For those of you who coach yourselves, what books/resources do you use to guide you?
For those who use a training program/plan, which do you use and why?
For those who use a coach, do you work with a local coach?
I’m only racing bikes at this point, but I simply make it up as I go along. If I’m feeling good, I do more. If I’m not, I rest more.
Lots of threshold type stuff before race season and then again in the middle of race season (since it’s an area that deteriorates with lots of road races and crits), lots of short, really hard stuff right before and at the start of race season. Then I let the races and group rides take care of all the highly-specific stuff. I do lots more volume in June and July when I have the time.
It’s a feel thing for me, now. And no wasted time. No recovery rides. If I can’t ride a steady easy-pace (60% ftp+), I rest instead.
First, look at the races you want to do in the next year or two.
Then figure out the volume and intensity that you will want to reach your goals.
Friel’s MTBer’s training bible, Friel’s training with power, and Coggan’s/Hunter’s power book. I find the latter tough to read/re-read, so it’s mainly Friel. I’m a cyclocross guy who’s starting to babble with endurance MTB racing during other parts of the year. To quote someone else…I don’t suck at cyclocross. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. My buddy is a coach, so some of the workouts are evolving/changing with his input (specifically the above threshold stuff).
I use Trainerroad’s excellent training plans. I’ve have tremendous results following them and far better than what I’d been doing before following various training plans from the likes of Friel’s over 50 book, Carmichaels Time crunched book and Graeme Street’s Cyclo-Core training system.
Yes this means I train a lot indoors but the results are worth it. Workouts are much more focussed when training to a power profile. Tomorrow’s workout however is a 2 hour lower intensity workout with no intervals so I’ll likely do it outside and just stick roughly to the power targets of the indoor workout. Today I did a 1 hour VO2 max interval workout on my Trainer from the Trainerroad plan I’m currently following. A very focussed workout.
I use Trainerroad’s excellent training plans. I’ve have tremendous results following them and far better than what I’d been doing before following various training plans from the likes of Friel’s over 50 book, Carmichaels Time crunched book and Graeme Street’s Cyclo-Core training system.
Yes this means I train a lot indoors but the results are worth it. Workouts are much more focussed when training to a power profile. Tomorrow’s workout however is a 2 hour lower intensity workout with no intervals so I’ll likely do it outside and just stick roughly to the power targets of the indoor workout. Today I did a 1 hour VO2 max interval workout on my Trainer from the Trainerroad plan I’m currently following. A very focussed workout.
THIS^^^^^ there tri specific plans also have great swim run workouts to follow. The only thing I do different than there plan is the swim . I swim with a masters swim club 2-3× a week instead.
You WILL get results but be ready to work/push/suffer
I was having trouble organizing all of my triathlon training (come from a cycling background). I signed up for trainerroad merely for the training plans. On week 2 of an 8 week build for my next race and loving it so far. Much more organized than I had been (although it is reducing my cycling a bit more than I would have, which is probably a good thing). I had a PR at my upcoming race last year and hoping to beat that again this year. With the trainerroad plan, it seems highly likely.
And FYI, the basics of the trainerroad plans (at least the one I am following) seems to follow a simple rule. Do not take more than 2 days off from any sport. Do the higher intensity days after rest days (for running and cycling). Also, be sure to include at least one brick workout a week.
I use Trainerroad’s excellent training plans. I’ve have tremendous results following them and far better than what I’d been doing before following various training plans from the likes of Friel’s over 50 book, Carmichaels Time crunched book and Graeme Street’s Cyclo-Core training system.
This is good to hear. I am currently following the Trainer Road HIM plan and I have my wife on the IM plan (her first 140.6, I’ve never gone longer than 70.3). I used the bike portion of the TR plan for a HIM in April, but this is the first event that I (we) have gone “all in” on following the Swim/Run portions. I’ve been slightly nervous, just because it’s a bit different than what I’ve done before and don’t want my wife’s race to be ruined because the plan stinks. Ha! That said, she’s a zealot when it comes to following the instructions to a tee. Much more so than I, or most people for that matter.
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I make up my own training plans. I read a couple of Joe Friel’s books and did a hell of a lot of reading and research on Slowtwitch. Also, after a few years of training/racing, you learn what you need to spend more time doing and what you can spend less time doing.
Slowtwitch has tons of threads on how can I swim bike or run faster.
Simplest approach ever:
- Frequency - minimum 4 workouts per sport/per week. Per sport- 1 Tempo/Interval, 1 Long effort, 2 short and fun efforts.
- 8 week Race block- where long efforts and Tempo/Intervals are tailored to the race I am preparing for. They might increase in intensity or length.
- Recovery week - one out of every three weeks is a recovery week. Here the long effort is short. And the tempo/interval effort is either easy or sprints.
