So in Ontario, Canada…it seems like the big event organiser is trying to make us redeem our deferrals no matter what… even if it ends up being just virtual events.
Am i the only one who doesnt really care much about virtual events? Like, if i’m paying you $100 it’s to setup a course and have volunteers and LEO directing traffic and what not. It’s for the vibe of racing with other people doing the same distance as you etc etc…
I know it’s somewhat out of their control, the form in which their event takes place but… forcing people to redeem that money against something completely different at full price, seems kind of lame.
Pools are closed to like 42% of the population in the whole province. There are very few OWS options.
Totally agree. Virtual events are total waste of time in my view. Pay someone to run by myself on my usual training routes…so a training run that I pay for.
Thanks for this thread @JoeX and giving the idea @Michael_Tate !! I am signed up for a local Sprint - Newport Sprint Triathlon in Rhode Island on Sept 12th. I did this same race 3 years ago missing AG podium by 3 secs. Right now I am doing sustained power build (but may actually switch over to the new POL - work has gone too stressful, and I think I would like the Z2). End of June will pick-up a bit of Sprint MV Build, then Specialty MV.
Whoops. We’re not out of the woods yet… my first planned race has just been cancelled (Salagou triathlon, end of May, south of France).
Now to do battle with planbuilder, that seems to want to reset my custom training days when I delete events… I don’t think I’ll change my season training plan significantly. I’d put Salagou as a B race, and the July races aren’t cancelled yet
I’m in for this. Have an Oly in June (Birmingham, though looks like it’s being pulled a week earlier and pushed an hour north into Shropshire). Will also be doing the Shropshire Oly in September. Maybe they’ll pull that an hour South to Birmingham
there’s a point where I’ll do it if I know it supports an organization or a race promoter that I care about it. Obviously, they’re desperate for money right now, so I don’t mind throwing them a few bucks.
But if i was paying $200 in 2020 in race entry fees (and the association fees for insurance, etc) i want an in-person race, not a virtual event lol.
I wouldn’t be very competitive in a duathlon cause i’m not a fast enough runner… the bodies of water available to me are cold as heck and i can’t guarantee having the support i’d want while i do an OW swim, pools are still closed and i don’t think they’ll re-open anytime soon so no training there.
Yes the price of the online event is about half the price of the in-person version, but as mentioned by them, if restrictions are still in place in august-september, we’ll be forced to used our credits on virtual events or they expire.
If we get the option to carry them over to next race season though, i’ll still race with them and hopefully the situation will be under control by then. But this involuntary(on their part) bait and switch is not what i spent my money on lol.
The only virtual events that I have done have been run through my Triathlon Club. I dont think that I would knowingly enter a virtual triathlon that I had to pay for. The difficulty is how to maintain a connection to the event when there isnt any. My partner has done some running through her work but they take the format of a relay with some kind of photography based challenge (finding an animal, wearing red etc) in the middle. At least there is a sense of community within the teams to keep engaged.
Hi all, I started Olympic Base High Volume (OBHV) on Monday with some trepidation it being HV. Always interested in anyone’s experience with these?
I’ve combined it with 321 running to get my volume up to 50km/week and structured it to be;
M Swim, Longer SS Bike, Short Run
T Swim, Tempo Bike, Medium Run
W Strength, Short Run
T Swim, SS Bike, Medium Run
F Swim, Sprint Bike, Easy Run
S Long run
S Rest
Basically I’m front loading it a bit to get the longer bike work in early and space for the long run at the weekend.
Caviats - this week already in disarray due to family commitments and I’m hoping to get one swim in a week from next Thursday, but can’t join a pool until April 12th so experimenting with S&C in it’s place.
Ramp tested at 273W, only 1W different from February’s 274. I actually think I’m strong enough on the bike for my goals, it’s the run volume that will be essential to my success…and pool time
Lofty, but if you have the time. Have you ever trained at this kind of volume? I used to run 45-50 MPW and saw some good gains, but now I’m running only 3 quality sessions a week with a single easy run and have seen real improvements pairing it with TR OBMV. Works out to like 30 MPW.
