Roy Ezell 2020 Official Coach Thread

Coach Patrick · April 2, 2020 1:58PM

Here's your personal Coach Thread, 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 here to guide you through your first year on EN, so you can always come back here.

As you'll see in this forum, I handle all manner of edits and changes. So post away, know that I reply here usually M/W/F 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

https://endurancenation.wistia.com/medias/31bjzhwkqi

Your Races

07/12/2020 Local Olympic
08/23/2020 Local Olympic
Ironman 70.3 North Carolina (2020-10-17) #70.3NC_20 [Main Race]

Your Notes

Former EN member (~3 years). Completed 6 IM-distance races and 1 half between 2010 - 2015 (PB - IM Louisville 11:58). After 2015, focused on running for a bit and then training volume went down / away completely. Started law school in fall of 2019 and had to take a leave of absence in November. Started training "seriously" in January. Dropped ~20 lbs between then and now. Have been using 80/20 plan (Half 3) for ~ 2 months. Consistently hitting all workouts until pool closed. Current FTP via Zwift FTP test is 248 / 2.7 w/kg. VDOT ~ 44.5 via a late January 5k. I train with power on bike and pace on run. Have access to HR on both as well. Since withdrawing from school, I'm basically retired / stay-at-home dad. 47 y/o, 6'2, 200 lbs. Also focusing on cleaning up diet and getting no less than 8 full hours of sleep at night.See above. Currently ~2 months in 80/20 Half 3 plan and hitting all workouts / metrics except swimming (no pool access).

Season Outline

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 Final Surge by clicking on Training Plans / My Plans. Learn more about each plan on the Training Plan Central Page.

>> Last updated by Coach on April 1, 2020

On 4/6/2020 Load the OutSeason for Triathletes (Bike Focus) Plan, 14wks to end on 7/12/2020 97 [ 14 weeks ]
**Transition Early**
On 6/15/2020 Load the -- Bike Focus Block, 2019 (6wks) to end on 7/26/2020 41 [ 6 weeks ]
On 7/27/2020 Load the -- EN Half Bike Focused, 12wks to end on 10/18/2020 83 [ 12 weeks ]
On 10/19/2020 Load the -- Post Half Transition Plan, All Levels (2wks) to end on 11/1/2020 13 [ 2 weeks ]
On 11/2/2020 Load the -- Durability for Triathletes 1 -- 4 weeks to end on 11/29/2020 27 [ 4 weeks ]
On 11/30/2020 Load the -- Durability for Triathletes 2 -- 4 weeks to end on 12/27/2020 27 [ 4 weeks ]
On 12/28/2020 Load the -- Durability for Triathletes 3 -- 4 weeks to end on 1/24/2021 27 [ 4 weeks ]

Training Plan Support in Your First Month

You can connect with @matt limbert as needed in your first month to get dialed in with your training plans and data. You can set up a call with him online here: https://calendly.com/new-member-phone-call/1 and he'll be on this thread shortly!

Your Homework

Tell Me Your Season Goals

What will make you consider this season a success?
What's your biggest limiter right now?

** The Athlete Roadmap Videos & Start Learning **

Join Coach Patrick for a walkthrough of the Endurance Nation Athlete experience to learn more about how our system works to help you achieve your personal best. You'll want to watch the Phase One Structure videos -- there are four -- to get completely up to speed!

Every month we hold live events as part of our commitment to make you just as smart as you are fit. Feel free to visit our Coach Lesson page and our Office Hours page to find the next opportunity to connect with Coach Patrick and your Teammates.

Contact Points

As part of your journey to becoming a Self Coached Triathlete inside TeamEN, we are prepared to give you excellent support for your first 90 days. Our goal is to transition you from live, in-person support to using our digital resources and the Team to help you continue your progress as you execute your Three Year Plan.

These are all the key points in your first year where we must talk. Please remember to include your phone number.

