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Julie Pfeifle - 2017 Season EN Elite
Age Group, Height and Weight.
55-59 / 5'6" / 130
140.6 Best Time in Last Five Years
11:35 Arizona 2012... and then there was 12:56 Cozumel 2015
70.3 Best Time in Last Five Years
5:32 Redman 2012... and then there was 5:59 MiamiMan 2016
Oly Best Time in Last Five Years
2:51 California Intl Tri 2012... and weirdly, I can't find any more recent results... has it really been that long since my last Oly???
26.2 Best Time in Last Five Years
3:48 Surf City 2014... more recent 3:57 Boston 2015
13.1 Best Time in Last Five Years
1:50 IronGirl 1/2 Santa Rosa 2013... and then there was 2:00 Oakland 2017
Your Strongest Discipline *
Run
Your Weakest Discipline *
Swim
Your Weakest Discipline: Tell Us More... *
It's pretty simple... I just don't do it enough! Not sure why, coz when I do, I like it! Went to Masters 1st time this year 2 weeks ago, and coach said "your stroke looks good; just need the fitness".
Your Injury / Difficulty History *
I've been relatively injury free for literally 30+ years (been at this forever!) What has stopped me in my tracks 2x in last years is lower back issues, which seem to be under control now with "some" core work (definitely need to do more!) and paying close attention to how I move my back.
Another niggle that pops up now and then for years is a sore left ankle (ever since I broke the cuboid ~25 years ago). It rarely stops me in my tracks and never hurts while running or cycling; moreso after long workouts and again, only now and then.
Something I am noticing that I want to check with a podiatrist is bunions/sore big toe joint (somex) and the big toe starting to invade next little toe's privacy and causing blistering/bumpy stuff. Pretty sure I need one of those things that spaces your toes at night.
That's injuries... what I think has held me back physiologically is my lack of strength. I'm not strong going against gravity, ie, up. This year, I am doing more (but not enough) strength work - squats, pull-ups, bench presses, and core.
Top Three Lessons Learned in your triathlon career. *
hmmm...
1 - power meter was a game changer; flattening the course is da bomb! same for Stryd???
2 - Get your butt out of bed early and train before work/family/friend shit hits the fan. I know this lesson but have gotten into some bad habits now that I work from home more - ie, drink coffee w/ hubby and get sucked into internet, then realize it's time to get to work, and keep putting off training - lunchtime? nahhh, gotta finish this Tableau dashboard; after work? nahhh, hubby is home and now I want to sip wine and hang with him.
3 - Recovery is key; don't follow a plan into a brick wall. If you're up til midnight on a work project, you're better off not getting up for 5am masters. You will still race fine!
Your Top Three Races / Events this Season (with dates):
Donner Lake 1/2 IM - 7/23 (B/C race)
ITU Long Course Worlds Penticton - 8/27 (B race)
IM Arizona - 11/19
may jump into some Olys, including 6/11, to dust off the race cobwebs
also considering Santa Cruz 70.3 9/10 (altho maybe bad idea 2 weeks post-Penticton)
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Comments
@Julie Pfeifle - thanks for the call last week and for the kind note today. I really appreciate it. Things will be hard, but it will get done, I swear!!! But enough about me, back to you! I am excited to help you navigate your year...let's get to it!
My Big Take Aways
- We need to build in some form of strength year-round. Doing the strength work across a season (in season vs outseason) will make a huge difference. I recommend Mondays are your "recoup and strengthen" days...this way we are locked in and can get it all done. I think the OS program we have online here is perfect..since it's 14 weeks long you can do it for 3.5 months...take a two week break and then repeat.
Macro TrainingYour plan layout will be as follows:
- EN*Half through Donner Lake
- AquaBike Plan (modified) for ITU
- IM Arizona
Coach Changes- Set up the run frequency in the build this year...especially given your foot limiters, I want to make sure we can keep you healthy. Ideally you can spread the run over 5 sessions a week, and that includes a split long run on Thursdays. So something like this:
Mon - No running...Tue - Quality Run Day
Wed - No running...
Thu - Split Run 1, Split Run 2
Fri - No running...
Sat - Brick Run
Sun - Brick Run
Notes for June / July Training
I really want you to get back into the pool ASAP. It's great cross training for you and clearly you aren't in there enough. Can we set a goal for 2x a week through the end of July?
We need one long ride weekend in July...two longer sessions of 3 to 4 hours, ideally back to back days. Can you find a block in there to make that happen?
Future Questions
- What did the podiatrist say?
- Please find your the race files from AZ so I can give you some race execution tips as well as some input on overall racing.
- Kona Qual goals - please head over to http://theobsessedtriathlete.com and search for Arizona and your Age Group...what are those top splits for your Age Group and how do they compare to your past performances?
I'll be checking back in on this in the second week of July, for now, please hit me with training questions in your Official Coach Thread!~ Coach P
Podiatrist / Niggles:
Good news is all the niggles seem well under control - no weird ankle flare-ups nor bunion niggles in last couple weeks. As a matter of fact, it was strange seeing the podiatrist 6/27 since literally nothing was hurting! I swear the more I move and train, the less the niggles niggle! However... 2 weeks prior to 6/27, the ankle and bunions were problematic, hence the appointment, so I kept it!
Bottom line, after poking the ankle and eliciting some yelps, pushing pretty deep on the outside front of the ankle, he said he thinks it's a tarsal coalition - basically two of those little tarsals in the foot that are connected (either by bone or fiber) whereas they shouldn't be. Nothing to do about it now, especially since it's not bothering me, but I could do a cortisone shot if it gets worse to get through my races - granted, a temporary solution. Surgery is an option too, but way in the future IF it gets much worse. fyi... when I was in his office ~5 years ago for similar ankle issue, he thought it was peroneal tendinitis, and a tweak to my orthotic helped (lift on outside near ankle). I'd love to stay orthotic-free though (which has been successful for a few years now).
