What does your weekly schedule look like? I’m bumping up to that now for Chattanooga prep and it seems like I’m always working out. Maybe I’m training too much? How do you fit it in?
Well I don’t train those hours anymore, but I coach several who do.
Yes you are always working out. You work, work out, eat, sleep and don’t do a lot of other things.
most days are 2 workouts per day.
Way over simplified version:
Monday - Friday (Double every day but Friday)
Session 1: (.5 - 1 hour)Session 2: (1.5-2.5 hours)One session in the AM, on in the PM/evening.
Saturday
Long Ride/Brick (4 hours)
Sunday
Open Water Swim (1-1.5 hrs)Long Run (2 hours)
Gets you somewhere around 20 depending on where you fall in the ranges.
Big balance that’s for sure! I don’t have wife / family / etc and being a full time coach allows a bit more freedom for workouts, but coach plenty who are in your shoes!!!
Monday - Swim / Bike (2.5hours Total)
Tuesday - 2 x Runs (1-1.5hours Total)
Wednesday- Swim / Bike / Run (3-4 hours Total)
Thursday- Bike Only (1-2 hours)
Friday- Swim and 2 Runs (2-2.5 hours)
Saturday- Bike (4-5 hours)
Sunday- 1-2x Runs (2-3 hours)
Best of luck!! You’re probably doing it right, just always pay attention to the number one metric (your body!). If you’re honestly tired, don’t worry about that extra 30min of riding. Spend it resting!
Right now 18-19h in week 11/16 for IMMT. Started at around 14-15h, structure stayed the same and increased volume every 4 weeks.
- Monday:
- bike + run (am)
- easy swim (pm)
- Tuesday
- tempo run (am)
- swim (pm)
- Wednesday
- bike (am)
- bike (pm)
- Thursday
- run (am)
- swim (pm)
- Friday
- swim (am)
- Saturday
- long bike + run (am)
- Sunday
- long run (am)
- easy swim (pm)
I peaked for IMLP at 25 hours last week and been averaging around 20. Here’s my schedule last week:
Mon: S: 4k + B: 45 mins trainer
Tue: R: 75 mins + B: 60 mins trainer
Wed: B: 60mins + S: 4k + R: 30mins
Thur: BRICK B: 30 min trainer + R: 90min
Fri: BRICK B: 420 min + R: 45 min
Sat: R: 150 mins + R: 30 mins
Sun: BRICK B: 180 mins + R: 60 mins
The good thing about a 25 hour week is it makes an 18-20 hour week seem like nothing.
Thanks for the feedback. I don’t mind doing double’s–but when I start 3 a day it gets tough. I just might need to make my morning workout longer. I’m lucky in that I can and do workout at lunch every day–45-60 min swim or run. I don’t like training after work as that is family time. At most I will sneak in a short 30 min run in the evening but I enjoy that time w/ my family.
Right now I am in the 17-20 range depending on ranges:
Monday: easy am swim (45 mins), 30 min lunch run, Core/functional stength PM (30 min, sometimes an easy bike for frequency)
Tuesday: 1 hr swim all easy am, 30 min lunch run, 60 min ride pm with short intervals <1 min
Wednesday: 30 min lunch run, 1.5-2 hour ride/brick pm
Thursday: 1 hour swim set, 30 min lunch run, 1 hr interval/track run night
Friday: AM Core (30 min, sometimes and hour ride), 30 min lunch run, 1-1.5 hour swim set
Saturday: 3-6 hour brick depending on time of build, possible easy swim for recovery at night (30 mins)
Sunday: 1-2.5 hour run, 45 min swim set
Obviously I suck at swimming and don’t do it enough. I find it easiest to just keep the body moving when possible (hence a lot of short EZ runs mid-day). Fitting in the smaller “workouts” have really helped my milage creep up into the 40-50 mpw for running during peak if I get a run in every day at lunch. Would like to have longer AM sessions but I have to be at work by 6:30 and I like to sleep.
For me, I have a full time job, spouse (no kids), coach a dozen or more athletes and try to find time for friends…
My weeks are around 18-26 hours with this basic pattern:
Mon - core, swim practice, ez run
Tue - quality run, swim practice
Wed - hard ride, swim practice, core
Thu - long run, swim practice, ride
Fri - core, ez run, swim (OW or drills or practice)
Sat - FTP focused ride (3-4 hours), transition run
Sun - Long ride, swim
Monday and Fridays give me an easy day and one where I can focus on the other things in life a little more, which I find allows me to balance everything reasonably well.
Jack
I am lucky where I can workout on my lunch hours.
If I get 1:15 in before work and 1hr at lunch every mon-thurs that’s 9 hours.
I’ll then wake super early and do a 3hr run before work Friday. Saturday off, 6hr bike/30 min run Sunday
This is 18.5 hours
- zero workouts after work for family
- Saturday’s off for family
However it’s more for ironman peak (last week), that long run and long bike is too much to sustain thus I’m normally 14 hours
Yes you are always working out. You work, work out, eat, sleep and don’t do a lot of other things.