Welcome Call in Week One (set it up here)
Training Plan Call in Week Two to talk about your season (set it up here)
End of Trial Call -- We review your experience & Unlock Year One / Race Execution for you (set it up here)
End of Season Call -- We review your year & Strategize for your End of Year Gap and Year Two (TBD in this Coach Thread)

Questions

Coach Questions - Right here in this thread. Always reply to this same thread, it keeps a record for us as we evolve together!
General Questions - Simple stuff can go to the General Discussion Forum for the Team to answer. For example, Best Bike? How to improve run cadence? How to flip turn?
Need Help? - Please check the EN Help Site first!
Admin Questions - Billing or orders or whatnot? Use the red chat button at the bottom of the Members Site (not forums) or email us here.
Specific Questions about a Race or Power, etc? - You can post those into the General Discussion Forum and set the title or tags for that topic. Race questions to the Racing Forum, etc. Not sure where to post? Put it in the General Discussion forum and we will sort it out. Whatever you do, PLEASE ask your questions!!

For short or last minute questions, we recommend you use the Red Chat Icon on the main Members website.

We have also organized a complete chart of the best ways to contact us online here.

Your First Month on the Team

You have quite a few things to do when you start up. There are instructions on the top of the website, but you can review them under Resources / Trial Member Welcome.

Your First Year Inside Endurance Nation

This will be unlocked after your trial expires.

Looking forward to working with you this year,

~ Coach P

matt limbert · April 2, 2020 3:04PM

@Roy Ezell Welcome back! I loaded your Season Roadmap training blocks into Final Surge. So, you are all set. Congratulations dropping the weight, cleaning up your diet, and getting back at it with the consistency. I'm looking forward to seeing some more progress with this structured training.

***Would you mind posting a note here or responding to this email? Let me know what you think? Post a 👍️ or 👊 or GTG or "Wow that's so awesome!" or "Woah that will take me a minute to work on." or "Too easy. What else you got?" or something equally witty - just to know you got this - logged on, subscribed via email the thread etc.

For any questions you have getting started - chat with me here in this forum or schedule a call with me here: https://calendly.com/new-member-phone-call/1

I typically roll out these steps in a series of posts. But, since you are veteran member - I know you can handle it. So here it goes:

Here are a few things to do:

#1 Get setup in Final Surge.

Sync your Garmin or Strava account with Final Surge. All your workouts will upload automatically.

#2 Down load the Final Surge App

Consider downloading the Final Surge App. This makes it way easier to add comments about how you felt, ate, weather etc (for the bike) and sets, paces etc (for the swim). Those are all super helpful to you as you track your progress, prepare and plan your for your race.

Final Surge | Mobile Apps

https://www.finalsurge.com/apps

We definitely want to see those hours, miles, and heart beats - but we also want to know how you felt, mood, how mentally easy or hard the workout was, what you ate and drank on those long rides (helps dial in your fueling and hydration for long races), what went good (as a reminder) and what you want to work on next time. This takes your Final Surge account from just workout data to a full on training log - where you see your progression and become a smarter athlete.

To make comments, select the activity and click on the "pencil" icon to tap "how I felt" or "perceived effort." You can add a few notes about what you ate/drank (helps to figure out what works best for you on the bike), how you felt mentally, the weather or any aches etc. Those comments are really handy when you are comparing workouts, tailoring your own training, evaluating progress and planning for your ride. It also makes it easy to look at and plan for your upcoming workouts. Just a quick not goes a long way.

#3 Customize your workouts in Final Surge

You will eventually do run and bike tests. You don't have to do them right away. But, in the next few weeks we'll schedule one when you feel ready. Then we will use your average heart rate during the test to set you customized workout zones. Once you customize them, the workouts will say 20' @ (135-145 heart rate) vs. 20' @ Zone 2.

Here is how you update your training plan with integrated and customized zones (there is a video here too):

https://www.endurancenation.us/help/final-surge-how-to-update-your-integrated-training-zones/

#4 Join our GroupMe chat and join the Team

Our forums and GroupME chat its a great place to learn, ask questions and connect for accountability with other Team members. Need to buy a new training gadget? What is the best xxxx? Want some advice about your race we? We have someone on the Team that as done it before and can help you race like a veteran. Ask in the group chat, start a forum post, or just search the library.

Your new Friends are waiting for you.

GroupMe is an app you can download to your smartphone, visit on the web, and even search if you want. The forums are our long-term memory, these chats are a running dialogue with the rest of the Team

GroupMe

· EN Live 24/7 [Join Here]

· Run Group [Join Here]

· Zwift Chat [Join Here]

· Events [Join Here]

· Race Groups [Join Here]

Forums

You are most likely familiar with the Forums.

