Started using MAO this year after my coach of 3 yrs moved. I am wondering if anyone else is having trouble maintaining the enormous volumes he prescribes. At this point, my half-IM training volume is greater than my IM training was (11:45 PR - solid MOP). The issue for me isn’t whether or not it works - I’m sure it does - it’s MA, after all. The question is whether or not the large number of hours works for the average working, family-oriented triathlete. Further, even as an experienced triathlete, I am having a hard time motivating myself for a 4-hr bike, 30-min run brick for a half-IM in May (that’s after 1.5 hr run on Sat). I’d love to get feedback from anyone who has used MAO or similar strategy before. I’m committed to sticking with this as long as possible (I don’t like changing approaches any more than necessary), or until my wife and kids throw me out of the house…
I had that kind of volume under another coaching service-17-18hrs a week- just get started REAL early in the a.m. 
I used MAO last year and was very satisfied. My goal race was IM lake placid and i went from a 12:12 and 12:37 in my two previos IM’s (LP in 05 and wisc in 06) to 10:59 last year in LP. so needless to say his volume training and heart rate zones served me well.
a 4 hour bike 30 minute run one day and a 1.5 hour run on the weekend sounds about right for a 1/2 IM coming in may at about this time of year.
As i remember (and what i like about MAO) was the ability to adjust not only what volume you were capable of i.e. when it asks you what is the longest ride, run swim you can do at a moderate level when you start the plan (which of course will influence the length of the long workouts during the training cycle) but also that the plan allows for unplanned life interuptions. Like when you can only get in 3 hours for what is supposed to be a 4 hour ride and in which case you note that you were only able to do 75% and the plan adjusts progresivly so future workouts are in line with what worjouts yo uhave done in the past.
i seem to remember reading also that mark allen likes using the bike to build loads of aerobic fitness as a 3-5 hour bike at an aerobic level will build your cardio up immensly without toasting your legs/muscles/joints for the next workout. Whereas if you did a 3-5 hour run or swim . .you’d be in recovery mode for a few days and not able to do a hard workout at 100% a few days later.
i’d say do them as prescribed and cut them short it you have to for life/family things. Just be sure to note online how much of the workout you did. And also explain to your family that you are comitted to them #1 but that you dont want to quit this either. make a deal that after the race you will be all there’s. Promise to take them to disney land, take your wife to a nice bed and breakfast or something. i know one guy who is only allowed to do IM if he books a luxorius accomodation for he and his wife at the race site. let them know your see them as #1, repay them for them tolerating your long workouts and it helps a lot.
Glad to hear you have started training with MAO. I’ve been with them just over a year now and can’t be happier with the results. I feel like this year I’ll really start reaping the benefits of the program, as it’s a long, slow process, but very effective IMO. As far as the workout volume, as another poster mentioned, the volume is really reflective of what you plugged in as far as your aerobic experience when you first signed up. If it’s too much time, you can modify your program by just logging your workout percentages daily and then using the “adjust” function to decrease your volume. The biggest thing I noticed with MAO last year was that I could actually do the volume they asked, and I was never tired or burned out and never got injured. For me, I just made training a priority, so despite working 60-hr weeks, I still got the workouts in for the most part…and yes…I do get up very early in the morning or it would never work for me. Good luck!
Personally I train as much for HIM as I did for IM.
If I was going to do short course I would probably train just as much just a little differently.
jaretj
I am on my second year of MAO. When I switched from my previous coach, I was excited to do my brick workouts because I knew I could put in a solid effort on the bike without worrying about saving for a 10 mile run afterwards! I have learned from them in just a short time that you need a solid bike to setup a great run. Since the bike is the longest portion of race, it all makes sense to me.
On the life side of it I figure if I can be in showered and ready to go by lunch time, then it is all good. We are competitive but hopefully your wife will see the health aspect of it and the fact it will keep you around longer for your family. Missing an hour or two here and there, or adding a few years to your life due to great health…
Sounds like you need to re-think your goals/commitment. If you’re contempt with just MOP, then scale back the training but if you really want to get better, then that’s what you have to do.
The volume does seem intimidating, but if you look at what other people are doing the volume is down, no 2 hour runs after bikes, no junk miles, every session has an objective. If you look at the 11 workout per week of which 2 are weights, then in an ironman program the peak week (depending on your parameters) will have a 7 hour ride with 30 min run, a 90 minute tempo or speed ride and a moderate ride of up to 3 hours or so. Say an average athelete rides in training at 15-20 mph, take 17.5 then you are covering about 200 miles per week in your biggest week.
