No problems putting it out there for the TR community as it would be fun. And consistency with the time would help.
Edit: Thinking about it now it might be better to put it later on in the day eastern time in the US to accommodate more riders across tome zones.
Or even shift it to Sunday mid day lets say 10 am for 2 hours. This way it splits some of the difference.
Hey @JoeX, would you add ICAN Nordhausen half distance to our calendar for me? Just realized this little local independent race nearby our place will be hosting nationals this year so I will give it a shot.
I made a similar approach for my first iron distance race and it worked quite well. One of the main aspects of the program was to do also a reverse periodization. My race was in July and I was doing at least a weekly VO2Max turbo session from November till February. Those were spiced with some LT2 work
I was also following the same approach in the run and the swim.
All the big volume, however was always done quite below LT1.
Along the way it was just a matter of pushing the long run, long swim and long ride up both in duration and in intensity that was converging to consistent race speed.
It went quite well if it wasn’t for a running injury that showed up 7 weeks prior to the race.
Well Training has officially kicked off for me. Used the new plan builder program which i do have to say looked pretty cool. Not 100% sure that its the right setup, but I am going to put my trust and faith into it and see where it gets me.
Base - 12 weeks
Build - 8 weeks
Base - 8 weeks
Build - 1 week
Speciality - 8 weeks
What ever the result will be i have a feeling if i can execute this my base will be huge ha. Also if any recalls me from last year, I have taken a new job and wont be travelling so much which will make life way easier At the start I’m not going to be super strict with the plan (until Feb). If the wife wants to go XC skiing then that will be my workout instead etc.
@windyyet I am racing IMMT as well and this will be my third visit there. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask 
I have a little news myself, I’m finally in for 2020 
@mountainrunner is going to start thinking I’m stalking him 
and maybe a chance to say hi to @garimac too 
@tg333 is that July or August, my google-fu is letting me down.
@windyyet welcome, a few of us at Wisconsin and Mont Tremblant 
Add me for IMAZ 2020! It’s a rematch after what happened this year.
Also have been thinking of the run a lot. Will start training next week for an open marathon in April, very early in the season. Hoping this will set a solid run foundation for the year.
Marathon + 2x 140.6 + 1x 70.3… gonna be a busy year!
Just trying Plan Builder for my two races:
Here is the output from the builder:
Does this look right to you? It’s my first full. I have done lots of 70.3 and lots of full marathon. Nothing too fast: 5:30 to 6hrs for 70.3 and 3.45hrs for marathon. Is the month of June looking ok? I am finishing Sweet Spot low volume until Jan 13.
Thanks for the help.
Very similar to my plan
I have a grand fondo in June and IM vichy in August…
Seems a good approach to me
Hmm, before the plan builder I think the advice would have been to do the 70.3 at the end of Build , then 8 weeks of Speciality to race day.
And I can’t really see the logic of doing Base/build then 4 weeks of Base to the 70.3. If anything, four weeks of half speciality maybe at a higher volume(?)
It’s in early release so I think they’ll field the questions, and perhaps the algorithms for cycling aren’t quite designed with long course training in mind. Even the standard Base/build/base/build/speciality response I think is a stretch for the Ironman plans. Surely it’s just too long for such heavy structured training, for me anyway?
Very cool. It’s one of those races I keep in mind for spontaneous sign up if work allows for it later.
Nationals here are in July.
Cool - see you out there. A Saturday morning practice swim is always a good place to meet 
Thanks @WildWill and @JoeX. I might just start with the build and try the Plan Builder a bit later. Prior to the Plan Builder I did notice that the build was ending with a 70.3. These leaves a week between base and build and 2 weeks between build and specialty. I can fill those with workouts from base/build to fill in. I guess thats what the Plan did.
I’m in the middle of SSBMV2, then will go I to half distance build and specialty, completing it right in time for Gulf Coast 70.3.
Then rolling that right into full distance build and specialty, which would conclude with Mont Tremblant. I haven’t signed up yet, but that’s my thought so far.
You people are all insane. It’s not 2020 yet and this thread is 630+ long. I’m not sure I can catch up to all that so forgive me if I pick up from here. I did IMAZ about 4 weeks ago and since then between thanksgiving, work, getting sick twice, and Xmas crazies, and a long honey-do list waiting for me, I got swamped. I’ve been floored with high volume flu for the past 4 days and barely alive so I thought I would catch up on social media. Got banned on ST so one less place to worry about.
If you all don’t mind, I’ll post my IMAZ RR here.
IMAZ Race Report
Training was for the most part really good. I started the Tower26 swim program about a year ago and I have seen quite a bit of difference in the swim in the pool. My swim endurance and muscular endurance have improved and I’ve become faster. It so far has not translated into better swim times in races but I am fully in control of the swim and when I’ve come out of the water, I have had almost zero fatigue.
I followed the last 6 wks of the TrainerRoad mid volume tri base and 6 week mid volume build plans and went back to base for 4 more weeks before a 2 week taper. I have found that when I do the full plan as described I get over trained so I cut it short from 28 weeks to 18 weeks keeping in mind that I’m usually in a good 70.3 shape.