Like you, other commitments got in the way of training and my plan was always thrown off when I was attempting a similar high volume life. Now I shoot for 1-1.5 hours of focused quality a day and swim 2x a week during lunch. It’s really worked out for me. Definitely interested to follow your story this year.
So what I’ve tried to do is keep the total volume within my usual in-season training. The next six weeks should see me doing 10-12 hrs in total. There is only one bike session I’m regarding as hard - the 90-120min sweet spot bike, and my experience with 6/wk or 4-5hrs easy running Jan/Feb has me fairly confident these will fit. Getting to the pool will likely be the challenge, but as these are short sessions they shouldn’t be draining.
What’s new really is combining the elements in this way, and the Olympic HV plan itself.
Looks like a pretty solid plan to me. My only question (because I find myself doing very similar things) is how to fit in the swim, bike, and run on your M, T, T, and F?
I’ve generally tried moving the easy (“1” of the “321”) runs into a brick off the bike. Then I’ll also take another easy run or swim and eliminate entirely the full on rest day, though I take the occasional day completely off as needed.
With your new FTP and this run focus I’m really excited to see what kinds of times you’ll be throwing down @JoeX! You’ve laid some really awesome groundwork over the pandemic.
Thanks Michael, I’m hopeful of breaking new ground this season
I originally tried brick sessions in 2020, but honestly I felt there was more quality and benefit running separately to riding by about 4hrs in line with some research papers covered on That Triathlon Show. Back in 2019 I realised there was only two ways to avoid cramping in swim sessions; don’t run before a swim, or swim first in the day. So now, if I’m going to swim it’s going to be before work. I got into the habit of lunchtime running at work a few years ago, but this January with easy running I didn’t find it hard at all to do the bike at lunch get out the door after work for a run.
Lockdown and working from home really helps of course, but basically it will be 07:00-07:45 swim, ~12-13:00 bike depending on meetings, 17:30 up to 18:30 running. I try to avoid much more than 2.5hrs training in a single day.
Huh, I’m very curious now Do you remember what episode that might have been? I don’t know if it would really change what I end up doing since getting the workouts in is probably the biggest key, and bricks help me immensely with time management. Cutting out 1 cooldown/post workout routine and 1 warmup/pre workout routine by mashing them together is just too irresistible to the efficient German in me.
Today was Pettit and a 6km run (at an easy pace) I felt like the quality of my form was high throughout and never felt like my body was getting stressed.
BTW, since you’re working from home and we’re all among friends…how many meeting have you biked through? For me it’s not as many as I would like, but somewhere between 5-10.
I couldnt say but probably from last summer/autumn and would have been about signalling - ie after workout the body signals the adaptations (eg build more capillaries in the glutes) but over time that signal tapers off after about 4hrs for aerobic workouts, and about 8hrs for heavy lifting/anaerobic. My memory may have added some colour to that, but that’s my recollection. I was probably looking at scheduling strength work at the time.
Working out during meetings sounded like a viable idea, but unfortunately (or fortunately) I only attend meetings that I need to pay attention to! And when I’m focusing on understanding technical explanations, usually given in a heavy foreign accent, it’s impossible to keep pedalling
Absolutely agree. Whatever let’s you get them in. I had to brick two sessions on Tuesday because of life.
And some say bricks give a different/better adaptation - as you are fatigued from the bike, you get the endurance benefits of a long run in much less time running.
Out of curiosity, how many km per week are people doing while targeting a sprint or oly distance triathlon? I’m personally going to be shooting for 80km/wk but I’m building up to that after a winter of almost no running, and will be doing almost no intensity with my running.
Bringing back swimming is excellent but a bit awkward as its hard to get slots and a way to travel. Outdoor pool was great last Thursday and Friday but it’s around 0°C in the morning at the moment and I’m not that keen.
I’ll try to get a swim in tomorrow and Friday, then I’m considering joining a gym for pool access which I’ll need for four months to cover my Olympic races, six for IM…if they stay open all summer.
For me it’s not as many as I would like, but somewhere between 5-10.