SignIn

https://endurancenation.vanillacommunities.com/categories

#5 Explore ways to get smarter. Train and race like a veteran! Learn more and dial in your own training and race execution. Get training tips and execution advice from other TeamEN veterans

All of the Training Plans are explained here. Your OutSeason plan is about halfway down the page. 6' video and a few short paragraphs.

http://members.endurancenation.us/TrainingPlan/TrainingPlanCentralPage.aspx#half

Check out the Opportunities To Learn and improve your race execution:

http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/RacingMemberCentral/RaceExecutionDetails/MasterRaceExecutionPage(HalfFull).aspx

Talk with you soon,

Matt,

EN Training Plan Coordinator

Roy Ezell · April 2, 2020 3:50PM

@Coach Patrick @matt limbert Thanks to you both for setting me up. I'm going to process this all and hold all questions until after my call this afternoon with @Brenda Ross . However, no apparent / obvious issues at this point.

The only thing I could foresee some getting used to is actually using Final Surge as a training diary. I'm a long time (happy) Training Peaks Premium user and have everything set up there like I like it. I'm a 100% indoor bike rider and 100% outdoor runner so I'm going to have to figure out the different compatibility options discussed on the team connection page. More to follow as I explore the different options and see what I think will work best for me. I'm totally good with using that platform for my workout scheduling, its just the tracking / post-workout historical aspects I need to become comfortable with.

Again, thanks to you both and happy to be back inside the house. Its a scary world on the outside. 😉

matt limbert · April 2, 2020 4:05PM

@Roy Ezell Thanks for the reply. Training Peaks for analysis and Final Surge for scheduling is a great option. Many of our athletes do the same thing.

Pro Tip: Just connect your Strava or Garmin to Final Surge. Chose only one though, otherwise they will both post to Final Surge and you get twice the workouts posted 🤣. Gettting that setup is super helpfu to us, so we can see easily see your workouts post and look at the data if we need to. This will not impact your Training Peaks at all. Keep making your notes ad Training Diary stuff in there, no need to make double posts into Final Surge.

Thanks again for the reply. Talk to you soon.

matt limbert · April 5, 2020 2:35AM

@Roy Ezell Hey Roy,

You have a couple of options.

You can

-Sign-up for a free Strava account. Connect Strava to Final Surge and Zwift. Do it once and forget about it.

PRO: Simple, Free

CON: Another account

or

-Run your Garmin while you ride indoors on Zwift. Your Garmin bike computer will then generate a file pass it to Training Peaks and Final Surge.

PRO: Everything is goes through Garmin Connect

CON: You will get double ride files in Training Peaks because your Garmin computer will generate one Zwift will generate one- so you will need to delete one in Training Peaks

Your Garmin computer files will not have course maps or elevation.

**You will need to set your garmin to indoor mode (no GPS and not auto pause). Then remember to turn it back on or back to road mode to ride outside.

or

-Run your Garmin while you ride indoors on Zwift. Your Garmin computer will generate a file and pass to Final Surge

PRO: Everything goes through Garmin

CON: You will need to disconnect Zwift from Training Peaks. Your Garmin computer files will not have course maps or elevation.

**You will need to set your garmin to indoor mode (no GPS and not auto pause). Then remember to turn it back on or back to road mode to ride outside.

or

You can skip Final Surge data upload altogether.

PRO: You got Training Peaks. It works. You got all the data you need

CON: Coach Patrick and I cannot view any of your training data or see how you are progressing.

Let me know what you think!

I'm happy to talk more about it.

Matt

Roy Ezell · April 5, 2020 12:30PM

Thanks @matt limbert . I ended up just connecting Zwift to Strava to FS. I had a very unhealthy relationship with Strava years ago so now that the connectivity works, I'll just make myself forget that Strava exists again.

matt limbert · April 5, 2020 12:49PM

👍

matt limbert · April 5, 2020 2:19PM

@Roy Ezell Move along. Move along. There is nothing to see here. These are not the droids you are looking for. 😂 Set it and forget it sounds like a great option for you! Thanks for sharing your workout data with us. It really helps us to get the story from you on how you are feeling and also see the numbers to round out the complete picture of your training and racing. Chat with you soon.

