as mentioned, look at 2x20min intervals as a minimum if you can go to (3x20 or 2x30 then great do that), and dont overdo the intensity, especially in the first few minuites.

the crux is you need to do intervals that are predominatly training your aerobic system, theres a decient chart in this link that outlines where the anerobic aerobic fall off/ take over,

http://www.gbosonapps.net/training-concepts.html

work wioth your heart rate to check you are not pushing too hard, if anything set your target power a little low so you can hit it for the full interval(s) rather than carking out, as thats goig to skew the traiing towards the non aerobic area.... you can always add a few more watts on at the end of the interval/ next training session.

I also like to get in a 1x60 session occasionally, justt to mix things up a bit, it dosent need to be balls out or anything, its just a good way of getting another hour of sweet spot in.

recovery wise, just get moving somehow, even 15-20 mins on the bike at low intensity will help (say 1/2 ftp) or even just go for a walk, get that blood round your system to aid recovery without stressing your system.

fueling, just eat somthing to cover the workout a bit before, a banana? and get some protein. its worth getting on an app like myfitness pal to keep a check on calories so you dont end up gorging after a workout, bt generally try to limit the meat a bit, and get some fruit/grains/ veg in there, gradually you'll learn what fueling you need ( everyones a bit different) for endurtance training you shouldnt need lots of calories over what you need to run like you would with weight/sprint training.

This thread made my day.

But at least to add something to it. I don't think you will gain anything considerably in 5-6 weeks, considering that 2 of those weeks should be taper. You basically have 3 weeks to really focus. I suggest researching this forum on ways to increase your ftp, since there are tons. 2x20mins@95% ftp is one good way. There are many others.

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- Jordan

My Strava

One of us is a freak :) I can hold more one hour power but couldn’t do your 2 - 3’ interval power. Is 420 a one off or can you bang out 8 of them?

Maybe I need to suffer more (shrug)?

Fueling is quite important during training and might be one of the reason you're not seeing that much improvement. You can take any simple regime, but you're going to have to eat!
This is what I would eat during training weeks (this is just a guide and what works for me)

AM Workout done fasted, primarily due to time constraints.
Breakfast: overnight oats or greek yoghurt and granola, both with fruit.
AM snack: tin of sardines and a cup of coffee
Lunch: usually something like chicken/broccoli/rice, or chili with barley, or thai curry with chicken and vegetables with udon noodles.
PM snack: Peanut butter and an apple
PM workout
Dinner: Usually something similar to what I do for lunch
Dessert/dinner#2: fruit smoothie, sometimes with protein powder to help with recovery.

I'm usually eating like 2500 - 3000 calories but burning much more so am generally dropping weight as the season progresses. I get by without nutrition during workouts on these days because the workouts are less than one hour, but if my workouts are more than an hour, I'm definitely taking in something. Especially on the bike, where I'm going out for a 50k+ ride. I'll usually eat either solid food (dates, sometimes even stop for a sandwich), or gels/blocks.

You'll definitely need to fuel your body if you expect it to improve/do more.

Ok, this is a start. That's not terribly different from my own standard tri-week. There's plenty of time there. But, we need a little more information...specifically, what times of the day are available for that training. In particular, on Mon/Wed you have 2.5+ hours available. Is that in a single block, or can you break that into two sessions? Can you list a typical training week, such as:

Mon AM swim / PM Run
Tue PM Bike (2x20 @ FTP)
Wed AM Swim / Lunch Run / PM Bike
Thu Lunch run (long)
Fri Lunch Run / PM Bike
Sat AM Swim / lunch Bike (long) / brick run
Sun OFF

Its hard to get in the proper quantity of training across SBR without doing a few two-a-days. If your swim is where you say, then you can probably get by on 2x per week. I'm a run-frequency proponent. So, I prefer to run 5-6x, and never less than 4x. When my training is balanced, my bike is 4x. If I'm in a bike focus, then I'm 5-6x on the bike, and 4x on the run (even if they are just short/easy runs, I still run).

Whatever training plan you've been following has left the volume build to VERY late (too late). I aim to be at full volume 12+ weeks prior to the event I'm training for. Then I begin transitioning that volume into more and more race-specific work in those last 12 weeks. Exactly what that looks like depends on the race length, though. Longer race = more tempo, shorter race = more threshold/vo2.

