I’m pretty sure that I swim better when I’m more relaxed - trying hard seems counter-productive for me. To the point that my plan for race swims this year is to deliberately take it easy.
I’d be really interested to know how you’re combining a MV TR bike plan and running 6 days a week? Do you take ride intensity or duration into account when planning runs?
Got the email through confirming that the duathlon in April is “likely” to be on. That’s if the current government guidance doesn’t change. It was originally going to be draft legal but now cant be run as a mass start event meaning it’ll be TT format. Last race I did was like that and we were started in alphabetical order. I really enjoyed it because I had a lot of rabbits to chase down while also trying my hardest to not get caught!
Definitely getting excited for racing now.
Good question. So right now as my weekly run volume is pretty tiny, I’ll do just that and pair up the more intense bike days with my 2-3km short runs. Sometimes I’ll just make them a brick, other times I’ll head out for 10-15min over lunch and it’s not much of an issue. Once my weekly volume starts to creep up towards 50km, then I’ll pair back the bike intensity and get onto an Oly plan which steps me back to 4 bikes a week.
Coming out of XC ski season I’ve still got a pretty big aerobic engine but I don’t want to put the stress on my joints by ramping up the run volume too fast, so I’m using the bike to push my aerobic systems.
I did this earlier in the year as well, and I’m planning to return to it next week.
I did SSB1 MV with 6/week like this:
Running
Biking
The bike sessions first in the day, the runs then sort of feel like recovery. I found it hard to get into the routine and a bit boring, but after a few weeks it was good. And the main benefits were that I was never out off by a hard run looming, and there didn’t seem to be much fatigue generated.
Really interesting, thanks to both of you for sharing.
I probably could have tried something similar in the past couple of months, but I’m happy to be gradually building experience in combining training strategies. Need to work out what is good for me. I think I’ll stick to my plan of following the full TR plan next, but will definitely come back to these ideas in future cycles.
I think that’s a great approach.
For what it’s worth Ive used the TR run plans plenty of times, I tried high intensity/low volume last year, now Im trying high volume no intensity 
Short course athlete here as well. No OD on the schedule for this year as my ‘big’ august race is an xterra (!). I have 5 or 6 sprint distance tri’s through the spring and summer as well. I’m thoroughly addicted to racing so I like to go short so I can race more often. Pool has not been an option (come on vaccine… I’ll be in the next age bracket in my state) so I’ve been doing band work knowing my first few races will be wetsuit legal.
I’ve mainly done SSB1 + 2 and the OD base/build and kind of bounce between all of those. 3 structured rides a week during the cold months with 2 a week with an outdoor rip your legs off group ride. I train on my road bike and race on a tri bike. I ride it in season a bit but don’t spend a ton of time on it, but I’ve turned a 25 mph sprint bike split.
I run by power with a stryd and it is amazing. 3 workouts a week with enough intensity. Putting in between 24/27 miles a week. 1:29 1/2 marathon PR. Curious about stryd? Ask away.
First race is in mid may and I’m finishing up OD build. Looking to sttrgthen the new FTP with more foundational base work into the summer.
So far with Stryd I’ve mainly used it to passively collect data. (Maybe a little bit of slowing down up hills to lower the power number) but have you been training with the power yet and if so what kinds of sessions do you do?
I’ve been on it for almost 2 years. As for sessions, I’m doing a mix of repetitions, threshold running and interval repeats after a long run. here’s a link to my most recent interval run. I’m following a training plan by a guy who coaches only by power and I have really enjoyed it!
That’s really cool. It looks like a TR graph! 
Perhaps then my next question would be, what watch do you use and how does it display where you are in the workout and what your power should be?
I’m on a fenix 5s but the stryd is ANT+ so nearly any multisport watch should work. My wife has a FR45 and it doesn’t even recognize the garmin running dynamics pod. The second question is tricky.
I just remember the workout and lap the watch when I need to. My warmup is largely the same each run so I only need to think about the work. (3 x 5 @ 300w for example) Now a la TR outdoor workouts, there is a way to transfer premade workout to execute on your watch, but I have no idea how to do that. The stryd FB group can give more info.
Stryd user here too…
You can build workouts in Final Surge (which is free to use), which automatically syncs to the Stryd Power Centre, from there you can upload to watch via an app. It isn’t exactly seamless, but it works and I think it gives a TR experience.
When running with the app on your watch, it’ll tell you the current power against the target power for the interval as well as average power for the interval and interval time. It beats or vibrates (or both) when you are outside target power, which means you don’t have to stare at the watch the whole time, only when you get the prompt.
That last bit is really good for easy runs, I just run by feel but if that is too fast, then I get the prompt to back off.
I understand the argument against run power, it isn’t power in the true sense, but for me it is a step up compared to standard GPS pace.
@EricHall who made your training plan? Is it tri specific? I’ve been dabbling with Steve Palladino’s build plan, I’m a fan. Also, 25 mph feel like cheating! 
