Quick comment on master season flow

MattAaronson

I started typing this on the dashboard in response to Coach P's master season flow chart (http://bit.ly/R1JUh0) but figured it's worth a post.

Regarding the chart itself, I think it is great to lay it all out that way. It really brings home how the the different phases in the EN traning scheme work together. I also really like the 14-week OS concept, although I know you plan to mix the VO2 and FTP work and I wonder how that will all work out...kicking off the OS with a crapton of FTP work for the first 8 weeks has always seemed to yield massive gains for many of our team.

The chart seems to imply that you recommend 20 weeks of in-season race prep. From a half-iron perspective it seems a bit of a departure from the prior theory that you could drop into the last 8 weeks of an in-season plan coming out of the OS and have a great race. I'm totally biased because that's what I've done...in 2010 I did the 20 week OS then went into the last 7 weeks of a half-iron plan (as a newbie to that distance), and this year with more experience I cut over from week 16 of the OS to the last 7 weeks of the half-iron plan.

I guess I have a few points here:

(a) for HIM at least, the speed built up in the OS is really great and useful, and I don't think you need 20 weeks to build up the endurance

(b) You need to be clear the flow is not linear and prescriptive (or at least I don't think it should be). The reality is that how phases these can work together flexibly - sometimes "glued" with a GF plan here-and-there - is part of what makes the EN approach what it is.

Maybe for full iron-distance you need to do the full 20 weeks, but for half I really do think it is overkill and frankly some of the FTP gains of the OS will be gone by the time you get to race day...replaced by endurance of course, but probably in excess of what is needed.

cgres123

@ Matt, what you wrote is true however most folks , as I see it, don't swim in the OS and the 20 week plan gets them to get there feet wet pun intended.
Another approach is OS with swimming then the last 12 weeks of a 20 week plan , which allows time to increase volume all around and some much needed muscle adaptation without the extra 2 months of focus time.
IMO a different flavor all doable but the most important thing are the newbie's in the house. They haven't had the experience of the Forums, Dashboard or Plans so it is great guidance for them to have a developed schedule to follow.

Lastly, folks like you and me are dated around here , we have stayed tasted the Kool-Aid hung around, hanging around does come with a cost and as I see it a lot of folks come in get what they need and get out and move on.

Robin Rodriguez

@Matt I'm about on the same page as you and looking to make the same plan edits. I was going to do Muncie as my "A" race, but now scheduled makes Racine look like a better option. I agree that I won't want to give up the speed gains from the OS, after going though OS last last winter I was lean/mean and very fast.

Coach Patrick

This is great feedback; know I am hamstrung on some level by the fact that I am making that chart for EVERY PERSON who ever touches EN. If I were making a "Season Plan", as we did earlier, on how to prep for a pre-July half coming off of the OS might only involve 8 weeks of time...but that's on a more granular level. So thanks for reading, and for the feedback, and hope this all makes sense!

Coach Rich

What P said -- understand that we're trying to give 90% guidance for hundreds of people. Everyone is different, has different schedules, and we're going to lay out of framework that works for 90% of our members. A few more notes:

• One of the big purposes of doing this exercise was to, hopefully, stop people from registering for or doing stuff that just doesn't make sense from a triathlon training, season planning perspective -- the winter / spring marathons, HIM's 3wks out from Ironmans, etc. So we wanted to create SP's that lay out our "best case scenarios" for you, as basically a demonstration of season planning, from our perspective, in order to hopefully teach you how to do a better job of it yourselves.
• As the Season Planning Guy back here, I don't place much value on any planning that's probably more than 4-5 months in the future. I mean, it's nice as an exercise and thought process to talk about how this flows into that, flows into this other thing, this is what I think about this race in relation to that race, etc. But it's too far out there to be useful or practical for what you should be thinking and doing right NOW.

The net is, if I were an EN athlete and nearing the end of my '12 season and thinking about next season, I would look at these SP's and ask myself:

• What is best timing of my A-race(s) for next year. Schedule / register for those.
• Where am I at right now with my fitness and my head? Am I good to go with an Oct 29 OS start, or Jan 7 OS start. This is more of a mental / headspace consideration. Read this wiki post.
• The OS is 14wks. Do I have the fitness and head to do a single sport block on the front of that OS or on the backend?

That's about it. Think:

• Single Sport --> OS --> Get Faster / SS block, or
• I needs a break --> OS --> SS / GF

Don't worry about how / where you dropping into your A-race plan fits in / happens within ^that^ above.

The big opportunity for EN athletes for 2013 will be that the shortened OS create an opportunity for you guys to integrate the singe sport plans, or Get Faster plan, or both on the front or back end of this shortened OS.

FInally, you can always circle back to me in the Macro Thread or in the Race Survey and I can plan this stuff out for you.