That’s not the case for cycling-only (I realize that’s not what the OP is asking about. but still, always reminds me why I would never take to triathlon)
18 hrs for cycling is not that bad:
Mon: 1 hr easy
Tues: 3 hrs (at this time of year, includes training race)
Wed: 2.5 hrs - 3 hrs
Thurs: 2.5 - 3 hrs
Fri: 1 hr easy
Sat: 4-5 hrs
Sun: 4-5 hrs
that’s 18-21 hrs, and still leaves time for other than “work, eat, sleep”. But splitting that over 3 different sports I imagine requires more overhead.
I don’t hit quite those hours anymore, but when I did or do my typical week is:
Monday - AM swim approx 60 min, PM bike 2 hours, typically easy ride home from work
Tuesday - AM 2 hour bike to work hard-ish, noon run approx 30 min easy, PM 25-30 min OWS
Wednesday - AM swim approx 60 min, noon run 50-60 min tempo, 2 hr ride home easy-ish
Thursday - AM 2 hour bike to work hard-ish, noon run approx 30 min easy, PM 25-30 min OWS
Friday - AM longer swim 90-ish min, noon run approx 50-60 min w/speed work or track
Saturday - AM Long ride/brick 3-5 hours total
Sunday - AM long run upwards of 2 hours
My pool swims are at 5 AM before work, OWS after work on my way home. The bulk of my bike hours are commuting, I have a 34 mile commute (door-to-door) and my job allows me to run in the middle of the day.
I follow a similar pattern still but am hitting 12-15 hours nowadays. Damn near 45, recent stress fracture and hernia, the body isn’t holding up quite like it used to.
MONDAY work out #1 core and weights workout work out 2# Swim
TUES Run intervals and speed work 1 hour
WED Bike run brick (bike is from 1.5 to 2 hours run is 30 minutes a race pace)
Thursday #1 Bike 2 hours #2 swim
Friday #1 weights and core workout #2 swim
Saturday LONG ride + run after Long ride ranges from 3 hours to 5 with one 6 hour ride 2 weeks out run is anywhere from 30 min to 1 hour
Sunday LONG RUN DAY from 1 hour to 3 at just above IM marathon race pace
Swim workouts are usually one hour
Core and weight workout gets done at work during “lunch” it takes 30 minutes
.
Monday: AM Swim
Tuesday: AM Swim/Afternoon Run/Evening Bike
Wed: AM Bike/PM Run
Thur: AM Swim/PM Bike
Fri: AM Swim/AM Bike/PM Run
Sat: AM Bike/PM Run
Sun: AM Swim/AM Bike/ PM Run
.
I think my hours add up to 12 or less a week.
What does 18-20 hours get you ? Kona places ?
Coming back from a knee injury so I’m not running much, so a week when I’m not too busy with work might be 5-6.5 hours swimming, 10-12 cycling, and 3-3.5 running (5-6 swims, 4 rides, 5-6 runs). Previous years were probably more like 2-2.5 swimming, 10-15 cycling, and 6-7 running (2-3 swims, 4-5 bikes, 6-8 runs). Last year that put me in 4:10 half and 1:57 oly shape on rolling courses.
Right now I’m basically doing 1-1.5 hours before work, and 1-2 after work. Saturdays are a 5 hour ride and either a short swim or run, and Sundays are usually all three (1.5-2 hr ride, 4k swim, 4-5 mile run).
With longer races, volume is definitely important, but if hitting an arbitrary mark like 20 hrs a week precludes you from getting quality work in, then you need to back off and find a better balance. Make sure you can get a threshold or tempo ride in midweek, a progressive long ride, a tempo/steady run, and a 1.5-2 hr progressive long run in. If the volume is killing you, and all your runs are pretty easy and your bikes are all <75% of cp, then you gotta adjust things a bit.
I used to think I was better (faster and uninjured) in the 10-15 hour range. This year I blew that personal theory out of the water, PR’s by 20 minutes. I hardly dipped below 15 hours training for CDA this year and those were mostly due to family commitments (two boys, both swimming and playing hoops). The difference was that I was being coached up this year and while the 18-20 hours weeks were BIG, they never felt like I was overcooking it. Here’s a sample week:
M: 4400 swim, 60min MTB
T: 2+00 run (my long runs were on Tuesday, needed heavy bike mileage)
W: 4500 swim, 1+30 bike (IM interval work)
Th: 45min strength, 1+15 run (IM intervals)
F: 3500 swim, 40min run
Sa: 6+00 bike
Su: 3+00 bike, 45min Brick Run
my last big week before tapering for challenge roth looked like this
mon swim 3k aerobic ; core strenght
tue swim 3km thr; run 21k with 3x5k tempo
wed bike 80km with 3x15’ tempo
tue swim 3k aerobic; bike 40km IM pace
fri run 32k long run
sat bike 60km IM pace; swim 4k aerobic
sun brick: 180k IM pace bike + 10k run IM pace
.
I think my hours add up to 12 or less a week.
What does 18-20 hours get you ? Kona places ?
and ST bragging rights
I’d go with just bragging rights.
I know of atleast one slowtwitcher that trains half as much as illustrated above and goes really really fast.