Endurance Nation IM Approach or Trifuel 36 wk Free Plan? IM First Timer Advice

Triathlon Forum
1

Ok here’s the scenario. I am looking to begin very shortly into structured training for IMLP (My very first full IM). My question is one of approach…

I have been reading quite a bit on the Endurance Nation site about their “Fast before Far” philosophy and a lot of it seems to make sense for me in my circumstances with two little ones at home, and a semi-supportive wife in the whole process. I have gone ahead and put myself on the waiting list for EN as I am still deciding my course of action.

Background…

I am coming off of a solid season of about 10 races total and two Half IMs in that season with the most recent being at the end of August. Past 6-8 weeks have been unstructured, but I have still SBR at least 1-2 times per week as I have felt like it. I am a heart-attack survivor who decided on my Ironman goal whilst lying in ICU over 5 yrs ago at the age of 34. Since then, I have completed on the average, a dozen or so races per season, cut almost 70 lbs and am in the best shape of my life. I luckily had no damage to the heart during this whole ordeal and have trained myself to the point of coming off all of my meds with the exception of a aspirin/day. Most recent cardiology check has given me the green light to pull the trigger on my IM goal (little did they know i was already registered anyhow). The wife has been very supportive and knows how big a deal this is for me, especially in light of where I have been. I have chosen IMLP due to the fact that I live 40 minutes from the race site, ride the bike course and regularly swim the cable all summer long as my business brings me into town frequently. That, and of course the local friend/family support for a race so much in our back yard. In addition, I thrive in the mental fortitude aspect of the training and can hole away in my pain cave and do structured training for hours on the computrainer/treddie when the weather gets crappy up here. I also have a local tri scene at my gym where I swim where there are no less than 25-30 former ironman triathletes that I know and converse/train with regularly throughout the season.

Up to this point I was basically resigned to the fact that I was going to use the free 36 week Ironman plan offered on the trifuel site, train with some buddies, and race for the local Placid Planet team. I have a lot of friends who have had very successful IM experiences with this plan. I guess I am just apprehensive in trying to select an approach for this window that has been afforded me. I count my blessings everyday that I have the opportunity to tackle this goal. At the same time, I do not want to make a mistake in approach and screw it up. Sharpen the Sword, or Early Long Miles? Soooooooooo…

What do Ye, the Slowtwitch brethren suggest, or what suggestions (or pithy comments) do you have for this first timer heading into the IM experience regarding training approach? Sharpen the Sword, or Early Long Miles? Combination?

I thank you ahead of time for any wisdom you can share or suggest regarding this topic. I have been quietly gleaning info from you folks for almost 5 yrs now and have learned a great deal all while becoming mildly persnickety and pretentious about all things triathlon (That’s a little joke there).

Thanks again

J.

2

Not a coach but just a MOP guy in his late 40s. It all depends on your goals. If you goal is to have a great day by finishing, you don’t need a coach and can use any free plan. Based on your base, no need to focus on this for 36 weeks - too mentally exhausting and not necessary. For me personally, an 18 week plan is best. In the mean time stay in shape and focus on your weakness this winter. If your digging the EU approach and want a coach then give it go.

3

EN sounds like a good place for you. You’re coming off of a solid race season, and still pretty active. If you hope to be well-prepared for next summer, you’ll want to avoid the lull of the early winter/holiday season where it’s very easy to let things slow down. The outseason plans are very good for building fundamental speed onto existing fitness.

If you can’t get into EN, then all is certainly not lost. The idea of fast before far is pretty easy to implement IF you have the mental wiring to do so. The largest mental hurdle is convincing yourself to work with high intensity when your goals are beyond the horizon. One obvious benefit of this approach is that you’re getting loads of quality work done in relatively small blocks of time - leaving your schedule a bit more flexible. The winter days are short, and long workouts often become a time drain.

4

Yeah, it’s the thought of starting a plan where it’s “easing” you back into structured training that seems like I’m moving backwards. That and the time drain you mentioned based on the fitness I’ve been able to maintain. Seems like sharpening the sword for a while and then doing a lot of the volume closer to race time ( read 20 wks) seems more feasible and sellable to the wife :wink:

Thanks for your input …

5

EN sounds like a good place for you. You’re coming off of a solid race season, and still pretty active. If you hope to be well-prepared for next summer, you’ll want to avoid the lull of the early winter/holiday season where it’s very easy to let things slow down. The outseason plans are very good for building fundamental speed onto existing fitness.

If you can’t get into EN, then all is certainly not lost. The idea of fast before far is pretty easy to implement IF you have the mental wiring to do so. The largest mental hurdle is convincing yourself to work with high intensity when your goals are beyond the horizon. One obvious benefit of this approach is that you’re getting loads of quality work done in relatively small blocks of time - leaving your schedule a bit more flexible. The winter days are short, and long workouts often become a time drain.

To add to burnman’s points…first of all, you get what you pay for. On the “fast before far” point, assuming you live in the northern hemisphere and are entering winter, then with the intensity focus, it would be great to break things up mentally with a number of 5K and 10k running races (assuming no injuries).

I agree with the first poster that focusing on an Ironman for 36 weeks is just too mentally exhausting. I feel you can break up your year into chunks that are 3-6 weeks in duration, each with a different focus and goals. Then with 6 weeks to go, you can focus on Ironman. Plenty to do in the world of endurance sport for the the other 24-28 weeks before the final 6 weeks of IM specificity…then 2 weeks of taper. Anyway, “back in the day”, all the guys would spend lots of the spring and summer racing sprint and olympic. Then with 8 weeks of so to go before Kona, they’d clamp down and get specific about Kona.