As vijeet said, you need to eat every meal...more or less similar calories for each meal. You need carbs, and protein especially. I aim for 1.5-2.0 grams of protein / KG of body-weight. I eat lean meats (chicken, pork, fish, lean beef). I don't typically fuel specifically for sessions less than 2 hours. But, being newer to this stuff, you may need to for anything approaching 90+ minutes. If you're wiped after 90 minutes of z2, eat more beforehand as vijeet suggested. Over the years your body will adjust and the duration you can sustain without fueling will lengthen. Bottom line, don't deplete yourself...it takes too long to recover and downstream workouts will suffer.

In the time you have left, you aren't going to make major ground on your FTP, but a 10% bump isn't unreasonable. But, you need to focus your efforts on the bike, and NOT the run. Just run at your target race pace...6 min/km. Don't do anything fancier than that. For the bike, a focussed 2x20/2x30/1x45/1x60 session at 160 watts or so should help. I also like to put some intensity into my long bike. Eg:

20min warmup,
2x(20min z2 (120 watts for you), 10min in zone3 (about 135 watts for you),
5min easy
4x10 @ 90% FTP (5min recovery)
finish out duration in z1/2

But, you gotta eat, and you gotta rest.

Ali
Most of my sessions are zone 2 heart rate. I've bought the power metre now to get more accurate.

So if I am doing nothing wrong. Then this is just how long it takes. Maybe I should have done longer cycles last month.

Zone 2 stuff has given me great fitness but my legs on the bike seem to never have any power. It's rather frustrating

All this thread was about was planning... I wanted to know roughly how much better would I expect to get in 6 weeks, so I can plan.

This is quite cool bro, I've worked mostly in zone 2 heart rate without carbs to do a similar effect. I never thought of vitamin d as well. Hmmm

I feel quite fit tbh. Resting heart rate is now 54 ish when it was 65 at the start. So I'm getting there.

Thanks!

Really? That's interesting. I know when I've pushed my running too hard, when I go light headed. If I don't get water fast enough, I'm gone.

I assume it's due to low blood sugar.

Yeah, the bike sucks. At this rate, it'll take many years to achieve average bike times.

It does take time, but you should notice gradual improvement. What do you mean by zone 2? Roughly what percentage of FTP or max HR?
What other sessions do you do? Any typical examples?

What sessions have caused you to pass out?

I came on here 6 months ago asking how to optimise 😂

Got wrecked.

Told to cycle more

I am quite weak in the legs. I just don't know why. Happy to squat 120kg and leg press 240kg, but I can't push out 220w? I could barely hold 260w for the 3 min warm up

It's like on the bike my creatine levels are great. Past a min, I have no energy to push.

Hmm

OK
1. Yes, I realise I don't have a great 2 x 20min session in the week. Il charge the 60min tempo to 2 x 20mins
2. I try to walk 10 to 12k steps a day. Just because I'm a office dweller. I do agree this helps a lot with that burning
3. OK so the up and go should do it? I've only just started this. 200 calories and 30g of carbs. 10g protein
4. Tbh I can burn 4k calories and eat 1.5k and it doesn't bother me. But interesting u said less meat. 60-80% of my diet is meat. I'll go research

Yep, that was the main question. If there is no way to improve now. Then cest la vie

I could technically push it back a year but where is the fun in that

I'll just do it and visit some friends.

Then next year. Ill just keep doing longer rides

Interesting.

I eat roughly the same every day I'm at work.

Morning I drive 3 hours - black coffee
Lunch eggs and bacon
4pm up and go pre workout (new)
5 till 8 is some form of training
Dinner is a recovery protein drink and then meat and sweet potatoes

I average 1700 to 1900 calories and I maintain weight 😂😂

I am trying to think what I can eat during a ride. I'll try dates, I like dates

I have no doubt he will do 4:59:xx

If not we’ll guess we won’t hear from him again as he’ll be dead

I'm curious what FTP test you did. You seem to really be struggling, so how did you come up with that number? Also, why not stop making this up as you go along and get on TrainerRoad and do one of their plans? You'll learn some stuff along the way. Six weeks doesn't really seem like enough time to fix all of your issues before your next 70.3, but you can still build fitness in that time.