Roy Ezell · April 6, 2020 7:49PM

Hey Coach, touching base now that I've had time to think about my homework assignment.

What will make you consider this season a success? The last time I turned my pedals in anger was IM Louisville, 2015. Prior to the world shutting down, I was looking to hit a couple of 70.3's and get back into the rhythm of racing. My first scheduled race (70.3 Gulf Coast) has already been postponed and I'm doubtful that 70.3 NC will be held (same with my local priority C-variety races). So if I can actually race this year, I would just like to get around the course (whatever course) in a respectable manner and get back to feeling like a triathlete. If I'm not able to race this year, I would like to maintain a structured training regime and put a season of fitness into my body prior to starting again next season.
What's your biggest limiter right now?

External limiter - Pool access. I was tooling my plan to include swimming 4 days a week. Obviously that's out the window now. Its outside of my control so I'm not going to give any negative energy to it.
Self-controlled limiter - Diet / body composition. From ~ early November to late February, I made some really good progress with my body composition. Based on stresses / life / lack of physical activity leading into school, I had put on some serious weight. Upon taking my leave of absence, I focused on diet and activity level. That resulted in about a 20 lb weight loss and a much better morning mirror impression. I still have 10-15 lbs I feel I can drop prior to getting where I really feel comfortable racing (~185 lb). Prior to COVID, the wife and I had transitioned to a pescatarian diet and were loving it, but that has become unsupportable due to my inability (for safety reasons) to visit our local grocery store daily to get fresh fish. We're still eating pretty clean, but with life as it is, comfort foods have snuck back into the fridge / pantry. Bottom line, I'd still like to see additional weight loss and I acknowledge this is something entirely within my control.
General thoughts: Overall, I'm happy with where I am r.e. run/bike/swim. I know the structured plans will move me forward in those areas. I've also "committed" to best practices as to the peripheral stuff: 8 hours sleep minimum, lots of high quality H2O during the day, reasonably healthy dietary choices, twice weekly conditioning work, etc. Much easier to do this stuff when you don't have employment concerns weighing you down.

Roy Ezell · April 16, 2020 4:18PM

@Coach Patrick

Question concerning the FTP bike rides early in the OS (the Build and Sweet Spot rides). The instructions are pretty vague and include a ~50 watt target range variation (for me a band from 200 to 250 watts). I am just doing these as straight FTP intervals (~0.95-1.00 FTP, ala the 2013-2015 OS plans) with a kick at the end for the Build rides. As long as I can hold the watts closer FTP for the duration of the assigned intervals, is there a reason I should include any z3 time at the beginning of these intervals?

I've tried looking at the recent OS bike threads and else where in the forums, but have not found anything addressing this point. If there is pre-written guidance somewhere, just throw the link at me and I'll dig in. Thanks.

matt limbert · April 16, 2020 11:33PM

@Roy Ezell The sweet spot intervals are intended to be at 90% of FTP. That is actually inbetween EN calculations for Z3 (80%-85%) and Z4 (95%-100%) which is why the range is so large. We actually wnat you in the middle of the range. 😂 With your FTP of 250 W, your sweet spot intervals will average 225 W for the full duration of the time as a steady effort. The adaptation we are going for is being able to work at a larger percentage of your FTP (~90%) for a longer and longer period of time. The goal is to slowly increase time at this intensity for sustained effort and make you more efficient at that sub-threshold work.

Roy Ezell · April 17, 2020 12:23PM

Thanks @matt limbert !

Brenda Ross · May 1, 2020 5:37PM

@Roy Ezell

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https://endurancenation.wistia.com/medias/bl9laz9l18

Welcome to your SECOND MONTH inside Endurance Nation!

Our goal is to check in with you, determine the best way to help you continue your journey, and share your progress with the Team!

First off, watch Coach Patrick’s Month Two video.

Step One: Quick Update

Please use this form to update us on how things are going: https://forms.gle/k9p2o3ZYyhGo9U2N6 We will follow up with guidance and advice here in this thread.