Bunions - nothing much to do there either unless it gets much worse (surgery). Orthotics could help too, but my Hokas he thought do a good job of what an orthotic would do, in terms of keeping foot tracking straight. So, again, if it gets worse, try orthotics, which *might* improve symptoms. Meanwhile, he sent me home with some spacers; I tried the silicone one and really liked it (when it stayed between my toes); it definitely helped with the issues caused by big toe jamming into its little brother.
Anyhow... I'm not worrying about it for now, since I just finished my biggest training week in a long time, and all is GREAT!!
TP.com:
Yes, I did load D3's ITU Long Course plan into TP... I was just curious to see how that was structured, especially since the race is like a 3/4 IM, and I'm in the 1/2 plan currently, but... I'm totally following the EN plan. Is it an issue that I have that in there? I have no issue removing it.
More to come soon...
Please note that for this coming call - 7/18 - if we don't have enough time to cover this, that's fine, as I need to get through ITU Long Course first in August, and I really have no clue right now how I should be training between now and then (of course, post-Donner Lake 1/2 IM this coming weekend). At one point (above) you said modified Aquabike? Looking forward to talking about that some more on this call. Also, no prob at all if you think I should clear out the D3 plan stuff; I can see how it would be confusing since my workouts are auto-uploading into those workouts, but I'm actually doing the EN stuff! As I said above, I uploaded them just to get his point of view on what we should be doing to prepare for Penticton.
ok - back to my prior IM races, which are all loaded in tp.com, but I'll attach the bike and run files here.
Cozumel (to give you a more recent IM) - 11/29/15 - 1:18 sw / 6:47 b / 4:34 r = 12:56
Note the wind shelled me on the bike; but I felt awesome on the run and thought I was executing well through... mile 18, then... the wheels kinda fell off. I actually found my way to medical post-finish, sat down, puked, then felt much better... well, as good as you can post-race. Never did figure out why the puking!
Bike file - hmmm... downloaded it to my mac from tp.com (a .fit.gz file), but actually not sure how to attach it here. Can you just read it from tp.com??
Arizona - 11/18/12 - 1:21 / 5:44 / 4:20 - 11:35:19 (AG6)... ahhh, those were the cycling days!! and I swear, I think I could squeeze another 10 minutes or so out of that run, if I could only hold myself back off the run!!!!!
Interestingly, my first AZ (11/22/09) - 1:23 / 5:59 / 4:21 - 11:53 - was an AG3 and just missed a KQ.
well CRAP!!! For some reason, my November 2012 training / racing sessions are kaput, and I can't find them in Garmin. bummer!!! Will keep looking...
You were super speedy!!! And I bet you aren't THAT far off of those numbers now (at least on the bike). Just wanted to have those in this thread in case we wanted to dig deeper at some point.
Solve the IMAZ puzzle…long term focus for Kona - I am not against this, but I don't want to count out the fact you might race part (or all) of the event. We will learn more after Penticton, of course. The two areas I see to solve are nutrition execution (how can we stop fluids from accumulating in your gut) and proper pacing. You can't be drag racing and expect your tummy (or legs!) to cooperate later in the day.
We can start to focus on this for Penticton with some good Race Pace / Simulation workouts. Smarter now...faster on race day!
Big Bike Weekend - I am not scared, but I am concerned that we don't have more bike miles in you. I would like you so pick either the July 29/30 or the Aug 5/6 big bike weekend and put up 200 miles that week. Not hard, just steady....let's jump start that fitness!
Run Target - Time to start getting this mileage locked in around 22 miles per week. Once we are through ITU and recovered, that will bump up to closer to 27 miles per week, but first, let's make 22 miles really manageable.
How to modify the Aqua Bike Plan - We want to get the run dialed in (but really we want a bike focus). So it's a balance...here's what I recommend:
The interval run is 2 x 1 mile (4') rest and remainder of 1 hour at TRP pace.
Ps, please help me find you on Strava. I spent 15 minutes and can't! I think you have a secret identity maybe...
Macro Goal: Wants to be better prepared for IMAZ.
Baby Steps for Daily Living:
- In bed early.
- Get a workout done before workday starts.
- Remember -- value of "early" workouts during the week (M/T/W)
Future Focus:
- Nutrition Changes:
- Eat 3 hours before the race (not any closer).
- Caffeine on back half of the ride and into the run. Practice this in your long rides.
- Dedicated Run Pacing into IMAZ.Other Stuff:
Sooo... we need to switch gears here... I am 95% sure I'm going to sign up for IM TX, so would like to work with you on a longer term plan to prepare for that. My next official call with you is next Thu, but I think that's when I'm flying to CO so may have to re-schedule. More to come soon... and congrats on a great IM WC race!!!
So good to talk with you about what's going on, and I think you have totally made the right call. The pivot to IMTX isn't bad a all, but the re-entry / normalization of your routine will take some time. This is why I recommended the Run ReEntry protocol, usually reserved for injured folks, to get you back on track.
http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/Wiki/tabid/91/Default.aspx?topic=Run+Re-Entry+Protocol
Remember, it's ODD DAYS run/walk, EVENT DAYS walk.
Then after two weeks you can continue the progression and move to adding in two bikes a week...nothing flashy, just get on Zwift and make your self at home for 45' to 60' max.
~ Coach P