I’m in full-on off season mode since Kona. At this point, I have zero races on the calendar for next year and feeling a bit lost because of it. I’m open to suggestions (North America only please) if anyone has a favorite to recommend, especially if it’s a non-IM branded race.
In the meantime, I’m drinking some beer, eating poorly, doing SS LV Base, swimming some and running some, but nothing with any kind of structure (expect for maybe the multiple beers per night plan).
Thanks for the roll call. I basically failed my season after getting covid and then completely being unable to get back on the tracks. That said, I’m still heading to Florida here tomorrow night and I am looking forward to a fun weekend of beach, volunteering, and spending my day photographing and videoing the athletes.
After IM Alaska, I’ve been dinking around trying to get the last vestiges of a 2 yr injury issue finally resolved - which I have. Bike is almost back , swim is fine, running is enjoyable because I’ve been doing just enough to grab a little fitness but not crushing my soul with workouts. Weather here is finally reasonable so we can do things outdoors now without Sous Vide’ing ourselves. Marathon training starts in earnest right after Indian Wells 70.3.
It’s been a good month here. Slowly building up some strength with a combination of aerobic workouts through TrainNow, weekly swims and weights. Turned up to a local 10k on Saturday to give my knee another test and to work on my race-craft.
Managed to run the whole thing, move up the field barring two runners who caught up with me at 8km and still managed a sprint finish. Not bad considering I walked 2/3 of a half iron earlier this year.
Booked a Feb Half marathon and considering a spring marathon (my first) as IM is probably a few seasons away for me.
Oct was really just getting ready for 70.3 Worlds. This whole year was about not doing a whole bunch of volume but just doing a good bit of work without over doing it. My totals for Oct was:
Overall I felt like Worlds went as good as I could have done based on the fitness from the training I was doing. I won’t do a whole race break down but my times for the race was:
Swim - 30:29
T1 - 7:43
Bike - 2:15:29
T2 - 1:56
Run - 1:26:32
Overall - 4:22:07
I feel that I probably would have been fine without putting on any extra warm gear in t1. I opted to put on a tight long sleeve jersey over the trisuit which was a struggle. Didn’t want to put on anything to baggy which would be a big aero penalty on the bike. But in the end I believe I really didn’t need it. It really wasn’t that cold and was warmer then what it was for the women the day before. Other then that, the race went well and I didnt have anything that went wrong.
Now its time for little bit of downtime. Have a number of things that Im planning on working on over the winter to be ready for next year. The biggest one is getting someone to help me with my swimming technique because it is awful. And ever since the covid year, Ive lost quite a bit of time in the water. Next would continuing working on my run form and mobility. I may decide to also get a good bike fit or aero testing, although the bike is the last Im looking at for now.
So far Im only signed up for St. George 70.3 in May and Ironman CdA in June for next year. Haven’t decided on another race beyond those so far.
@JoeX base started for next year, terrible september and october for training but just getting back into it, work is absolutely mental at the minute though, currently on a 5k challenge with my tri club so I may have sandbagged the testing a little with a lack of carbon shoes and coming into it after a hard bike but really putting some effort in to losing some body fat and training consistently.
Next season my goal is sub 5 at outlaw half, its all about the run, my bike is better than other people around there, my swim is comparable if not a little better but my run is way off
This has been a weird and frustrating year.
I have not raced since July when I came home with Covid.
Participated in a Halloween 10k on Saturday, dressed up as the bravest wizard of all time.
This winter the focous is on:
Flexibility and strength, Yoga 3-4 days a week, strength work 2x
Swim, Techinque specifically the pull and exit.
Bike Power is the focus
Run Base Building and efficiency.
Next years plan is still in the planning phase, I am undecided on an IM. I am moving up the 60-64 age group need a win or second place to get to Kona. It is either Mont Tremblant or Maryland. If MT then I will be doing Virginia 70.3, if Maryland then Eagleman with a goal of going sub 4:59. I am confident that I can beat the last two winning times at Maryland, the run course at MT is what is holding me back there. I can leave for a run from the house and do 20 miles and get 10 feet of climbing. However, there is a bridge here that is up for half mile and down for half a mile. My good friend (1st place 60-64 at IM Alaska) and training partner does his long runs there, so I have already discussed this with my coach and he has given his approval.
Hi everyone!
Crawled my way through a relatively consistent winter- nothing stellar, but did snag a 2nd OA at duathlon states with a subpar ride so I’m pretty happy with that.
