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16 weeks to IM build 5 month from running injury
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Hi All,

I signed up for Tremblant in September- hired a coach with intentions to use the full year to build up to IM Tremblant.

Things were going great for a couple months when I acquired a weird running injury in early December - nerves in my lower back were effecting my right calf. I rehabbed from Dec- mid Feb and thought I was in the clear. I had a few weeks of pain free running building up to 2 ez 30' runs and a 50' "long run". Then, stupidly, I ran a 5k St. Paddy's day race. Two days after that the injury came back. I rehabbed again from March 19th until last week and now I believe I am finally in the clear.

Since I already paid the money, I am going to do the race. I fully anticipate that it is not going to be pretty at this point. Swimming and cycling I am in pretty good shape and confident.

My question is: What is my best plan of action? Should I just focus on building up my long run to as high as possible over the next 16 weeks? Any advice welcome.
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Re: 16 weeks to IM build 5 month from running injury [Flanny] [ In reply to ]
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I went from knee injury and sitting in the couch doing nothin for months to a 10hr Ironman in 10 weeks later. I don’t see why you can’t be ready for an Ironman with 16 weeks especially if you are in good shape in the bike and run. Just start easy and add a mile or so a week in your long run. Once you get a good base and are running 3-4 times a week, maybe 5 or 6 weeks, add some faster stuff gradually.
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Re: 16 weeks to IM build 5 month from running injury [Flanny] [ In reply to ]
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What happened to your coach?
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Re: 16 weeks to IM build 5 month from running injury [mickison] [ In reply to ]
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He was great, but when I hired him I wanted to go all in for the race. Once the build was compromised by not being able to run by mid Feb I ended things. I also bought my first home and had to adjust my budget.
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Re: 16 weeks to IM build 5 month from running injury [Flanny] [ In reply to ]
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Make sure you have had a good medical assessment so that you understand what you are dealing with. Don't overdo the training again (ie no more 5 kms). Be very conservative with your run training. Then adjust your expectations for race day run performance. In the last year I have been dealing with a similar issue and now diagnosed as sciatica and need to follow a plan similar to above. I have decided that it is better to be on the playing field than sitting on the sidelines, regardless of my performance.
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Re: 16 weeks to IM build 5 month from running injury [Flanny] [ In reply to ]
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Certain races allow you to defer your entry to the next year. You may want to explore that option to make sure you don't really hurt yourself in the long run if you plan on doing more 70.3 races.
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Re: 16 weeks to IM build 5 month from running injury [Flanny] [ In reply to ]
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Flanny wrote:
He was great, but when I hired him I wanted to go all in for the race. Once the build was compromised by not being able to run by mid Feb I ended things. I also bought my first home and had to adjust my budget.

So while I get the financial angle, the exact reason you hire a coach in the first place is to figure out how to get you where you want to go even though things are going a bit pear-shaped for you.

A coach is not just regurgitating a plan for a IM build. If that's all you are getting from your coach, then you are wasting your money. Any downloadable plan can do that for you.

A good coach will be able to work through and around your injury to maximize your fitness while allowing the injury to heal. Hopefully still getting you to the start line in as good a shape as possible, even if the build wasn't what your coach originally planned in a perfect world.
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