To IM or not ?

cgres123

I have had very good results with EN with my short amount of time here. The VDot training I learned was and is awesome, PR in my last 4 races, nuff said, and 5 Vdot points ending my out season. I'm a happy guy cause I never thought I could achieve results like this at age 54.

 

Looking forward I emailed Rich and we laid out a plan for my season. It included Iron Distance Beach to Battleship. I'm a family guy and will spend my Sundays church-in , eat-in and spending time with my family.

 

So Team....  I want to do the best I can with the time available to me. Coach Rich sez...

 

Mon - swim / bike

Tue - Long Run

Wed - ABP Bike / brick

Thur - Int run

Fri - Swim

Sat - long bike / brick

Sunday off

 

3 bikes , 4 runs , 2 swims,

 

Thinking on skipping the brick on Wednesday and adding a swim. Also, I can only train up to 2 hrs per day and that is back to back no AM / PM workouts because I work second shift. For a upcoming long run I can push for a 2 . 5 hour run , Saturdays are sky's the limit....

 

So Team RnP are crazy smart and suggest the WSmembers / team can help me. I got IMFL under the belt and want to move forward and will either be sporting EN colors or going dark.

 

Any input ?

Coach Patrick

I am in the wings waiting to hear what others say...I think that based on your improvements, a good IM race is in the cards (for you) if you can be consistent in whatever schedule you choose/decide upon.

Al Truscott

That looks like a great schedule to me, with these thoughts:

1. I've found the order of importance of the workouts are: long bike/brick, long run, (tie between) interval run & interval bike/brick, swim

2. For me, I often bag the "ABP bike" and replace it with one hour of good work on the trainer - and FTP or VO2 max session, followed by a shorter brick (20-30 min @ HMP/MP), at my age and experience in biking, I need more emphasis on "speed" than "endurance".

3. Is there any way to work in a "three day weekend" - Thurs-Sat - about 4 weeks out to emphasize biking: 6/3/5 hours over three days?

4. Can you extend the swims to 90 minutes each, so you don't need to add a third session. Front and back end time for the swim is often excessive ("admin time" in the EN vernacular), and for me can just about double the time investment of one swim session.

GMAN 19030

I personally wouldn't sacrifice a bike and/or run workout for a swim workout. Two swims is plenty considering B2B is a wetsuit swim and super fast because of that current. Everyone looks like a swimming superstar at B2B.

Bill McKinney

I did IMLou in 2008 on 2 swims per week (i'm a BOP swimmer) and about 50% of the Sunday rides. I think what you do depends on what you're trying to get out of the race: finish with a smile or get on the podium? Are you a good swimmer? If so, I would definitely do only 2 swims per week (heck, I'd do one). I don't understand why you switched the Tuesday and Thursday runs? Is that because you're taking Sundays off? Just checking.

gopetego

@ Bob - except last year - w/the 2010 B2B 2 weeks later than the 2011 race on the calendar, we did NOT have current w/us - but against us for at least the 1st half of the swim and then maybe neutral current thereafter - so we all have very slow swims which was disheartening after all the pre-race prep about an easy fast swim.... Don't think it 'll be an issue this year though....

cgres123

@ Coach P, Thanks for the vote of confidence and I'll be picking your brain for sure.

@ Al, Once again great advice ! I will adopt the trainer advice vs. the ABP bike. The emphasis on speed in my world and time allotted I have per day is the better bang for my buck.
Question for you is why a 3 day weekend 4 weeks out from race week ? What will that do ? Sure I could book off the job but 4 weeks out... I don't understand that, is that something EN does in it's plan ? The swim advice is also welcome , In the pool yesterday thinking about all the " admin " time associated with it , why I'm there an extra 1/2 hour is worth it.. Thx... D

@ Bob, looks like Pete has different thoughts about the swim so I'm applying Al's suggestion listed above , appreciate your input... Thx

@Bill, What is a BOP swimmer ? Maybe I'll throw in an Epic swim week in somewhere I'm on the fence on this one ... another forum post ? My IMFL swim was 1h 23 min , that good ? My goal is I want to be first place finish with a smile too.. I didn't switch the runs coach R laid out the week for me soooo , I don't know.

@ Pete, Thanks because I may have banked on an EZ..er swim , such a thing ?, and don't want any surprises.

@ Seal Team 6 Hoo Ra !

jburbatt

I'm not sure an epic swim week would benefit you the way a big bike weekend (like Al suggested) would. You should probably consider what your goals are specifically in the swim and determine how many swims a week you need to do to accomplish that. Are you trying to improve significantly on your IMFL time? Or can you get those few extra minutes by picking them up easily elsewhere on the bike, run, or transition that won't cost an extra 2 hrs. a week. If anything, I do what Al does and extend my swim day longer to cut down on admin time. It sounds like you are a decent enough swimmer, my advice would be to stick to the 2 swims and if anything extend them a bit.

And, I think what Pete was saying is that last year the swim was not with the current, but this year it sounds like they plan for it to be with the current (the website seems to confirm this too).

BOP = back of the pack (FOP = front, MOP = middle)

Check out the volume strategy series in the wiki for an explanation as to the benefits of a BBW (big bike week- or weekend in your case).

I think your plan is totally doable. I had to adjust my IMWI plan last year due to some conflicts and my schedule turned out pretty much like the one you laid out (less swimming too much admin). I think the beauty of the EN model is that unlike the "standard" IM plan (long and slow) the focus on hard work really allows you to play around with the schedule and still have a great performance on race day even with cutting workouts. Definitely go for it!

GMAN 19030

David, that was because of the later date of the event last year. Look at the results for swim times for the earlier years. The times are like 10-15 minutes faster in 2008 & 2009 than in 2010. The 2011 date is back to the earlier date. You'll have the current this year.

Al Truscott

@ David - Many of us have found that a concentrated set of long bike rides can have a springboard efect ratcheting up long course bike fitness in the 4-8 weeks before a race. It's not necessary, but it does aid in (a) confidence in handling the distance and (b) serving as a training counterpoint to the muscles and other phsyiologic systems which may be getting stale from a diet of harder, shorter efforts.

cgres123

@ Jennifer, Thx for your input too. The acronyms take a learn curve. Yes Al's advice is defiantly in and with EN mantra of " hard work " and not long and slow I'm sure I will have better results ! 2, 3, 5 min on the swim is way to hard to come by when I can pick up so much more time on the bike and a consistent run.

@ Al, got it and will incorporate same..

@Bob, one of my training partners just sent me a full moon report on B to B , ha , ha, Tri ...nerd , love it !

Bob Irwin

@David - I normally don't have Sundays available either, and have used a schedule pretty much like you've listed, except that I do my long run on thursday instead of Tuesday. I'm a BOP swimmer as well - I'll be surprised if I ever get under 1:20. I haven't gone much faster the years that I've squeezed in the third swim. The only time I find it useful is right after I start swimming for the year - getting my technique back seems to take me more than two days a week. I think if you want to get a lot faster, then you really need to swim more than 3 days a week anyway. What has really helped me is finding a way to get in one open water swim the last 6-7 weeks - don't know if that's possible for you.

cgres123

@ Bob, I'm a Retired Coast Guard guy and the life saving swimming we HAD to do was nothing like Tri stuff. Having said that , I'm comfortable in the water, open, closed, surf whatever it's all good. I'm not fast and I took lessons too. Total Immersion for one and from two other Tri coaches. I did hire a private coach for a few lessons that helped a lot but for the few minutes I Might be able to shave off my swim time , the bang for the buck is in my bike / run. And I'm learning about my power tap as well so that should make my execution though the IM run a little better..... I think ... ha , ha,...