I’m at 172 run, 683 bike, and 239 swim. It’s all there on Strava. I also lift, but don’t count that. I’m just an old (60) guy, trying to slow the decline. Nothing earth shattering, just a lot of enjoyable level volume. I’ve changed as I’ve grown older... I used to train to race. But progress, improvement, and PR’s are all in the past. Age has set me free from all that stress. Now I train because I love it, weather I race or not. And when I do race, I go into it without expectations, and accept whatever the outcome. That way, every finish is a victory, and there are no disappointments. I ran a 12:32 at IMAZ 2019, so I’m not that speedy, but it was a fun day, and the volume makes it pretty easy. I clean up my local age group fairly easily, and won the state USAT for my AG in 2019. It got cancelled this year.

---

Athlinks / Strava

 

Volume counts.[/quote]

I think a lot of us endurance athletes are learning that we are over trained during covid.

I did 4 1000 hour years in college. 20+ hour weeks consistently for those college years.[/quote]

We'll see, but I don't think overtrained at all.

If anything, I have gotten this volume in and feel great, strong,

I think big factor...I feel better than when I've trained half as much (not as much "stress" on my body from training") but had more than double stress of the other stuff (commuting, travel, office, etc).

Could I have gotten in 900 hours in my "old" life? Not without way more stress, pressure on family life, hurting work performance. Frankly, those were always the trade-offs I was unwilling to make.

It has been talked about here for some time- Dev has referenced many times- there's a pretty clear correlation for the AGers at pointy pointy end of their AG groups with big volume. It's not rocket science. You log big training, you're way more likely going to do better than people who train less. Sure, there are the magical people who are rock stars training 10 hours a week.... but they are outliers.

I think you're onto something, that makes a lot of sense. Normally, I'd also be working my flight attendant job on top of my training, but I haven't in quite some time now. There is something to be said for a consistent bedtime!

---

"The person on top of the mountain didn't fall there." - unkown

also rule 5

Yes, I swam on a D1 collegiate team. That's pretty standard at that level.

---

"The person on top of the mountain didn't fall there." - unkown

also rule 5

Those of you doing the huge volume, is it mostly zone 2? And how exactly do you define 'zone 2'? What percentage of ftp or max HR is that? I seem to read different guidelines all over the web....

Thx!

Either testing or experience. It's a loaded question, with plenty of articles online. For cycling (I don't run anymore, I mostly swim and use cycling as fun/extra cardio base), I used the MAF formula for running and then subtracted another 10-15 beats. The reason - cycling has a lower load on the body. You are "sitting" and using less overall muscle mass than running or swimming. Makes sense to me, as hitting MAF HR on the bike is comparatively much harder than running. For swimming, it's all by feel, but I've been swimming since age 6. I can tell you what I swam on any given rep within half a second and be right about 90% of the time.

---

"The person on top of the mountain didn't fall there." - unkown

also rule 5

Strava says I'm at 638 hours for the year, all biking with a few hikes in there. I'm at 9174 miles for the year, trying to get to 10,000 before the end.

I'm guessing this is the most or close to it that I've ever done, even when training for 3 iron distance tri's in one year.

3 Iron distance tris would be an overall low volume year. When you include minimal 2 week taper, and 2 week recovery for each you end up with 3 months of low volume that the big volume weeks can't catch up with. I have done a bunch of 3 IM years and they were lower volume than years with 1 or no Ironmans. This year with no racing, no tapers, no recoveries, no travel, is much higher volume. I am almost never sore, and never tired from yesterday's race or the weekend's big training or an super hard intervals on the bike and run that I feel compelled to do when racing. A lot of my intensity is in the pool with only some on the run (mainly hills) and some on the bike. When I am racing need to do way more intensity on bike and run and more single volume days on each. On a continuous base mode, you just get up and go daily to whatever you feel like doing, but you end up being able to do it all the time. I should surpass 900 hrs and I have one 21km run this year, and other than that, long runs will be 14-15km. But I'll end up with my max volume running year in the last 15 years. I only had 2-3 bike rides in 3-4 hrs range all year. Most were 30-120 minutes only. When the workouts are shorter, its easier to go out frequently and not feel fried (because you never deplete yourself) and then you can repeat it tomorrow and the next day, next week, next month.

By definition Ironman racing will also entail many low volume days, weeks and months.

