One of the fastest AG dudes over in Kona maybe 2 years back or so was featured on ST and he was a firefighter, I am certain someone will chime in with his name.

https://www.slowtwitch.com/...Lederhosen_4775.html

found it, way more than 2 years ago though. Have I been doing this sport that long, yikes!

Not expecting a ton of feedback here. I'll bite.

How many sessions a week do you need? 3x3x3 plus some strength/core?
Can you ride the trainer or run the treadmill at the firehouse? Are you OK with some indoor training.
Any family demands on your 4 days off? Upset wife if you disappear for 6 - 8 hours in the middle of one of those days?
What is type of volume (hours per week) have you CONSISTENTLY been able to pull off in the past during an IM buildup?
How close is your pool?

Answer these and you may be able to generate a bit more discussion. Many people think a lot of free time is great for triathlon but feast or famine doesn't always work because you get forced into a corner of having bigger workouts back to back.

Little and often fills the purse, consistency and moderation, blah blah blah.

There is also this guy who was on the TR podcast around Kona time: https://soundcloud.com/...-a-cycling-coach-178
I can't remember what shift pattern he worked but maybe you'll find something useful in there?

I worked 48/96 for the first few years I was doing tri stuff. I self coached for a bit and then had a coach the second year and did ironman Canada then. The following year we swapped to a 1,2,1,4 - 4 platoon schedule and I did ironman Canada with that schedule as well.

When I self coached I would generally make day 1 at work a 1 hr treadmill run with either hills or intervals. Day 2 of work was more stretching, and then some weights.

Days 3-6 at home varied week to week when I would self coach, but generally get off work and swim (pool is on the way home). Depending how the two days at work went, either sleep or go bike. Then factor in a long day of bike and short run sometime on day 4, swim and long run day 5 and bike on day 6. Then back to work and start all over. Rest days factored in as well throughout. When I was coached it would vary but the only thing I could do at work was run.

Some guys have brought in bike trainers, but I have always worked at a busy station and it just want worth it. I'm lucky if I get a run uninterrupted, but I've ended up taking 4 tries to get an hour of running in because we keep going out on multiple occasions. Sometimes I'll leave extra early and swim before work, or run before work so I can do it without interruption.

On 4 platoon it varies a bit, but still run at work and then swim on the way home. 48/96 was my favorite schedule. If we could go back, I would.

I should say that I was nowhere near fast, my first ironman was 11:01 and my second was nearly the same thanks to a bike crash.

If you want to be fast, get a coach and have them tailor your training to your schedule. You will pay more than buying a canned plan but it will work better.

Stay safe.

I work a 10-10-14-14/4 off and try to get all of my strength training done on the job as well as 2-3 45-60 min treadmill sessions in as well to minimize time spent away from family/friends on days off. My coach is good about adjusting my schedule when overtime comes up.

TRAVELING TRI Here you go.....

How many sessions a week do you need? 3x3x3 plus some strength/core?
Not sure what 3x3x3 means, so that may help you :) . I will write out what I did last year down below


Can you ride the trainer or run the treadmill at the firehouse? Are you OK with some indoor training.
Yes I can do Zwift Cycling or Running etc if I set it up at the station for sure. I didnt do much at all of this last time but can see the benefit of workouts without having to worry about traffic etc.

Any family demands on your 4 days off? Upset wife if you disappear for 6 - 8 hours in the middle of one of those days?
Tons of Family Demands but doesnt everyone have those. But during the week when the kids are at school and wife is at work I am good to go, so M-F on my days off from 815-245 I am free and that is when most of my training happens.

What is type of volume (hours per week) have you CONSISTENTLY been able to pull off in the past during an IM buildup?
Depending on the week 14-20 hours towards the end of the build up, but I have been told I can do some more focused work and bring some fo that time down too.

How close is your pool?
I have two pools within 7 min of my house and my open water lake is 12 minutes from the house.

Answer these and you may be able to generate a bit more discussion. Many people think a lot of free time is great for triathlon but feast or famine doesn't always work because you get forced into a corner of having bigger workouts back to back.

Little and often fills the purse, consistency and moderation, blah blah blah.

Total Feast or Famine I get that, So last year my schedule tended to be

First day of four day was shorter bike workout and shorter swim workout
Second Day Shorter run work out and shorter swim workout
Third Day Longer bike with sometimes a short brick run after
Fourth Day long run and long swim


Two work days started as short run and next day weights but turned into more stretching and rest by the end with some rowing fitted in.


Mind you I did a nine month plan I built myself and Ironman Santa Rosa 140.6 was my first ever triathlon. My goal for it was to finish...16:59 and I would be happy. As it got closer I thought that 14 hours was doable and a good pace but not hurting my self and making sure I finished. three weeks out from the race I got achilles tendonitis in my right leg and my running was shot. I had to completely change my stride and ended up taking an hour and half longer on my run then I wanted and did a 15:21 and was still super stoked at the end. So this time I have a few goals, one would be to finish in the daylight, two would be to be able to run the whole run, three would be to have a better time than last time.


I know this is a lot of info and if I made more money I would just hire a coach who I am sure could do wonders with me but finances as they are, I will try to get as much info I can from others and read a bunch and try to get some type of plan built...that is if the wife will give me the ok to do IMAZ this year ...we shall see.

ALEXER03


Awesome thanks, yeah the paying more is the hard part, I do not make a lot so it takes what we have just to keep things going, versus paying a coach $300 or something for 6 months. Thanks for the insight, sounds similar schedule to what I did last year with my self made plan. I think for me the hard part is those workouts and what they should consist of, how hard and for how long etc. see my other reply where I laid out my schedule kind of, but what I really did was start close to race day with the longest lengths I was going to do then slowly back them off week by week for nine months for the long days, and the short workouts were smaller rides runs swims etc.