There times were really good, and in my view, for most age groupers, that’s the most sustainable approach. Too much long stuff all year is a great way to burn out.

6

To add to burnman’s points…first of all, you get what you pay for.

In this case I’d disagree. Not sure you are aware ( I wasn’t) but it appears Mike Llerandi has made his Super Coach plan available on Tri-fuel.

It’s a solid, free plan that has proven results over many years. While I agree that 36 weeks is a long time to focus on IM there is a lot of quality content in there for first timers. Especially, a northeasterner relegated to the trainer for the bulk of his winter riding.

IMO it’s a viable option. At the right price.

7

I haven’t looked through the free plans in a while, but (as I recall) they were pretty standard IM plans - meaning long and easy - for the majority of the pre-season. A cursory review of the plans could either confirm or deny my recollection, but I’m feeling super lazy at the moment.

8

To add to burnman’s points…first of all, you get what you pay for.

In this case I’d disagree. Not sure you are aware ( I wasn’t) but it appears Mike Llerandi has made his Super Coach plan available on Tri-fuel.

It’s a solid, free plan that has proven results over many years. While I agree that 36 weeks is a long time to focus on IM there is a lot of quality content in there for first timers. Especially, a northeasterner relegated to the trainer for the bulk of his winter riding.

IMO it’s a viable option. At the right price.

I followed Mike Llerandi’s free 36 week plan to target IMLP (my first) a few years ago and was very satisfied with how things went. I started a bit late into it and didn’t follow it 100% (some of his suggested paces were too fast for me). I began training after a summer that consisted of a a couple sprints, a Half IM and a century.

9

Did the 36 week program before…it worked. but it was too long and too slow.

If you have the money get a coach/buy a specific plan; I’ve heard good things about EN. GL

10

Thanks for all the comments thus far, Greatly Appreciated!

11

MI,

I am an EN’r. This is my first season with them starting Oct 1. I am doing Oceanside, some Olympics and then IM-AHOE. As an average age grouper not ever having a coach and only using free plans before this is so muchmore valuable I believe. Lot’s of people in the forumns on EN, lots of experience and help. I am already seeing significant gains in my running since I started the outseason plan on 11/1. PM me with questions.

12

You can do EN as a canned plan or as monthly coaching, which gives you access to the wiki, forums and rally, which is a training weekend at LP.

If you’re already local and have experienced buddies to ask questions, I’d consider buying the canned EN 20 week Outseason plan for $99 then making a decision on a formal IM training plan as you get closer to the race.

13

Yeah, pretty much think I’m going the EN route, but may modify my early season stuff to better avoid burnout as Dev mentioned :wink:
.

14

How does TrainingPeaks compare to EN & Tri-fuel? I’m still searching for something. Really need a beginner IM plan with a run focus as my longest run is only 15k.

15

Et tu, Dev? :wink:

I wish everyone got what they paid for in the coaching services area, but man there’s quite a wide array of quality out there if you ask me. I tossed the SuperCoach plans up on http://opentri.com to try to force an increase in quality for those who do charge, but who knows if it’s helped over the years.

My plan is to rev the plans at some point and post them on Addaero, probably charge a nominal amount for them once that’s done. In the meantime, you can view all of the plans with no registration & no commitment, so what the heck, right?

Happy to help anyone who’s looking to develop a lifestyle around our sport…and been doing just that for nearly 30 years now.

Thanks,
Mike

EN sounds like a good place for you. You’re coming off of a solid race season, and still pretty active. If you hope to be well-prepared for next summer, you’ll want to avoid the lull of the early winter/holiday season where it’s very easy to let things slow down. The outseason plans are very good for building fundamental speed onto existing fitness.

If you can’t get into EN, then all is certainly not lost. The idea of fast before far is pretty easy to implement IF you have the mental wiring to do so. The largest mental hurdle is convincing yourself to work with high intensity when your goals are beyond the horizon. One obvious benefit of this approach is that you’re getting loads of quality work done in relatively small blocks of time - leaving your schedule a bit more flexible. The winter days are short, and long workouts often become a time drain.

To add to burnman’s points…first of all, you get what you pay for. On the “fast before far” point, assuming you live in the northern hemisphere and are entering winter, then with the intensity focus, it would be great to break things up mentally with a number of 5K and 10k running races (assuming no injuries).

I agree with the first poster that focusing on an Ironman for 36 weeks is just too mentally exhausting. I feel you can break up your year into chunks that are 3-6 weeks in duration, each with a different focus and goals. Then with 6 weeks to go, you can focus on Ironman. Plenty to do in the world of endurance sport for the the other 24-28 weeks before the final 6 weeks of IM specificity…then 2 weeks of taper. Anyway, “back in the day”, all the guys would spend lots of the spring and summer racing sprint and olympic. Then with 8 weeks of so to go before Kona, they’d clamp down and get specific about Kona.

There times were really good, and in my view, for most age groupers, that’s the most sustainable approach. Too much long stuff all year is a great way to burn out.

16

EN is really good. You’ll get as much out of it as you put into it. There is a lot of knowledge there. I quit EN after a few years and joined another new online tri group. Stayed with them for about 3 months, then quit. EN has it dialed.
Kurt A.

17

As much as I dislike EN I think their system is better.

18

http://www.triclubsandiego.org/index.php?option=com_zoo&view=category&layout=category&Itemid=210

I like this guy. I KQ’d in 2003 off this. I like the flexibility, and periodics races. The plan includes longer brick workouts, which is often debated on ST.