(planning on a sprint in May, fingerscrossed, can’t wait)
Hey Triathlon Hive Mind
I’ve got 2 Sprint Duathlons coming up next month, one week apart. Neither is an A race for me, but I’d like to not be crap.
Plan Builder doesn’t really excel at this kind of setup, and it’s currently mainly targeting me at some Sprint Tris in May/June.
Most of the conversations in the TR podcast about tapering is aimed at cycling events, which apart from some crazy long ones, don’t ever really seem to compare to the impact of a triathlon (particularly the run!)
I’m wondering:
Should I taper at all?
If not, then how should I approach training the week before the 1st race?
What to do in the week between the two races? Recovery? Taper? Cry?
Cheers
I’m also a Palladino Power Project follower. I have adapted a few of his plans to support my tri training to good effect. Next week is my final week of build before heading into the 10k program. I actually led into the build plan with the offseason maintenance plan. It made for a really good lead in to the build after a long summer of just running because of COVID stuff.
This will be my 2nd time through the whole ~28 week program. I’m aiming for OD next year so my next time through the cycle will probably be build into half marathon plan. I haven’t raced in a while and I’m feeling really sharp so I’m pumped to get back to it!
2 factors maybe play a part here: fitness age and race plan. How long have you been at this? Do you know how well you recover? How do you respond to training under a high fatigue load? How deep are you willing to go during the race?
My ‘taper’ for a Saturday sprint consists of and east run on Thursday with some openers (strides, 30s race pace, 1m race pace plenty of recovery) and an easy bike on Friday. I take Sunday off and am usually ready to get back at it on Monday. But Saturday is usually reserved for my long run so I end up with actually less of an overall training stimulus from the race! That makes it easier to recover and doesn’t throw my long term training rhythm off.
The race every 2 weeks is pretty similar to what we have going on where I live. I think of it very similar to how the podcast talks about how to handle a weekly crit series. There’s still a way to build through the series and gain speed and strength, but a big factor is how well you carry fatigue.
If this is your first time through, be more aggressive with rest and recovery. You don’t want to be buried at the end of the season and need weeks to recover. There are too many fall and winter running races for that!
Good Luck!
I’d agree - if not a major A event and sprint event, I’d likely (assuming race is on Saturday) - Easy run on Thurs, either nothing or easy bike with few sprints (think Petit +1) on Fri, race Saturday. Then either rest (most likely) or v easy day Sunday. Back to normal training Monday
Can we talk about USAT Age Group Nationals this year?
I got an invite email last week and I’m just… not sure how to take it. I dont think I would have qualified based on my finish in the 1 Sprint that happened in calendar year 2020. Even going back a year, I did a handful of sprints and Olys in 2019 but no top 3 finishes in my AG.
Are they letting folks in just to fill-up spots this year?
I know its not Kona, but is it even a big deal to say you qualify/participated in AG nationals?
If you were a top 25% finisher in your age group in 19/20 at an OD race, and if you were like top 35% in a sprint I think it qualifies you. USAT is definitely in a weird place as they need cash post 2020 (As many organizations do) so yes, they loosened the qualifying requirements for this year.
Given that, I think it’s cool to qualify.; you still have to train and show up and beat some people!
Making it onto TeamUSA (IMO the real Kona equivalent of short course) is a whole other story. USAT Nationals is the best run most prestigious OD race in the Nation. Participating is an awesome experience and starting shoulder to shoulder with some of the fastest age group athletes in the nation is nothing to discount.
Congrats on making it!
What are your qualification criteria in the US?
In the UK we have a system where there are 3 qualification races for each Age Group team (Sprint Tri, Oly Tri, Sprint Duathlon etc). To qualify you initially register through British Triathlon, literally as easy as putting your name down on the website but it has to be done before the day. Following the race those who came in the top 4 spots per age group have automatic qualification and everyone who finishes within 115% of the winners time is placed in a list. Once the three races are completed those in the list are ranked relative to their time and qualification rolls down if people choose not to take up their place.
Finished last week with a weekly TSS higher than anything since last October, and that was after bailing one workout and skipping another. 
Yup, I’m feeling it.
I knew I was probably going to be ramping up faster than my body could cope so I’ve played it pretty carefully, still it hurts the ego. I’ve been keeping the run volume progression pretty constant sacrificing my biking to achieve that, so I’m still positioning myself to be able to heap on the volume/intensity in the coming months.
Also, on the USAT qualifiers, it seems like they are casting a pretty wide net to recoup some $$$ but IMO going there will really let you know where you stand in your AG. With a lot of my local races I can win my AG (one time even the overall) or miss the podium depending on who bothers to show up.
As for the race itself, being from Milwaukee originally, the course they’ve used in the past is pretty awesome. The swim is in Lake Michigan but within a really protected area with breakwalls (2 actually) and you can expect very smooth water for most of the swim. The bike course along the lake is also really cool with a couple minor hills to climb which should break up the race but also not knock your speed down. And the run through the park along the lake is going to make the IMFL run course look hilly.
