Trial Member: Advice needed

Mr. October

 Hi folks . . Rich gave me a nice intro over on the welcome thread and I appreciate. I signed up for a trial membership a couple days ago and have been furiously going through the large amounts of material on this site since then including my proposed training plan and lots of videos about the site & plans. 

My background is that I am a runner starting back a few years ago now. (Seems like I just started). I'm competitive in my age group at most events though we have a LOT of fast 40-something runners around here. I've done 3 marathons, a couple half-marathons and many shorter races. Truth is  . . I sort of really like running. 

I did my first triathlons this past summer. 2 sprints and 2/3rds of an International event. The swim portion of Atlantic City was shortened and then cancelled right before my wave went out. (50+ rescues on the first two waves). In preparation for those Tris . . I bought a bike last winter and began riding after Shamrock Marathon in March. It really was not until April that the weather got anything less then severe. But the distances and courses in the Tris were all pretty easy and flat. AC was windy as heck . . but flat. 

So . . on to the questions. For 2012 I have signed up for Shamrock Marathon again. It is in March and is a fast, flat course. My plan is to make one serious stab at getting into Boston. So not just qualify but be fast enough to get in. My time last year was 3:32:nn. I figure I need to drop that to about 3:20 or 3:21 to get in. BQ time for me is 3:25. I feel that I can do this. 

I also signed up for Eagleman HIM in June. Now, my plan was not to necessarily be vying for a spot in Vegas but rather just to accomplish the distance and learn. The idea would be (depending on how Shamrock goes) to focus on Tris in 2013 with an eye eventually at an IM. 

That said, do you think the 2012 goals are foolish? Should I drop one of the events? (At this point I would be more likely to drop Eagleman). I already know what coach Rich & Patrick think I should.  I think between March & June I can gain enough bike fitness to ride a flat 56 miles . . but I would certainly defer to more experienced Triathletes. Second part of the equation: For the 2012 season . . is it worth attempting to use Endurance Nation? I like a lot of what I see here . . but I'll be candid and say that I'm probably sticking with my more traditional Marathon training plan. I guess I can say right now I'm a runner who is doing some triathlons rather that a true triathlete training for some running events. 

I can CERTAINLY see the value of EN and the well-thought-out plans when I am ready to focus exclusively on Tris. Any help and advice appreciated. 

 

Matt Samojeden

Peter - again welcome to EN. A marathon followed by a half IM is a very doable season. I would keep riding the bike through the winter as you focus on Boston. At the very least get in a solid couple of hours of riding on a weekend day.

I would definitely use EN for your HIM plan! You also may want to check out Marathon Nation for your marathon plan. Best of luck in 2012.

Coach Patrick

You can do that...note you'll want to modify the OS plan using the Marathon Hack in the Wiki, just drop/swap the runs to make it happen!

kurshing

Just a thought - if you have trained the 'traditional way' to this point and haven't qualified for Boston, EN might be a huge benefit to you because it is different and I bet your body responds bery positively to the change in stimulus.

Post marathon, you should definitely follow EN for the HIM training.

Gordon Cherwoniak

Peter,

I'm a little late to this thread.  I agree with others that using the plan here along with the combined knowledge of the group will help integrating the biking to your marathon plans.  We also have a contingent of Boston runners that do the OS and run the race. 

Gordon

baprince

For what is it worth, I ran a May marathon last year, utilizing the OS Hack provided by Patrick, recovered for a couple weeks and then went right into HIM training plan (with an Oly in the middle). It worked out really well for me.

Had a 15min PR, even though I lost a little focus getting ready for my wedding (2 weeks after the marathon).

Paul Hough

If Shamrock/Boston is the real goal, and Eagleman is nothing more than an intro to long course triathlon, then I would not waste any time swimming and biking between now and Shamrock. Focus on Shamrock only and don't look beyond. If you make Boston, then regroup for that and maintain the single sport focus. Whenever your last marathon is over, start on the swimming immediately, then add in biking in week 2, and start back running the beginning of week 3. Your marathon base will hold you through and you need to focus on the other 2 in the short time you'll have to get ready for a HIM...especially if you qualify for Boston. FWIW, I ran Shamrock in 2:35 in the early 90s, about a month after running the George Washington marathon...still getting fitter as I approached the 2nd race. Run the Hampton 1/2M or Colonial 1/2M (whichever is earlier) as an intermediate marker. Good luck.