Ah, I misread just the run. Its really an achievement in itself. I have relative youth and financial incentive on my side and its a lot! Keep it up :)

---

Professional Athlete: http://jordancheyne.wordpress.com/ http://www.strava.com/athletes/145340

Coaching Services:http://www.peakformcoaching.com/

I like your view as a continuous base mode. This has been a very enjoyable year as far as riding, just pointing the bike in new directions with no need to worry about if my effort levels are too much or too little.

Sounds reasonable

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

.. what high volume gives [in cycling] is efficiency .. not scientifical [only] .. [also] practical .. it starts with preparing and maintaining the bike .. and your self .. during the ride your are able to decide and carry out what is needed for now .. overseeing the ongoing story .. and the story is going on without self made disturbance .. a good rider does still make smart moves effortless in a blink when the finished one just gasps for breath .. sure the engine will improve, too .. but at 10k miles / year the plateau is set [in my home climate zone] .. and your engine is given to you and not to someone else .. oSo >>

---

*
___/\___/\___/\___ the s u r f b o a r d of the K u r p f a l z is the r o a d b i k e .. oSo >>

Have You Ever Done a 1000 hrs Training Year?



Not even close for this year (just cycling). I'm currently at 332 hrs for the year according to Strava - which I think has captured just about every ride (Actually - there were a couple 100K rides I did earlier in the year that for some reason never showed up on Strava so that number might be +8).

1000 hrs, is about 20 hrs/week of training EVERY week of the year! That's a lot of training. I seem to recall something about the Norwegian Nordic Ski Training system in an article that Stephen Seiler wrote a while back, saying it was the goal of the program to build up the talented late Jnr level skiers (U20) in their late teens and early 20's to about that 1000 hr/year mark, and then they would fine tune from there - some needed quite a bit less - others even more. I'm guessing here to tap out on that base level training.

Even when I was at my best in triathlon years ago - triathlon and Nordic skiing I'm guessing are similar for those hrs/week of training needed - I big week for me was pushing into the low 20 hrs of training. I would have sustained periods of weeks in the mid teens to low 20's hrs, but then there would be a good number of weeks with 5 hrs or less - easy weeks, weeks during the "off season" when you are not doing much and tapering.

---

---

Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Hi Fleck it was training with the XC ski guys back in the late 80's and early 90's where that 1000 hrs magic number first came up. To your points about big weeks and low weeks, in a normal year with racing, not only do we have bigger big weeks, we also likely are driven to higher intensity in the lead up to racing.

With no racing to peak for, probably less massive weeks, less weeks with super high intensity, but also fewer weeks needed to recover from those and from racing, both mentally and physically.

In the year of endless base it may be physiologically and mentally easy to log more hours (for some) who are motivated by training itself (vs race driven training). For others driven by race performance it is harder to train more.

If I see the people on the front of the ST annual big Kahuna challenge it is roughly the same "high volume people". Racing or no racing they are still training high volume.

Before I even start I wouldn't recommend what I've done to anyone looking to lead a balanced life. It's real hard.

Husband and Dad of 2 teenage girls, 43 years old, small business owner. My wife is a teacher. I manage a multi-discipline team. Balance is ultra hard.

I'm sitting at 1092 hours and will cross 23,000 miles ridden tomorrow. I need 67.0 per day to hit 25,000 for 2020. I count Zwift. I do ride my MTB quite a bit. I took time off in October and made it all up in November. Ouch.

The good news is I'm a VERY process oriented guy. Always trying to do better in all things life. Doing that while balancing the above is maybe impossible. I do intend to cut way back on mileage for 2021, but I said that for 2020. I rode 23,500 in 2019.

Lots of great experiences and I've ridden my bike some insane places in the last year. Haleakala and Maah Daah Hey 150 might be the top 2 in the past year. The fitness certainly assures nothing ever gets too hard :)

---

24 Hour World TT Champs-American record holder
Fat Bike Worlds - Race Director
Insta: chris.s.apex

Hi Fleck it was training with the XC ski guys back in the late 80's and early 90's where that 1000 hrs magic number first came up


Breaking it down even further - to hit 1000 hrs in a year, you need to AVERAGE almost 3 hrs/day of training!! I just can't see many people fitting that in over the course of a year - yes in bursts of a few weeks here and there, but a sustained year of 3 hrs/day, 20hrs/week for a whole year - That's HUGE!

