Greg Larsen Official Coach Thread
Patrick - I'm hoping you can give me a little guidance as I head into my winter training. Saturday I completed my 3rd HIM of the year. While I had my best finishing time of the year, and my best run split, I have been frustrated by my run performance all season. In my first two races, my run splits were within minutes of my bike splits. This past weekend was much better (2:28), but that was several minutes slower than my run time in the same race last year. (My bike and swim splits improved throughout the year, so I feel pretty good about those.)
So heading into the outseason I know I need to work on run durability, I'm just not sure how best to go about it. Looking ahead, my first race in 2019 will be Ironman 70.3 Gulf Coast on May 11. After that, I probably won't do another long course race until October or November. This means I have a 6 month gap between races now and a similar 5-6 month gap in the summer (which is a harder time period for me to keep up with training due to the weather and travel).
So my real question is which plan should I roll into next? Am I better served by doing run durability through the winter and then the outseason plan over the summer? And assuming I keep up with my training through the winter, when should I transition to a race specific plan for the race in May? Would a stand along half marathon be beneficial (my local race is in early February)?
I should add that I also recently bought and started running with a Stryd power meter. I'm just collecting data now but am hoping to use it for race planning and pacing next year.
Alright. I'll leave it at that for now. Thanks in advance for your help.
Greg Larsen
Comments
@Coach Patrick
I didn't tag you when I send the message above so I'm not sure if you saw it. I'm planning to start my next training plan next week and am hoping you can direct regarding which plan I should go with.
Thanks.
Greg
@Greg Larsen - Sorry brother, I was racing in Cozumel and then obviously we have a holiday. I will take a look at your racing data tomorrow. In the meantime, you absolutely should load up the post half iron recovery plan and follow that for two weeks. After 3 half iron races this season, your body needs a break. Sometimes A lack of performance at the end of the season is due to fatigue as much as anything else. Once I do that I’ll give you some feedback on the rest of your season moving forward.
Here's your updated Season Plan, as promised. This is where you'll return to post all your "coach" questions as responses; I'll see them and reply. This first post is my best outline of how to proceed with your races, but you can ask any / all questions you want. So post away, know that I reply here usually Monday & Friday each week.
Power User Tip: Click the Star icon by the Title of this thread to subscribe, and you'll get email updates when I do reply.
Coach Notes
I Checked out your data -- From what I can see in Final Surge, your bike was really steady and a nice building HR. But the run was a different tale. You took off at 10:20 pace, and your HR went from an AVG of 134 right past the low- to mid-140s into the Low 150s...your HR was 10 beats too high to sustain (as you had training) and you cracked.
I can't see the other races, but I can tell you that a 20-beat swing from bike to run is pretty unsustainable. So we need to get you faster for a better HR. That's a function of:
Moving forward, I think that you can do the Run Durability Program 2 for a bit, then join us in the Holiday Challenge or do part of RDP 3 before 8 weeks of the OutSeason® and into the Half Plan.
For pacing the RDP runs, let's get you around 135-140 heart rate for steady state. Please let me know your height and weight in Lbs so we can see your body comp situation. We can do this!
Your Races
Season Update
These are your recommended training plans, including the date you should start each one (sometimes you won’t complete a full plan but transition to another one). You can change your plans on the Training Plan page by clicking the Move / Change button. Learn more about each plan on the Training Plan Central Page.
Let's get to work!
~ Coach P
Thanks Patrick. I think this looks good.
The weather for my last race was perfect for the run (high 40s, low 50s), so I don't think I can use that as excuse for the high HR that day. I never felt good on that run course for some reason. I was cold throughout the bike leg (high was 47 with decent winds) and I wonder if that just took a toll on my body. I agree that 135-140 is a good target for now. If I could keep it there on race day I'm confident I'd have a better result.
Body composition is certainly an issue. I'm 5'11" (at best) and currently weigh 200, which has been a steady for a while. In past seasons I've been able to get down closer to 190, but I turned 40 this year and suddenly that hasn't been as easy. My nutrition (day to day) is probably as good as it has ever been, so I'm hoping if I just keep at things through the winter I'll be able to get it down some. In my dream world I can get down to around 180.
I'll get going with RDP this week. I'm really optimistic that will make a big difference, just as long as I can stay disciplined and keep it up through the holidays (which here roll straight into Mardi Gras season).
One question on the RDP plan - is there any problem with doing a 2nd bike ride in lieu of the swim workout each week?
Thanks again.
Greg
I look forward to following your progress!!!
~ Coach P