I read Coach P's article "Training Lessons Learned from a 9:27 Age Grouper Ironman Performance" and really liked it. One thing that really resonated well with me was the point about carrying peak FTP and speed into a compressed race prep cycle where it doesn't have time to fade during a big build for "endurance". This year for 70.3 Kansas that was exactly how my schedule happened to play out. I did the JOS up to about week 14, then a couple of weeks of OS but extending the Saturday bike to 2+ hours and adding 2x/week swimming, then just 7 weeks of the actual HIM plan. My build for 70.3 Racine last year was similar except I did the whole OS (last 3 weeks modified as I did this year) and 8 weeks of the in-season plan. This year I knew I had great speed and power but was pretty concerned about my endurance for a 5-hour event. Luckily it turned out fine and I was able to negative split the run and finish strong.
My next "A" race will be 70.3 Vegas on Sep 9, although I plan to do 70.3 Racine on July 15. I wonder how best to train for the rest of the season. There are a couple of options:
1. Do some of the OS or a "get faster" plan (I haven't loaded one of these up so I don't know what they look like) for some number of weeks, then drop into the HIM plan.
2. Re-start the HIM plan with Sep 9 as the goal race and do a traditional 12-week buildup
Last year after Racine I re-loaded the HIM plan for an 8-week runup to Vegas and it didn't work well at all. My fitness just kept deteriorating and although I didn't test, I'm convinced my FTP was ~10 watts lower by the beginning of September. HOWEVER, I'm not sure I can blame that on the training approach…I also raced Steelhead in mid-August (putting an "accommodation hole" into my schedule) and did the Chicago tri at the end of August. And I was mentally drained and ready to be done with the whole season.
My experience last year and in Kansas, combined with Coach P's article, suggests that some variant of option #1 ought to be workable. On the other hand, I'm not sure I could do that and pull off Racine.
Input and ideas are much appreciated!