Had a bit of a change of heart recently and decided to focus on running for a bit. (Mainly related to lack of affinity for being scraped off tarmac and scheduling wishy-washiness of being a drunk uni student) Definitely going to keep a few indoor rides in rotation as well as some coffee spins and OW swims headed into the summer, but more for cross-training/enjoyment purposes rather than a specific schedule or goals. Did have plans for a PTO worlds qualifier in late March so I might pick things up in January depending on where I’m at motivation-wise, but also pretty excited to get involved in some uni 5/10ks and general parkrun tomfoolery. Definitely some stiff competition but I’m with a bit of extra run mileage and specificity I’m hoping I might be able to snag some decent results!
Sorry we missed each other in Portugal. Would’ve been cool to catchup.
I had another shocker….
Swim was ok, about what I expected after the crash in wales meant I only swam three times between. Bike was solid enough but I ran out of nutrition after about 3.5 hours and had to use Gatorade….
The drafting was unbelievable, worst I’ve ever experienced. I eventually got away from the 20 strong pace line that kept working back to my wheel with about 50k to go (on the last hill before turnaround in Lisbon) but burned a few marches to get and stay away. Probably not smart but I felt quite smug about taking the moral high ground……
Basically I got 10k into the run before the wheels fell off.
The short version (and why it’s taken me this long to bother doing a post!) is that the slightly sore throat and cough that I had before the race turned out to be a nasty virus. After the race I was in medical with hypothermia and very dehydrated. The following week I passed out three times and enjoyed a stay in hospital….
Swim 1:04
Bike : 4:50
Run 3:39
Not what I was looking for…… still unable to train atm but need to regroup and think about whether to go for KQ again or not. Cost of living isn’t helping!!!
Can anyone tell me the point of the sprint workouts at the start of 70.3 plan; 20 seconds 200% I hate them but most of all I don’t see how they apply, I’m never getting close to 600 watts for 20seconsw and then need to recover in a race.
Anyone suggest some alternative workouts, no issue with VO2 but these are ridiculous
I assume it is try and get your type II fibres to help out the type I fibres, basically make them more aerobic. It is not about race like efforts. It is about fibre recruitment and aerobic efficiency.
To add on, in periodization, you generally go from least specific to event (i.e. sprinting) while far from the event to most specific to event (i.e. long endurance and tempo) as the race approaches.
Considering you’re 16-28 weeks from your race, I’d just do the sprints rather than looking for alternates. It’s not like you’re doing tabata intervals. There will be plenty of time for VO2 and threshold workouts in your build phase.
I am planning on registering for IM Mont-Tremblant which is in August of 2023. I was wondering if anyone could help me with figuring out how I should be training to ensure I am racing to the best of my ability come August.
I was planning on doing the Base, Build, Specialty High Volume Full Distance Plan (but w/ only 2 of the swims each week) but that only totals 28 weeks (12-8-8).
Would I be better off doing the Base portion twice? or the Build 2.5 times? or something else?
Really appreciate any insight that anyone might have.
Then check your limiters vs the actual course. It favors a strong cyclist. Can you stay near your target IF during the climbs? (If yes, you have a strong FTP!).
I did IMMT in 2014 and remember the bike course was quite hilly: some rolling, a couple long sustained & some punchy hills near the end. If you’re only used to pan flat riding at steady watts, then you gotta to inject training for those rolling hills both up and down. I practiced getting used to downhill riding in aerobars at speeds i wasn’t familiar with. I hit 80 kph peak on race day on the longest downhill.
Hi there @Power13, I read that you are (or were) struggling with proximal hamstring tendinopathy? I was in the middle of training up for my 1st full IM this winter/spring when I first noticed it and it progressively shot me down. First had to stop running, then biking, and by now all repetitive cardio (rowing, StairMaster, elliptical).
I’m now planning to take a full 4 weeks of any exercise and hopefully slowly build up again.
Do you have any tips to share from your own personal experience?
Just to add to what others have said, I would say it’s firing up the muscles triathletes tend to neglect in season with the focus on endurance. If you haven’t done sprints in a while this is a good phase to make that well-rounded athlete. If you have, then maybe try skipping forward a few weeks and looking at the workouts selected in the same ‘slot’ eg:
Hi, welcome back to the forum and welcome to the thread
One of the things we tend to warn people of is structure fatigue - following an FD plan consistently for 28 weeks is no mean feat, it takes a toll. That doesn’t mean don’t train at all, or don’t train with structure, but it does lend itself to picking a different goal before starting FD.
For example, I’m focussed on swimming right now, and picked LV general build for some structure and variety in the background. My HV HD Plan starts at Christmas.
Hey gang. Training Calendar question. “A” race is Chattanooga IM 9/24/2023. I plan to do a 70.3 in May as prep. Is it best to build a plan with the Chatt race in mind and just let the 70.3 fall where it does in the training schedule or build a plan for the May 70.3 and then build for the IM in September? That would make a pretty short window. For reference I’ve done 2 70.3’s and AZIM…with pretty mediocre results.