Run was not bad. I tried to do as much running as possible while nursing an Achilles tendinitis. For the most part I did about 30+ mpw with a couple weeks of 40ish. I would have liked a more consistent run training but such is life. I had many runs of 10+ with about 8 runs of 14-17 range. A couple of these runs, i had to do doubles of 10/7 or 8/8 to keep the Achilles in check.
Race Morning:
Got up at 3:30 and everyone of my friends was already up. No more trash talking; just game faces on everyone. Had coffee and bagel with a banana. This year i found myself very relaxed. Absolutely no nervousness with what was ahead. I guess that’s a nice thing but it also can be a bad thing because i completely forgot to put a new battery in my power meter and HR monitor. Weather was low of 52 and a high of 70 with a water temp of 63 degrees. I wasn’t too concerned about the water temp rather the first 1-2 hours on the bike at low 50’s while wet was my concern. Ultimately i decided i would race with my kit under my wetsuit and suck it up for a couple hours until it warmed up.
Swim:
Equipment: DeSoto T1 wetsuit, Finis TempoTrainer
There were a few things i did differently with my swim, two of which worked well and one which i will never do again. I had been pacing my swims with a tempo trainer (a metronome if not familiar) so i decided to use it for my swim. In the pool a cadence of 70 is about my 75% effort which i had decided to go with. I really liked having that to help with pacing but I’ll have to lower it to 68 since the added thickness of the wetsuit adds a bit more resistance on the pulls. The second thing that worked well was using KT tape on my neck to prevent chafing. Non of the lubricants I’ve used have helped but the KT tape stuck well in water and took all the friction from the wetsuit. I also decided to double cap which was a big mistake. The pressure from the 2 caps bothered me the entire race to the point where i stopped a couple times to adjust pressure points. I lined up with the 70 min group with my brother and off we went. One of the ways i prepared for the cold water was that mentally i expected to jump into frigid cold water and was pleasantly surprised that it was warmer than freezing. After the first 200 yds the water temp was a non issue. Swim training is my least favorite but the swim leg of the IM is my favorite. I really enjoyed the swim and seeing the people around me, the buildings as i was passing them, the bridges are always fun to swim under, and the volunteers watching the swimmers. In years past i was so focused on just swimming but the last couple years I’ve been able to see all this stuff happening around me and anticipate people swimming towards me. I found it astonishing that there were a few people without wetsuits. Even the water, which many people said was nasty, didn’t taste bad at all. There were 5 turn buoys with the 4th one being the halfway point. When i got to the 3rd buoy, aside from the caps annoying me, i had a little trouble breathing. I stopped for a few seconds to figure out why and i found myself having to belch a lot. Once i did that, i was able to resume and did most of my burping in the water after that. On the way back to transition, it was nice to have a little current helping us and i was pleasantly surprised that once we turned on the 5th buoy it was a 300yd stretch to end. I was expecting one more turn according to the map. Swim time 1:18. Was expecting 1:10-1:15 which would have happened without the 3 stops.
Bike:
Equipment: Premier Tactical bike, disc + 80 deep front, latex plus GP5k, Castelli all-out suit, Giro Aerohead helmet
The transition was pretty long with 1/2 mile run from swim exit to changing tent. Surprised that I didn’t cramp when taking the wetsuit off which happens pretty often for me. Changed as fast as possible, took a GU and off I went. The course is 3 loops of 37.6 miles out and back of which the out is a constant 1-2% slow incline with spots of 4% grade. My plan was to go about 185W on the incline and 165W on the decline. I looked down at my computer and the power meter was reading 80-90. I thought i am going easy but not THAT easy. Once i got the PM battery low signal, i knew it was just ready one of my pedals. After about 6 min, the PM just completely died, followed by the HR monitor a few min after that so i went by feel. The incline portion of the Beeline Hwy had about a 10-15 mph headwind effectively increasing the grade of the incline. I was pleased with my clothing choices. I was worried about being wet in cooler temps but other than my toes being cold for a couple hours i was fine. I also decided to wear my tri kit with no padding. Had never done that for more than 2.5hr HIM race but it i was comfortable the whole bike ride. Speeds were pretty slow but i just focused on going easy and hydration and nutrition. On the decline with tailwind, it was really fun zooming past everyone. The problem was that i had a compact and at 50/11 gearing i was softpedaling 33-35 mph. It was the first time I’ve wanted a subcompact. The avg speed for the first loop was about 20 mph. Second loop and 3rd loops were 3-4 min slower each as the wind picked up a little during the day. Nutrition was 2 bottles of 600 cal tailwind for 300 cal per hour plus base salt every 20 min. Plan was to switch to GU gels after the 4th hour but one of the bottles launched so i had to switch after the 2nd hour. At about the 35 mile mark is when i had to pee. After that i had to pee almost every 20 min. It was really annoying to constantly coast to pee and as a result slowdown each time. I can’t figure out if it’s too much salt/ not enough salt, too much water/ not enough water, or something else. If anyone knows, i would appreciate the help. It’s clear urine and i have salt stains everywhere and i am thirsty. I feel dehydrated but i am peeing like a banshee. It was impossible to identify anyone on the bike course. I was looking for people but could never identify anyone. I did see my SIL and nephews my cousin and friends and family which was great. On my second loop i saw My brother with a flat that he was changing. On my 3rd lap i saw him again on the other side. I was 3 miles from turnaround point so i thought I’ll give mech support time to help him and if he was still there, to help him out or switch wheels. I think i can slowly finish 15 miles on a flat tire but he had 50 to go. Anyways, i didn’t see him so i thought they fixed him up and he was riding. The last 10 miles of the bike was weird. I had a bit of a hard time focusing and seeing clearly. I quickly popped in a gel hoping it was sugar related. I got into T2 with a 5:47 bike time, 27 min slower than I thought would happen.
