I’m looking for a program to take me through to a target race (10k/40k/5k) in Sept 06. I have about 8 hours/week to train. I can currently run a 36-37 min 10k, and on the bike I could probably average 22-23mph for an hour over a rolling course.
Is it necessary to have much structure to my program at this point in the year? Could I just alternate days riding and running, with a day off each week?
I wouldn’t worry about structure at this point. September is a long way away. You might consider finding a late spring A race to train for and then take some down time after that before you get back into it for the September race. You might also consider a focus period in either the run or bike sometime around December. I tend to feel sluggish on only 3 sessions per sport per week so personally I would try and get 4 sessions per week in each sport until “official” training begins but I wouldn’t really worry about distances yet or feeling like you “have” to do something.
Could you elaborate a little more on what you call a “focus period?” Would it just be one additional workout on the bike for example? Or a super heavy bike week with 2 or 3 extra workouts? How do you sturcture these weeks? Have you found them helpful? Thanks.
Hi Don,
Are you looking for a duathlon coach?
If so, check out www.competitionzone.com. We can help you with a focused and customized training program. Joel has coachd Natasha Filliol to a duathlon worldchampionship silver medal (junior elite) and I was the 2003 Canadian elite duathlon champion, so we have a great deal of experience dealing with duathlon, as well as with time constrained age-groupers.
I hope that this helps a bit.
Adam
Thanks for the advice; sounds sensible. My schedule is pretty full and pretty erratic, so it’s probably easier to avoid to much structure at this point.
What should I focus on at this point in the season? Just build up the mileage and have fun? I’m completely new to duathlon, so I guess there’s not much reason to focus on specific weaknesses at this point.
At this time of year I would focus on making running/biking a routine.
If at all possible I would figure out what days you can do an longer bike and run and what day you can do a harder bike and run.ie long bike with short run off on sat and long run on sun with an EZ spin on the bike that afternoon, then hard bike on tues and hard run on thurs.
If you have never done a duathlon, it is good to practice both the bike/run and also the run/bike, as I struggle more with the bike after the run than the run off. As the season gets closer I would recommend doing more consecutive brick intervals ie run/bike/run/bike/run (ie bring a trainer to the track). everything else is just maintenance.
I wouldn’t do anything too specific though, just build a foundation. It is worth figuring out what your limitations will be and addressing them over the winter (see a physio for biomechanics, get your bike fit and deal with whatever physiological limits you have). Consistent training between now and then will probably benefit you most.
I would not be too worried about structure at this tiime of the year.
BTW - Polar puts out a pretty cool booklet called “Precision Multisport” that can serve as an excellent guideline, but does not replace an excellent coach. Most Polar dealers should have the booklet.
On page 47 there’s a weekly program for the “Recreational” Duathlete which invests 8 - 11 hours per week.
On page 50 there’s a weekly program for the “Serious” Duathlete which invests 14 - 17 hours per week.
Where does that put me at 5 - 6 hours per week? 
http://www.impactmagazine.ca/May2005/First_Duathlon.pdf
Ignore the albino who doesn’t know how to get off his bike.