – although that could just turn into a long training run where I pace my spouse if I’m not feeling up to it. So my true break does not begin until around 10/4.
Hopefully – this isn’t too much to ask during the trial period…
Scott
First off – I most likely won’t become a team member because I’m a cheap SOB. That said – I think the EN Team concept is great for a lot of folks – and the training plan feedback and interaction it provides is incredible. Plus - I’ve seen a lot of athletes have great success on the EN plans. Matt Ancona is a prime example – I remember watching him in his EN kit at High Cliff and thinking – holy crap I’m glad I only did a relay today (and he still rode faster than I did).
OK, I think that’s enough sucking up.
I raced IMWI 3 days ago and blew away my expectations – the day turned out perfectly and things went great. I was fortunate enough to pick up a slot for Kona – so that will be my A race for next year.
Looking at my splits at Madison, in relation to both my AG competition, and the overall amateur competition – the opportunity for improvement is evident – the bike. In 2008 I purchased an outseason plan, but for a multitude of reasons bailed at week 8. The reasons why are unimportant – I simply bailed. In 2009, my outseason consisted of having foot surgery and spending 4 months wishing I could train.
With regards to my run – some may look at a 3:09 IM run and think – that doesn’t need any work. That may be true, but if I turn that into a VDOT and look at the Daniel’s paces for that VDOT – I am frankly horrified. I cannot run that fast – work needs to be done to ensure this wasn’t a fluke.
My bike is just plain weak and stagnant, and it’s really the last piece of the puzzle I need to figure out to accomplish my current long term tri goal.
So – what was I talking about? Oh yeah – how I’m fully intending to complete the 16 week outseason plan I have (2009 advanced bike focus) this winter, and am strongly considering stacking the EN HIM + IM plans together to form the rest of my season; or at the least purchasing them and using what I observe to evolve my current “methodology”.
I also feel compelled to add – that I am drawn to the “canned” EN plans, because they are canned and thought out by someone other than me – in my mind that seems like a huge pile of ammunition for me when I turn into an emotional basket case 2 or 3 weeks out from my A race. Plus – even though I can fit them in, and I get results – I am growing weary of week after week of 20 to 23 hours of training – add in that my wife and I hope to expand our family soon™ - it would be nice to bring the time commitment down, but still be able to improve my performance.
Which leads me to questions:
Considering that Kona will be my A+ race for the year, and that I intend to do the Triple T with a teammate – shooting up one spot in the rankings over this year – which effectively makes it an A- race…
1> Is there any reason for me to purchase an updated Outseason plan over the one that I have?
2> When would you start the outseason plan?
3> If one were to stack a stock EN HIM plan with IM plan to peak for both triple T and Kona – when would you start what and what weeks would you do, etc?
4> Are there planned revisions to the currently available HIM/IM plans that would make it important to wait a few weeks before ponying up for them?
Last key bits of information: In a Percocet induced haze I did also “commit” to doing a 40 mile MTB race this coming weekend, a sprint tri on 9/25, and a marathon on 10/3 – although that could just turn into a long training run where I pace my spouse if I’m not feeling up to it. So my true break does not begin until around 10/4.
Hopefully – this isn’t too much to ask during the trial period…
Scott
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Comments
1. the outseason plans are now 20 weeks, not 16 and these roll into the 12 week HIM plans with a few weeks of transition between the two plans. I think a lot of the changes in the plans were based on the feedback over the past few years. Not to try and sell the membership, but I think what you'd find is that while the coaches give us the plans, there is discussions about how to modify the workouts while still keeping with the intent of the workout (ex. vo2 max workouts--what's better--the 4 x 30"/30" or 2'/2'
2. is the triple T in May? if so, then october should be the start of the OS, but since you just finished IMWI I'd put it off until at least November.
3. What are the specific dates on those races again?
4. wait for Rich on this one
Given what you've planned for the next few weeks and the fact you just finished IMWI, I'd be worried that you are digging yourself a massive training hole to climb out of which could definitely impact your ability to get faster with the OS plan. Is one month of a break enough for you to recover physically and mentally?
Looks like the wiki - is a no go under the trial membership.