Also, I'm surprised nobody is mentioning your running. If you're this bad at planning your cycling, how are you structuring your running?

I call this the max plan as it can change if work changes or I can't go the next day. I e I am sitting in bed now with my legs hurting too much from yesterday that I can't do my run in time for my kids birthday party.

I follow loosely the attached the last few weeks. Prior weeks was building up and 80% zone 2 heart rate.

I lost 4 weeks due to flu

I lost 6 weeks due to a concussion in Argentina and Argentina itself

But other than that 60% of my sessions I think are on strava. I work 3 hours from my home. So if I say work, I am already up at 5, I can't get up earlier. Also caveat... This may be what I'm doing now, I admit, it was probably half this a few weeks ago

Monday am work
Monday pm 2 hour at pace (28kph) - gym, up to 10 x 200m swim, 20min stretching sauna

Tuesday morning - 30mins easy run (never do this tbh)
Tuesday pm - home

Wednesday - 2 hour on trainer at race pace, 30min easy run after

Thursday - morning work
Thursday pm - 10 x 1km run at an uncomfortable pace (that's about 4:30-4:45 for me) and 4km easy swim after then 20min sauna

Friday - rest

Saturday - 1-2 hour jog easy
Sunday 2-4 hour cycle easy

I have only swimmed maybe a dozen times this year. However, I swam a 36min 1.9km 2 weeks ago and felt fine. If rather put more effort into cycling

My running just isn't as good as last year. I've sacrificed all my miles for cycling

OK. Since my sessions are mostly evening. I'll start eating something 2 hours out.

Yesterday I did eat 3 hours out... A pie 😂😂😂

I'm happy with a 10% bump!! Could I practically do 150w for 3 hours? From the calcs that could be a 3:00-3:15 time

I only received a power metre this week haha. So my heart rate stays at 130ish for my zone 2 training

Although, I noticed a problem a few weeks ago that my heart rate would never go over 140.

Ive fixed that now. It seems to be in my head

Last pass out was about 4 weeks ago. 8 x 1.5km sprints. I did 60mins on the bike and then hit the sprints, got to sprint 5 and felt whoosy. So I headed to the bathroom, passed out on the cold floor. Had some water and warmed down

I'm not saying its normal... But if I haven't eaten and I'm terrible at staying hydrated. I presume this is quite normal

I went to doctor. Nothing wrong with me apart from what I Knew and was practically told to harden up. He gave me some thyroid tablets. So we seeing if they work with energy levels

This sort of training isn't going to kill me tbh. I presumed at the start I'd be doing some killer training. However most of the time it's watching movies and listening to audiotbooks

are you working on your nutrition plan as well for the race? Passing out in the middle of your event would be no fun. A lot of folks in the med tent at my last 70.3 because they didn’t hydrate well on the bike and bonked on the run.

Good luck with your training, putting the puzzle pieces together is both fun and frustrating.

I think I answered the running questions up and post 😂 tbh, I focused on cycling and regret it a bit. I can run 5min kms now but that's a lot harder than last year.

I ran the zwift 45min test. The warm up fucking killed me thou haha

I had to re start phone and then average them together to get 180w (please see image attached)

I would do again but my legs are killing me. This morning

Not normal.. I do fasted workouts all the time. Very hard ones. Always awake. Never seen anyone pass out and I've seen dehydrated people go harder than you are describing.

A doctor should probably know about that.

And like people said in every one of your very similar threads, 5-6 scattered hours per week is not gonna get you anywhere soon. Listen to the people that are telling you to commit to a better plan.

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Too old to go pro but doing it anyway
http://instagram.com/tgarvey4

I bonked on the cycle last year 😂 took me ages to recover to realise

I went out on the bike and lost one bottle and then did 60km on my one bottle hahahaha wobbled into the run until I got a red bull... Fuck did it give me wings!!

I'm so confused. People have said change one session to 2 x 20mins and have longer runs

Triathlon Tarin says only 2 sessions a week hahahaha

Doctor said drink some concrete. The kiwi way of saying stop being a pussy.