AWESOME THANKS

I've coached a fire fighter who raced triathlons in the pro ranks. He was around top third of the pro field. He was usually on a 48/96.
What do you want to know?
And more importantly, what kind of training equipment do have at work, how much time are you allowed to train while on shift and.... how busy is your station? Sleep much when on shift?

OPRFCC...Very Cool...There are just so many schedules out there that the standard 8-5 work week person can grab and use, but for the 48-96er I have found nothing.


Just looking to get stronger and faster and not overtrain. I wish I was at the level to be running with the pros...but doesn't everyone.


At work I have a full weight set and rack etc, also a concept 2 rower, treadmill, and can bring in my trainer if needed. We are a busy station but I do find time to get in workouts at work as well. I do get rest often on shift.

Nice reply, you seem like you legitimately want some advice. A lot of people around here "hit (post) and run"

OK so 3x3x3 means 3 runs, 3 bikes, 3 swims a week. I would say this is the most conventional approach to triathlon training. Doesn't mean it is the most effective nor widely followed but it is what it is. Early in a season you could up this to 3x4 with the other 3 sessions being strength. Later in a season probably just 3x3+1 strength. You get the point. Note that these can be combined as brick workouts say 1 hour on the trainer followed by a 30 minute run.

Next up I am just going to be brutally honest and tell you that 14-15 hour IM result with 14-20 hours a week training is not a very good bang for your buck. Thats a lot of training for not much of a result. Including your late season running injury and not knowing much else I am going to say running/jogging is your main limiter to a substantial improvement. This is DIRECTLY related to your bike fitness. You need to be able to get through the training without getting injured and have the overall endurance to jog the marathon. Easier said than done. Food for thought take a serious look at your body composition. If you are overweight this is going to be very difficult. If your weight is good that will be a huge boost in doing this. You can start working on this right now and it takes nothing more than the power of your mind, and commitment to your goals and a good scale. Anyhow....

Let's move on to workout planning. The workout durations and number of sessions is all I am going to mention. I am not going into the actual nuts and bolts of the sessions. Early in your season doesn't take a genius because the workouts will not need a lot of recovery. Late in the season is the difficult part because of the recovery. Here is what I would propose as a starting framework with the limited knowledge of what's going with you. Again I want to say this is a framework for LATE in the season.


AT THE FIREHOUSE
Days 1 and 2 are a strength session (45 minutes) and a long treadmill run (2.5 hrs)

DAYS OFF
Day 3 Swim (1hr)
Day 4 Medium Brick (1.5 hr bike / 45 min run)
Day 5 Swim (1hr)
Day 6 Long Ride (road 6hr / trainer 5hr)


There are a thousand ways to skin a cat so let me give you my thinking on the above. Starting on day 6 you do your long ride. Then you head into the firehouse and find some recovery time, do a strength session and do a long run on the treadmill. Come out of the firehouse and swim/recover, do a medium quality brick say 1.5 hour trainer and 45 minute run. More swim/recovery, then your long ride. Rinse and repeat. This basic framework covers 2 swims, 2 bikes, 2 runs and one strength and around 13 hrs. You still need to add in 1 more session of each but it is all filler anyhow. Your main goal is to hit these key sessions as rested and ready as possible. The above is not ideal but it is the reality of shift work and feast or famine training. Now someone is going to come on here and flame the above but I can guarantee they have not a single clue on the reality of what we are dealing with. And I haven't even mentioned the whole wildcard of what's going on with your sleep and whether the 48hrs on starts at 9am or 9pm! Don't forget the quote below.

"There is no easy way" -- Gordo

I find the study of triathlon to be an entertaining hobby for myself and have spent too much time doing so. Let me know if you want more food for thought or insight from experimentation on myself over the past 6-7 years after reading dang near everything out there.

I'm currently coaching one firefighter and have coached at least 6 -10 more over the years. I've also built block plans for 2-3 ff's as well although I can't remember their shifts.

---

Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

I’m the firefighter that desert dude is coaching. I’m on the 48/96 schedule. The schedule he has setup is just about perfect!!! I think we are avg’n in the low 20’s per week. HIGHLY recommend you give desert dude (Brian Stover accelerate 3) a shout. Cannot recommend him enough. Tried the self coaching last year and it was a disaster. Felt beat down all the time and was constantly sick. Us 48/96ers really have no excuse. So much free time. Only thing that sucks for me is I can only hit the pool 3 times a week max. Give Stover a shout. You won’t regret it.

Thanks I will check out your site

Will Do Thank You

Awesome thank you sooooooo much this helps take a look at things. I think maybe one of my biggest problems towards the end of my training last year was the Day 3 of my four day was long bike, then day four was long swim and long run. So when it came time to run the legs were already tired and inevitably probably what resulted in my achilles issue. It is a year later and I still struggle here and there with calf issues slightly. I guess never slowing down and still racing hasn't helped. I am addicted to it and it makes me feel so good to have goals and go after them. 2 weeks ago I went to Disneyworld for a week and came home then raced the next day and took second in my AG :) If you are curious and want any little more insight to me... https://www.instagram.com/swimbikerunsmile/

A good (self) coach is always learning. If you haven't checked out "your best triathlon" by Friel I recommend it. This book is very good for rubber meets the road training, especially in the terms of workout descriptions. The workouts will get the job done without over complicating things.

Maybe try to improve your running by spending a month focusing on high frequency (like everyday) and low duration (like 30-40 min) sessions. They will gradually strengthen your soft tissues without breaking down.

And lastly yes, try to split up your long days. Many people run long Saturday and bike long Sunday because their work schedules only allow the free time for these longer sessions on the weekend. This is where shift workers can win.

Good Luck out there and stay safe at work.