Race dates are 5/20/2011 - 5/22/2011, and 10/8/2011.
Do the changes to the OS plan make the plan more effective, more tolerable, more valuable, something - that would make the purchase of it worth it over a plan already in hand - that I need redemption against? Don't forget - I'm cheap
I'm not overly worried about the recover from my stint of stupidity - my wife and I have made a pact that October is get fat month - unless I break that pact a month *should* be plenty of time to recover. But than I'm not sure that I'd be "ready" to start the OS plan 11/1 (or whatever the first monday is) - I would probably feel more confident/comfortable with 3 or 4 weeks of transitional training to re-establish a routine - which puts me effectively @ 12/1.
Scott, you not only "raced" IMWI....you rocked the course and looked like a rockstar doing it!
Congrats on the KONA Spot.
Any thoughts on some of my questions on stacking plans for my target races and/or if the updated OS plan is worth the outlay over the one I currently own?
My notes:
Yes, you have work to do and time to be gained on the bike.
See my notes in the "Volume Elephant Revisit" thread, recently posted in the General Discussion forum. In short, throwing volume at the problem is unsustainable in the long term. What we have found to work, across three years, and hundreds of athletes, including Matt who you know, is that a period of high intensity, low volume training, applied for a 4-5mo each year and your default training method in other parts of the year is more sustainable in the long term. Matt has achieved similar results to yours with, I would argue, a consistently much smaller time investment. In my opinion, the time difference between your method and Matts/EN method is a lifestyle choice. I get that you dig you to ride your bike, train long hours, etc. However, it sounds like you are realizing that is not sustainable given changes in your life.
Stacking Plans
Look for a post I wrote in the blog 3-4 weeks ago about this. That would be a good start.
New Plans vs Old
We make annual revisions to all of our plans based on input from the Team, their results, our coaching observations of their performances, and just stuff that we learn. If you spend more than about 3mo in here you'll see that we, as coaches and a team, are always in a state of continuous evolution and improvement. Since you purchased those plans, yes, we've made many, many changes, refinements, etc. Too many to list. Up to you decide if they are worth an additional purchase.
The remainder of your points - I agree 100%, and you're right I need to chew on it.
Thanks - will hit up with more questions if I have them after reading.
You can then take another few weeks off doing some cool sh** with your fitness for kicks and jump back into the OS for a June and early July, jumping into the 12 week IM plan in mid july.
You already know this, but the way to get faster on the bike is to ride harder. Find other comparible or faster riders and go out and cursh yourself. When spring roles around I'll start to make some trips up to Madison to ride and you are welcome to join me.
TTT is an interesting beast and I have never done it. I would pesonally treat it like a HIM becuase of the time of year and becuase Kona is your A race.
Therefore I would follow Keith's advise, however seeing as TTT is a full weekend and therefore longer then a HIM, I would consider doing the full 12-week HIM plan prior to it. Or as Keith suggestion beging to add one longer ride and one longer run in towards the end of the OS.
Personally, I start going longer based on the weather. I'm pretty much inside on the trainer Nov-Feb no matter what. Once March hits, if the weather is decent I ride/run longer outside, otherwise I stick with OS and stay inside. April is when I consistantly begin to go longer and do all my workouts outside.
I see:
OS = 11/1 to
Trans = 2/21/11 to
HIM = 2/28/11 up to triple T
IM = 7/18 to Kona
What would you do between the Triple T and say Racine 70.3 (7/17/2011) - my gut says do a transition week - followed by 6 weeks of OS + 1 transition/taper week for racine - or perhaps a repeat of the last 7 weeks of the IM plan?
Looks good, I would re-evaluate in May and then decide what to do during those 7 weeks. No need to decide right now so I would leave it flexible.
If you want a higher FTP and/or VDOT, go back to OS. If you want to build the "far on top of fast" repeat the last 6 weeks of HIM, in other words if you FTP is good but you can't hole 85% or higher for long rides. Or do the basic month with a focus on either the bike or run, which ever you feel you need to work on more at that time. By then you will have also done an OS and a HIM plan and therefore have more insight into what works better for you.