I use Trainerroad’s excellent training plans. I’ve have tremendous results following them and far better than what I’d been doing before following various training plans from the likes of Friel’s over 50 book, Carmichaels Time crunched book and Graeme Street’s Cyclo-Core training system.
Yes this means I train a lot indoors but the results are worth it. Workouts are much more focussed when training to a power profile. Tomorrow’s workout however is a 2 hour lower intensity workout with no intervals so I’ll likely do it outside and just stick roughly to the power targets of the indoor workout. Today I did a 1 hour VO2 max interval workout on my Trainer from the Trainerroad plan I’m currently following. A very focussed workout.
THIS^^^^^ there tri specific plans also have great swim run workouts to follow. The only thing I do different than there plan is the swim . I swim with a masters swim club 2-3× a week instead.
You WILL get results but be ready to work/push/suffer
This is what I am doing this year for my HIM A race. Bike and Run I pretty much follow. Swim I do my own thing. Picking out workouts from slowtwitch, triathlon.competitor.com, internet. I’ve also done a trainingpeaks purchased plan. It was fine. Anything structured is helpful to keep me on track.
Very simple:
Sleep 8 hour per day. So I can’t schedule training in thereWork takes up whatever work will take (could be 6 hours, could be 12 depending on the day)When does my family need meAfter 1-3 are done, how can I cram in 2 hours of training today over 1-3 sessions (ex 20 min jog before work, bike commute to work, jog to pool, swim and jog back, bike home in the evening)What is the weather like for those 2 hours…I don’t fight weather anymore if there is a "key workout’…i just work with the weather and do what is comfortable (most of us don’t get paid to do this…It better be fun at every workout, if it’s not, time to end that workout. I can’t remember a single workout in the last 15 years that I did not enjoy. There were some races that I did not enjoy, but I don’t decide the weather and sports on race day).Based on 1-5 now decide what sports to do and what type of training goes into those sessions.Pick 3 weekdays that will be hard, pick 2 that are recovery orientedWeekends, one day depending on weather train from 6 am (If I feel like getting up) till lunch time. I may be lazy and only start at 10 am and end at lunch timeTake rest days when life gets in the way, otherwise train easy on recovery days…life always gets in the way anyway.
Rinse repeat. it sounds too simplistic, but it just leads to a lot of consistency going with the flow. It might not be optimal training, but it works around life…when life gets out of the way, I get to train. Life generally does not move out of the way for training…generally.
Dev
The lady of light has sent a demon to strangle this guy…
I worked with a coach for several years - he was local although 90% of our interaction was on-line. I found it very helpful as a working stiff with a family planning to tackle my first IM. I didn’t have FOP goals - but having someone to make the ‘best’ use of my weekly training budget was reassuring. It was also helpful when I had to travel and he would re-balance the training schedule around available resources (pool , no pool, bike…).
A weekly schedule was typically 3 runs, 3 swims and 3 rides with a mix of intensities and 1 day off. Longer workouts on the weekend, and most stuff M-F was 45-60 minutes. Objectively speaking, the training plan was not very different from tearing the “x Month IM Training plan” out of a magazine, but knowing that I was accountable to a coach (and paying for it!) made me committed to the plan in a way that the generic magazine plan didn’t.
After finding the plateau of my talent and motivation, I backed off the paid training plans and now mostly go by the basic framework I learned.
A middle ground is some coaches will draw you up a 90 day plan that you self-guide, supplemented by occasional consults. If you are super disciplined this or a magazine plan can work very well. For me, I was much more consistent knowing someone was watching me and reviewing my workouts.
I use Trainerroad’s excellent training plans.
Ditto. I just load up one of the training plans for the bike. Seems like I’m 2 @ 75m, 1 @ 60m, and a long ride.
For run, I do 3-4/week, short-med-short-long.
For swim, as often as I can motivate myself, 2500-4000m/session.
I usually build for a few weeks and then back off a week when my body calls uncle.
IIRC there was a thread many, many years ago where lots of coaches chimed in on how they went about designing a training plan for their athletes.
While it wasn’t specific to do this on Monday that on Tuesday there was info in there on what they took into account when designing a program.
Might be worth searching for
After finding the plateau of my talent and motivation…
I love this line.
I evaluate hie many hours I have available on the week, then:
Swim: meet whenever my Masters Team meets and do whatever they tell me to do
Bike: follow TrainerRoad plan
Run: follow a marathon training plan
There’s a little more nuance, for example, I might switch some runs for bike rides or viceversa depending on my current focus but that’s basically it.
IIRC there was a thread many, many years ago where lots of coaches chimed in on how they went about designing a training plan for their athletes.
While it wasn’t specific to do this on Monday that on Tuesday there was info in there on what they took into account when designing a program.
Might be worth searching for
Not sure if it is me or the search algorithm, but I always have terrible success performing searches on this site. Any chance you could give us a couple more clues to find that thread, Title, year?
Thanks