Musings on a training plan for Wisconsin

[kyle]

As this year's IM Wisconsin gets closer, so does the sign-up for next year. One of the goals I set while on the sidelines at IMLP was to have a training "system" put together before I even sign up for next year’s race. So as of today I have about five weeks to get this done. I hope to use this thread as a brain dump, and a place where I can organize my thoughts. Comments and suggestions from the peanut gallery are also encouraged. *cue gratuitous use of smilie*

I chose the word system over plan, because I view a training system as set of goals and principals that guide your training. Once you have those set, then you can get on with formulating your plan according to your system. Speaking of the plan, it doesn't have to be fully fleshed out, with day-by-day workouts planned for the next 365 days, but the general idea has to be there. I'd be satisfied if I can get to the point where I know what the weekly volumes will be for the duration. I probably won't actually schedule individual workouts until a week or two in advance. Personal commitments throughout the week will dictate some of that.

So here are some questions that I'd like to answer, and thoughts that I've had.

1) Each workout must have a purpose. We all like to say that each of our workouts has a purpose, but a lot of the time were not thinking about it. Writing it down in the plan makes it real. Knowing the specific purpose of a workout helps you focus, and makes sure you don't go out too hard or take it too easy. Having a purpose at the forefront of your mind also helps with motivation, which can sometimes be an issue when you're in the thick of training.

2) How much time can I really spend training? I don't think anyone will argue that it's better to plan on 16 hours of training a week and be able to actually execute it versus planning on 24 hours a week and skipping a third of your workouts. Remember that those workouts have a purpose, and now you're missing a part of the puzzle.

3) Consistency is key. This goes along with #2. I think that it's better to be conservative with you training volume, and have the ability to add or extend workouts, then cutting it too close and not hitting all of them. My gut tells me that it's better to have consistent, lower intensity workouts than higher intensity workouts that you sometimes have to skip. Thoughts?

4) Make sure I stay fresh for all my workouts. This builds on the previous point as well. You get more out of a workout if you're fresh going in to it. Easy enough to say, but that means executing a couple things that I haven't been that great about in the past. Mainly, don't push so hard (intensity or distance) on the previous day's workout if it means that you'll be compromising your energy level going in to the next day. And along with that, get plenty of sleep. It helps me to think about sleep as the fourth triathlon discipline (or is it the fifth, after nutrition, I'll have to ask Andre). You wouldn't cut a bike ride short to go watch TV, so why do the same with your sleep?

That's all I have time for right now. There are a lot more questions and thoughts in my head, but I don't have time to put them all down right now. I'll follow up this post soon.

I'd be glad to hear everyone thoughts on this so far. Most of it sounds like common sense to me, but I've always had trouble executing all of it. Perhaps I need more discipline in my training and execution.

[Eric]

Kyle,

I applied similar concepts to my training this year, which focused on the idea of key workouts and also 3 week cycles: 2 weeks of hard/build, followed by a week of stabalizing. It has been incredibly effective and I believe that my fitness is higher than ever. It is also important to note that I have been healthier and less injury prone then in years passed. Consistency is the key here and I know that you are trying to incorporate that. For example during the build weeks (no to be mistaken for build vs. base) even if I am extremely fatigued I will at least run for 30 minutes. Volume wise it is nothing, but getting your body used to training under fatigue is immensely beneficial.

Just my two cents,

E

[jared]

I very much agree with this post. I don't feel like I'm that great at putting together my own workouts as there's a lot to put together with periodization, changing focus on different sports in different periods, and creating good interval workouts as well as long endurance rides. I followed a plan from Beginner Triathlete by Mike Ricci (D3 Multisport) and I think I want to have him put together a plan for me for next year. That being said, that's really only 20 weeks out from the race.

I like #1. Too many times I think we go out for a ride just to go out for a ride. Your correct in that we need to have a purpose. We either are going out for building endurance or we're doing something else like intervals or a shorter higher intensity workout.

I think we all know that you don't need 30 hours a week of training in order to do well at an Ironman. I mean look at our top finishers in their first Ironman who were right around 12 hours. I'm pretty sure they weren't putting in an inordinate amount of time training. You're spot on with your points because it should be about having a good amount of excellent trainings as opposed to a large amount of mediocre trainings.