Step Two: Book Your Coach Check In Call

As part of TeamEN, you and Coach Patrick will talk one-on-one roughly 4x per year. Let’s connect soon and keep you rolling. Book your check in call with Coach Patrick online here: https://calendly.com/pmccrann/15min

Step Three: Pick Your Learning Focus

We have several courses and resources for you based on your interest. You can browse the Courses here or review the Coach Lesson archive here. Don’t forget to check in on the Official EN Athlete Roadmap to see how you are progressing.

Need help picking a focus area? Ask us right here in this forum thread (be sure to @CoachP!!), via the red chat icon on the Members Site or by going to Help / Email Support.

Step Four: Your Friends are Waiting

We have several GroupMe channels where we want to hear about your training or you can get a quick answer to your latest race or gear question. Get motivation and team awesomeness via EN Live on Facebook or if you’d rather chat, then find your home on the most relevant Team EN GroupMe chat channel.

Looking forward to your next step!

~ Brenda

Brenda Ross · May 27, 2020 3:12PM

@Roy Ezell

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https://endurancenation.wistia.com/medias/nfahr9cl1b

Welcome to your THIRD MONTH inside Endurance Nation!

Our goal this month is to help you be race ready for your next big event and make sure your connected with your teammates!

First OFF, be sure to check out Coach Patrick’s video online here.

Step One: Quick Update Form

Please use this form to update us on how things are going: https://forms.gle/2BAufR2WyTUjkHvE7 We will follow up with guidance and advice via email so you can stay on track.

Step Two: Research Your Race

Leverage your teammates to make sure your race is the best it can be.

First, head over to the EN Forums and use the search functionality to see if there are race reports or other information in our system.
Second, ask the Team what they know by creating a research thread in the Races & Places Forum or by posting to the GroupMe 24/7 channel.
When you are ready, go ahead and post your Race Plan to the Racing Forums as well

Step Three: Connect with Fellow Racers

Depending on the size of your race, you might have a GroupMe channel that you can find under the Community section here.
If there isn’t one, you can still head over to the Race Database and use the password WORKWORKS. From there you type the race name into the search box To get someone’s name. Return to the EN Forums and send them a private message!

** Additional Support **

In addition to The Forums and other Team-related support, you still have the chance to connect with Coach Patrick across your first year -- check the Athlete Roadmap. Right now it’s time for your three month call with Coach Patrick; and you can book it here.

If you are looking for support above and beyond the traditional Endurance Nation experience, you can book a consult with Coach Patrick. These are billed at $100/hour and Can be on almost any training or racing topic. Please click here to learn more / get started.

Congratulations on moving forward with you training as you build to your race goals. We can’t wait to see what you are capable of this season!

~ Team EN

Roy Ezell · May 28, 2020 3:08PM

Hey Coaching Team! Checking in with some changes. I'm currently working through the OS as originally assigned and need to touch base with some life / race changes.

As of now, the only 2020 race remaining on my calendar is a September 6th Olympic distance race. Everything else has been canceled / postponed or become overcome by events in my real life. Please let me know what adjustments to my short term plan you recommend to hit that race with the highest potential for success. I am still unable to swim due to current events and don't really see an end to that any time soon. My local swimming venues are still closed.

I will touch base after my race to detail my circumstances & priorities for the rest of the year. I will be starting law school in late August and my available training time will decrease dramatically (1 hour a day). While shortened, that one hour daily session will be important to me to maintain my physical and mental well-being. We can talk more about what that looks like and what I would like to achieve with that in the fall.

Thanks for your help!

matt limbert · May 30, 2020 3:00AM

@Roy Ezell What happened to NC 70.3 in Oct?

Thanks for the update and pivot to re-prioritizing your season! Dropping the 70.3 lowers your volume requirement, but increases your intensity. Those Olympic races are like NASCAR sprint track. Git out there and go max for long as you can! We switched up your training to shift to Olympic race specific training starting about mid-June. This should also fit well with your start of law school in August, the workouts will be manageable and just enough work to give you a break from school, without the requirement of the super long rides. Most workouts are about and hour and the long ride is 2 hours. We also programmed in a two week post race recovery / reset window. That will be a great time to talk schedule and goals, as you will have a good idea of how school fits into your new schedule. Take a look at the training plan and let us know what you think.