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XTERRA in 10 Weeks. Questions about training
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I have a full distance XTERRA (XTERRA - Rockport Rugged) in August and I have a couple of training questions...

A little background first..

1. I got into mountain biking long before I got into Tri so the actual mountain biking is not an issue.
2. Triathlete on and off since 2009, longest race was 70.3 in 2015. I had not done a tri since 2015 but I have stayed active through running (10K, Half Marathons, and one very painful, slow marathon)
3. Did a sprint about a week ago (06.02.18) and I used THIS Garmin Sprint Intermediate Plan. I loved the plan and the volume of work was enough to get me to third in my age group, I was MOP before that...
4. I would like to do well in the XTERRA but I am mostly just looking forward to the challenge.

Questions.

1. Garmin has an Olympic plan that mimics the sprint plan I used but, of course, with longer workouts. LINK. The plan is 12 weeks but my race is in 10 weeks, would it be advisible to just start at week 3 considering the first two weeks are base building?

2. I was planning on doing the weekday bike workouts on the trainer and hitting trails on the weekends for the long bike workouts, run workouts, and bricks. Good idea or should I hit the trails more than that?

Thanks!!
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Re: XTERRA in 10 Weeks. Questions about training [caffer] [ In reply to ]
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Any idea what the mountain bike course is? I know Xterras have a reputation on ST as having easy mt bike courses, but my small history with Xterra racing up here in the northern states is otherwise. Passing on singletrack can be really difficult on the bike portion in an Xterra and burn matches in a hurry. It looks like your swim is 'only' 1000 meters which is a bit short for that event. I would try to get that swimming dialed in really and practice transition specific to your mountain bike as well. Being a great mountain biker may not mean much if you're stuck behind a bunch of not-so-great mountain bikers. If there's a lot of double track or wide open spaces, that may be a moot point though.

To directly answer your question, I think as long as you're getting out on the trails once a week or so you will retain your handling skills. Try to ride the course the day before if it's an option.

The other thing I remember is that running after a steady state tri/tt bike ride is a bit different than running after mountain biking. One thing I wish I did a couple times is a bike/run/bike/run type workout at high intensity on challenging terrain. Good transition practice too.

Anyhow, no matter what, you will have a blast!!
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Re: XTERRA in 10 Weeks. Questions about training [caffer] [ In reply to ]
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I would forget about any cookie cutter plans, just hit the swim and run hard for the next couple months. You said it already, you are a MTB'er, so do maybe 2 good rides a week and you will be golden there. Spend 1/2 of the rest of your time swimming(preferable with a masters group) and the other half running, that is your low hanging fruit.

And the better you can come out on the swim, the better your bike will be(less people to pass). So swim focus is bike focus too on race day..Maybe throw in a couple off the bike/short fast runs and that is probably the best you can do in this short time frame..
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Re: XTERRA in 10 Weeks. Questions about training [caffer] [ In reply to ]
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1. Xterra's are completely different from road racing, I highly advise not following a cookie cutter program if you want to do well and be competitive. An example of why this plans don't work is I have 7 athletes I coach all doing 1 of 2 different races within 2 weeks of each other. One course has almost 3,000 ft of climbing for the bike and the other course only has 500 ft of elevation on the bike. Training for specificity is crucial with having a successful race, one group will be doing long tempo/threshold grinds and the other group of racers are working on high intensity intervals for the short punchy and twisty course.

2. With your skill level being higher I would suggest sticking to one ride a week on the trails, you will reap more fitness benefit from riding on a trainer and can make the workouts more course specific.

I definitely recommend doing more bricks off of quality bike workouts. Another aspect I push is the importance of the swim so the strong mountain bikers can get out of the water more towards the front so they have less of a problem with passing.

__________________

Louie Frank Cicchino
Accelero Endurance
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Re: XTERRA in 10 Weeks. Questions about training [caffer] [ In reply to ]
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Start doing squats.

As other threads on this site will attest, the run can be an unexpected grind. I'm halfway joking about squats, but I would recommend trail running/biking and hill running/biking. Whatever plan you choose, make the B/R workouts as much like the race courses or efforts you can.

XTERRA people are fun. I think you'll make that goal no problem.

Andrew Moss
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Re: XTERRA in 10 Weeks. Questions about training [caffer] [ In reply to ]
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the road plan will be close...but dont discount the Q2 and Q3 pedaling and CNS demands of the bike and HOW it effects your run.

Swim = no change
Bike = FTP to >FTP VARIABLE and high force reps
Run = determine course demands (hills? Rocky?) and address with RACE LIKE efforts and increment them till race week.

http://www.pbmcoaching.com
USA Triathlon Level 3 Elite Coach
USA Cycling Level 1 Elite Coach

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Re: XTERRA in 10 Weeks. Questions about training [caffer] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for the advice everyone!

Course is rocky. You start with a flat open section, then fast with tight turns, slow and technical then back out to flat open section. The run includes a section along the beach/shoreline and a run up the side of an old quarry right before the finish. Sounds like a great time!!!!

Short video of the bike... LINK and the run LINK

So I'm thinking I'll sort of follow the plan. (2 Swim, 2 Bike, 2 Run per week)

1. Keep the swim workouts as they are (I swam a 1:40/100M average over 700M in my sprint in a wetsuit based on the sprint plan). Sprint course was shortened from 800M due to "Excessive Seaweed"..... Unfortunately, I can't really do a masters swim thing. I travel a lot for work.

2. Follow weekday trainer bike session with at least a 1 mile run
3. Longer weekend bike session will be done on trails with a mile or 2 trail run off the bike
4. Run twice a week

So excited to do this race!
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