It's really for elite/pro, younger*, or others with EXTREME flexibility in their day to day work/personal/social lives

It's important to talk about age with this, because the powers of day to day recovery start to diminish rather significantly I would say from the early 40's onward. I had a couple of 20 hr weeks of riding earlier this year (age 59) - and I was REALLY done in at the end of them. Like I don't-even-want-to-look-at-the-bike tired! So a whole year of weeks like that, now, no way!

---

---

Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

At 60 and retired, every day is Saturday. I ride every day, and swim and run/lift on alternate days. I've only taken 3 days off this year, and that was to rest for the few races I did. I'm finding that 20-30 hours a week of enjoyable level training, is a lot more agreeable, than 10-15 hours of hard training a week. I'm feeling stronger than ever, and don't have any of the deep fatigue, and always almost injured feeling, I got with the shorter harder training. I only do HIIT stuff if I feel like it, and the ratio is probably 90-10 if even that. I don't get sore anymore, and it's doing a nice job of keeping my osteoarthritis at bay.

---

Athlinks / Strava

Hey Fleck most of the people on the ST log who will hit over 1000 hrs are older guys (but retired)!

I took this last year off when covid hit, so wont be at the 1000 hour mark. However every year before that ive done well over 1000 hours. For the ultras I race there is no substitute for time on your feet and on the bike. Training isnt sexy, just getting the body used to the beating for long periods of time.

Ill be attempting the triple deca ironman next year (30 IMs in 30 days). Ive started mapping out what my training will look like to race it in November and it will be my biggest training year ever. Next year the race alone will put me at about 400 hours in 30 days of racing + more than 1000 hours of actual training leading up to it. Will be a fun year.

---

2x Deca-Ironman World Cup (10 Ironmans in 10 days), 2x Quintuple Ironman World Cup (5 Ironmans in 5 days), Ultraman, Ultra Marathoner, and I once did an Ironman.

No wonder I'm shit at this, I checked 2019 and I would be hard pressed to hit 400 total, including, time spent doing 1 sprint,1 olympic, 1 half, 1 full and one marathon.

I don't want to think about 2020, but it won't get to 3 digits.

The easiest way to get to 3 digits in 2020 is that when Dec 1st hits, you just need to train 3.3 hrs per day for 30 days and then take Dec 31st off so you can "party like it's 1999" (I think Prince said that). This is ensure you get 100 hrs in December.

Actually the more I think about it, this may be the best way to get this pandemic laden year over with....just train all of December out of our collective miseries, end the year with a big party with yourself and all your buddies and relatives on Zoom and then let's get this shit show year over with with a massive base leading into 2021!!!

Mostly I think I'm just holding up two digits to 2020.....:0)

Or a single 33yo guy with nothing better to do!

In my case, I've been very constant since I started doing tris 4 years ago. When pools were open, I used to swim for an hour every morning before work. Then in the evening, I run or ride (even outdoors weather allowing). That's 2-2.5 hours in most week days and then long rides in weekends... It may look like much, but I don't watch TV, I don't do shopping. And in weekends, should I be getting hammered in the bar? I've done that in the past... and tri saved me from that path.

If you ask anybody my age with a Netflix subscription or fond of video games, I'm pretty sure they'd log same or more hours than me

This was roughly my program in grad school.....workout 1, was 1-1.5 hrs swim, workout two later in the day was 2-4 hrs run+bike combo or bike only. That was 5 days per week. Weekend long bike and long run. Big weeks were 22-30 hrs per week, and low volume weeks in the fall were 10-12 hrs. When I went back to work, I biked to work each way, ran at lunch, and swam at night several days per week (typical day was 2-4 hrs).

This was before netflix (it was more than 25 years ago), and I figured it was cheaper than being in the bar and the internet did not exist to waste time on, so it was just engineering text books, work and training. My entire social life was on group workouts (many of which I would organize). Now my social life is in the tank, because my entire social life is also around workouts and races (or around work events), that is tanked due to the pandemic

With 11 days left in the year, I should pass 900 hrs in the next few days, and will pass 800km swimming tomorrow. Run is already at 3100km+. No travel, and no commuting to work essentially gave me an extra 100 hrs this year (plus Covid19 has been so demoralizing, that training more is the only way to suspend the reality of the current world scenario LOL)