The volume is less than what a lot of other people are doing, I think we all know someone who is churning out 300- 450 miles per week every week
The program is phased and there will only be two weeks where you have to ride that volume and they will scale back your running and swimming distances. I know there are plenty workouts that are close to that but if you look at it there is really only one day where you are off limits to your family and that is the day of your really long brick.
The issue that I have faced is that the weather in NE America is awful in winter, so timing your peak race and program so that you can train in summer helps, the other itme that I have learnt to love is my windtrainer as you can cut down on the time and get the strength if not the total endurance benefit.
Must say the first time I looked at my program and saw 7 hour bike with 30 minute run I swore and cursed, but when I did it I really enjoyed it. I used to send my wife shopping with the credit cards and this made her very happy
I have been using MAOL for the last 38 weeks. Did 20 weeks maintenance (about 14-16hrs per week) and am now nearing the end of 20 weeks of the peak program. I have found the volume quite intimidating but each week seems to take me close to my “edge” and just allow enough to recover. My biking and running have improved leaps and bounds. I am a faster more consistently paced rider and runner now.
Mainly I have found 4 days of the program are fine each week but at the end of each week there are 2 back to back monster days which take me to the edge in all respects. Each of those days is 7-9hrs (for me). But now I am reaping the rewards - I am running and biking faster than last year at much, much lower heart rates.
The MAOL program requires patience (the HR zones seem too low for the first few month) but its worth it if your goal is to improve. Plus the benefit of having Mark and Luis on tap to answer questions is immeasurable.
Good luck
I used the MAO program last year over 16 weeks for a HIM and found for me the program focused too much on volume and too little on power and speed. I rarely hit all of the training hours for a given week and eventually gave up on most of the strength training. I did achieve my sub 5 hour goal however and went from unfit to reasonable fitness without injury. I decided this year to use a power and pace based training program and have good success so far. I did like how I could play with my B and C races and change the program according to the amount of taper I desired, and the swim workouts were effective.
Thanks for all the replies. I’m still unsure how this high training volume will work in “real life” - aka - “I’m not trying to win IMH, just be in the mix.” Ideally, I think most half-IM programs should be about 12 to 15 hrs/week and IM max 22-25 hrs. There are 168 hrs in a week. Most of us work 50 hrs/week (travel factored in). We sleep 56 hours. That leaves 62 hours a week to eat, play with kids, read, cook, bathe, love our spouses, go to church or community events and train. On most days I have 1 to 2 hrs I can devote to training. Weekends work best when I do no more than 3 to 4 hrs per day. I think I’m in the norm. My real question, I think, is can you train mainly within those guidelines and have a good chance of turning out solid efforts (5-5:30 half-IM, sub 12 IM)? That’s where I think coaches should focus. Instead of trying to make your life fit within a training schedule, why not a training schedule that fits within your life? Maybe that’s beyond what an online service should or can provide. I don’t know. I am, however, curious.
Not to start this thread over as it has been discussed here plenty, but your time and family constraints are like most of ours that have to balance a life along with training. This is the primary reason I decided to try endurance nation this year which I felt was a better balance and allowed me to incorporate more tangible metrics into the program.
I’ve been able to achieve my goals for the most part with training 9-12 hours a week, depending on distance, up to IM. Could I go faster on 17+ hours a week? Probably.
Not gonna happen though.
What do you want your legacy to be? That you broke 4:30 in a HIM?
I think you’ve actually answered your own question.
You obviously have to balance your goals as a triathlete with your responsibilities as a husband, father, bread winner, etc. It may be that you are in that stage of your life where you are unable to put the kind of time/quality in training to achieve your athletic goals. I have been training with MA for three years (starting my 3rd year) and agree that the volume at times is hard to balance. Like Diana said below, you big workouts are based in part on the information you provide when you start a program (e.g. how many hours can you bike comfortably, etc). If you put in big numbers at the start you will end up with bigger numbers as you progress through a program. You should also know that the program has some fluff built in. So if you have to miss a workout here and there it is not the end of the world. You should, however, try to hit your key workouts though. After training mostly for IM distance, I am actually pleasantly surprised on the volume reduction for a half IM program with MA. Four hour bikes, 4,000 yd swim, and 1:30 to 2:00 hr runs seem very reasonable to me for the long workouts.