Whatever training plan each of us is using, we should keep these concepts in mind. I was going to use a plan for off-season training that includes a lot of weights, core, and endurance building. Weight loss is in that plan as well for me. Coming up to the 20 week mark, I want to contact Mike Ricci to have him put together a custom plan for me and anyone else that wants to check it out (I believe Stuart may be in?) I think it's a $150 one time fee. I think this will work best for me.

What I find is that if I have a plan put together for me that has been thought out with everything mentioned in the first paragraph, it makes it easier. I don't need to think or second guess myself about what I should do on a certain day. I go do the workout with the intensity and time that I need to, and that's it. Then I can focus on the workouts and the other keys that you have.


Of course, this is all coming from the guy who's completed one Ironman and got beat by quite a few fellow teammates. I'm definitely not set in my opinion of what needs to happen for Ironman training.

[jared]

I'm following the slowtwitch forums on Twitter (follow Detroit Triathlon on Twitter) and I found this link on An Ironman Campaign

To your point about having every training have a purpose, I like what he says about each week having a theme or a message:

"With that as a preface, below are the final three weeks of the 8-week campaign. Note that each week contains a "theme" and a "message." These are the most important elements of the campaign. In practice this means any particular workout is subjugated to the theme. So, if the theme is rest, that's the single element to which to pay most attention, and if a scheduled workout is getting in the way of rest, then the workout is jettisoned in favor of honoring the theme. Below is the schedule displayed, word for word, as it was given to the athlete following the program. "

Also, maybe not about this thread but I really like this explanation of the 3-week taper. I've heard some other people trying a 1 week taper for an Ironman, which i was thinking would not give you enough time to recover. This is a great explanation showing shorter is worse.

"But first, a word on the taper. I ascribe to a 3-week taper. This, because bodies tend to go to sleep when given rest after significant work. Grand tour riders fret over how their bodies will react to rest days. Rest after arduous work tells the body it's okay to descend from its point of vigilance and readiness, and to take that time to recover and absorb the work. For a lot of athletes, two weeks is not enough time to come out the other side of that absorption period. That 120-mile bike ride is therefore scheduled just short of 3 weeks out from the race."

[Damon]

I agree with the post(s) as well... surprise! Although I didn't add much detail to the training schedule handed out to DI, I did have a goal for each training week. Generally this would follow the 3 week build, one week active "rest." So a certain bike ride would include spinning up all hills, hard on the flats OR it may be hard up the hills, fast cadence on the flats. And of course there were (and will be) days when the plan was to just get out and spin the legs the whole time. This type of ride can be put in place any time that you feel your BODY is tired from a hard weekend. I feel this is much better than not riding at all. It gives your legs a chance to flush out any crap that still resides a day or two later. And in my experience, I start to feel little twinges and pains on a rest day. So this time around I'm not doing a complete rest day, but an active recovery day instead. This is essentially very easy spinning (50-65% max HR) for about 30 minutes. Just to get the legs moving but you're really not pushing much at all. Do this on the trainer so you can keep yourself in check and not get excited and go sprinting! Ok, that is probably good on that point.

Anyway, yes, have a plan for every workout. And like Kyle said, this plan may not happen until a week or so beforehand and that is fine. This is probably better anyway because you can structure a particular workout according to how your body is feeling and/or performing. Thus, it will likely be more beneficial.

As for the schedule itself, I will likely plan to use a similar plan as this year's. I find that during the week is when I really follow it and the weekend is when I can change it up depending on a number of variables; 1) weather- do I need to stay inside or can I go out. If I'm outside then I'm likely to ride much longer; 2) time- obviously I have more time on the weekend but sometimes there are other plans that cannot be changed. Therefore, I may have to ride on Sunday and run on Monday, who knows?; 3) my body- did I go hard last weekend and the weekend before that? If so, I can ride long-ish but I really need to dial back on the intensity. I suppose this applies for weekdays too.

Always gauge your physical condition before a training. Training when you are sick is not a good idea. Rest will benefit you much more! Training hard when you are chronically fatigued (from training) is also not a good idea. You will actually dig yourself into a deeper hole. If you feel like you are near that tipping point, be careful and always err on the side of caution. If you start a 100 mile ride easy and are able to finish strong, that is much better than starting hard and barely finishing!!

Damon

[Ashley]

I have learned a lot from Damon's approach. I've even learned to listen to and, in fact, do what he says with respect to training ... I have seen results from doing that. He knows what he's talking about. He is a great coach.