Run:
Equipment: Castelli trikit, Nike Pegasus Turbo, hat, sunglasses
In T2, I was very lightheaded. I had specific run clothing in case my kit was uncomfortable but I didn’t need to change. I took another GU, a few ibuprofens, and some water, and decided get my ass to the run. I was trying to keep the first 2-3 miles at recovery pace but they were about 30s faster than I wanted. 400m into the run, my light headed ness went away and I felt great. I crossed the bridge to the other side was doing great until mile 9 popping 9:15-930’s per mile. I was taking bloks, and GU’s and salt before the aid stations and getting water mostly with some banana slices since i was so hungry. Surprisingly my Achilles was a non issue throughout the entire run. At 9, my left calf cramped. DAMN it! I knew it was coming but i was hoping to at least do 1 loop before managing it. I was cramping at about every 3/4 mile rate so 3/4 run and a min power walk to workout the cramps rinse and repeat plus walking all inclines to lessen the stress. I saw my cheer squad at 12 and i learned that my brother had DNF’d on bike. I felt so bad that i was losing will to compete but then i thought of him being disappointed if i did so i carried on. I did see him cheering on the 2nd loop and seeing him not disappointed lifted me immensely. As the miles clicked, the cramp rates started to slowly become more frequent and pace slowly dropped. The crowd support was amazing! I had to make the walk portions faster! 15min power walks were too slow so i learned how to go 13min power walks and mixed with runs, i was able to keep my paces under 12/mile until 21 or so. The problem was that i was cramping even in the power walks after 21 and i was pushing hard. 13min power walks and the second i started running, instant cramp. Painful walks it was but i had to keep it at 13 pace to end. I made it to the finish in 12:09 with no ability run the end at all. It was bittersweet seeing My brother at finish. Thank goodness I walked as fast as I could. I won the friends group rivalry, 1 min ahead of my friend.
I have finished the base phase of my training in preparation for IM TX. I did the 12-week TR mid-volume full distance plan. It’s 12 weeks, but I added one extra while I was traveling around Thanksgiving, so it’s actually 13. I give myself an A for consistency. Here are my stats:
Workouts: 137 (of 140 planned)
Swim: 6,800 yds/ week
Bike: 5:54 hrs/ week (all on TR)
Run: 24 miles /week
Average: 10:58 hrs / week
Now on to the build phase!!
Banned. Lol. For what?
The dictator there doesn’t like free thinking people with respectful opinions. It’s my 2nd account banned and I am starting to think I have a shot at the record.
Haha. I used to think ST was all that until TR created the new forum which has been all that and a bag of chips. I hardly ever go there anymore.
So speaking of ST…I came here to post about something I saw there and tried yesterday during my swimming. 2:3 breathing.
Now, I guess I’ve been a giant idiot my entire triathlon career because I’ve been essentially doing a 1:3 breathing pattern. [left (breath), right, left, right (breath), left, right, left (breath)] where I would breath every 3 strokes. I liked this because I got to change up the direction I was breathing and I’ve made it work. During races I usually hold a 1:40/100m (not yard) pace from anything from Oly to IM, though a hair faster in Oly. Then I saw a post about 2:3 breathing, where you breath 2 times for every 3 strokes. [left (breath), right (breath), left, right (breath), left (breath), right]. You’re getting in 2x as much air doing that vs my 1:3 ratio in theory, so I had to try it out next time I was in the pool.
So yesterday, I did my warmup, figured out the general cadence for the 2:3 breathing, and went at it. Now, IMFL in early November was the last time I’ve gone swimming, so my stroke was a bit rusty, and I’m working on a new breathing pattern so mental energy is going there instead of proper technique…anyways I found that I was about 10s per 100m FASTER for the same effort vs my swims before IMFL!!! On top of that I’ve logged a ton of time this week running, biking, and xc skiing so I was not fresh by anymeans. Still, I was considerably faster.
I’m not sure if anybody else here has tried this breathing technique, but holy crap it was incredible.
Here’s the ST link for every except @Alen since he’s banned: Swim breathing patterns, too much confusion out there…
