Simplified Training Plan

Triathlon Forum
1

I am currently trying to build towards being in good enough shape to start a 6 month plan for an IM.

As I browse the book, bibles, plans, theories etc, what strikes me is that most are far too complicated for me and my lifestyle. Although I’d like to do well, I do not have the time or desire to make a part time job out of micro planning every interval in advance and collecting 8 types of data afterwards. not criticizing those who do - in another existence maybe I will.

What I want is to understand the key themes of each sport’s proper training so I can internalize them and use them to the greatest extent given my limited opportunities. This way I can be opportunistic and have. Sense as I go of what is being missed.

I don’t want a 275 page book about it, much which is filler and needless (to me) explanation.

What I’d like is to know:

Cycling: with 3 or 4 offseason bike sessions per week (5 hours) - what should I be thinking about in terms of general structure and proportions? Ie. Intervals, intensity, etc.

Running: 4 to 5 sessions per week 35-40 km - same thing. Where is the bang:buck ratio for most people?

Swimming:3 sessions per week with a definite need for stroke mechanic improvement. What should I be thinking about for optimizing these sessions?

All advice appreciated - just tired of sifting through too much information.

2

If you don’t want to complicate things, just pay a coach to tell you what to do. Then just go out and do it. You don’t have to think about anything, read about anything, complicate anything.

Or, you can buy a book that has training plans and just follow the plan. I know quite a few people who have bought the book Be Ironfit, by Don Fink. He has a few different 30 week training programs in his book. You can just skip the prose, and just do the plan. I’m sure there are other books or online plans you can buy.

3

I get what you’re saying, but it doesn’t answer my real concerns. I’d still have to communicate with the coach re ‘the plan’, changes inthe plan because my work schedule has opened up (long trial collapses) closed down (short things go long etc.) or because my wife’s schedule has done either of these things (OBGYN - nights/weekends at hospital sometimes) and parenting (2 young kids) takes priority.

My training will largely take place in the wee hours before anyone else in the house is awake (except my running partner, the Border collie) and I live in a cold winter climate.

Given this - I want to be as opportunistic as possible, and a little improvisational to take advantage of the please of training in great and unexpected weather. But I also want to do so having internalized my optimum training needs.

Workouts will be missed, and changed, but I want to still try to steer things intelligently.

This will allow me to enjoy the journey more, but without unduly sacrificing my performance at the destination. I stress UNDULY.

4

If you did this every week you’d be more prepared than most, including those paying for coaches.

2-3 swims of 3-4k at a time - swim with a masters team if possible

3-5 bikes. 1 day of intervals (4x10, 8x5, 3x20, etc), 1 tempo/steady ride, 1 long ride (at close to race pace)

5-6 runs. 1 tempo or steady run, 1 progressive long run, 1 brick (doesn’t have to be long, 20-30 minutes, with an occasional longer 1hr one maybe once a month)

5

There are many different ways to skin a cat, so to speak.

The book I mentioned, emphasize, time efficient training. That is the “hook” of Don Fink’s book. If I were you I’d consider buying it, it isn’t that expensive, a lot cheaper than a coach.

Howver, then you’d have to make the adjustments on the fly yourself.

If you hire a coach, then you should be able to interact with them, and they can adjust your training to suit your schedule. That would take a lot of the guess work out.

If I were you I’d get an indoor bike trainer, and treadmill and then you can pretty much do all your training at home and at whatever odd hours you need to do it, regardless of weather or sunshine.

As for scheduling workouts, you can check out the running book by Runner’s World, Run less, Run Faster. Basically, they boil down run training to 3 key workouts.

You just apply those some principles to swimming and cycling. Basically, there is an Interval day, a Threshold day and a Long day at slightly slower than race pace.

If you get in those 3 core workouts for running, biking and swimming, you’d get good. Of course, the devil is in the details and you need to be able to do some testing to evaluate your pace for swimming and running and power for biking.

Really though not too complicated.

If you just get in those 3 core workouts per sport per week and stay healthy, you’d be good.

6

plan

and spend more time there reading what he writes than wasting your time on ST
.

7

I agree with most of the other contributors, that you need to read through stuff or get a coach, BUT i also appreciate where you are coming from. Busy life, a doer not a planner?

  1. Listen to your body, if you are within your comfort zone too much, you won’t get better, and if you are knackered all the time, same outcome. The balance needs to be: fresh, a bit tired, tired, knackered, rest. Start again. How quickly you go through these phases will change as you get fitter, hence listen to your body don’t respond to a time table. You might also go from one phase to the next quickly but then stay in the next one for a while.

  2. An Ironman is an endurance event (no s**t!), so you need long steady sessions and quite a few, preferably on the bike and run. Don’t believe those who try to sell loads of high intensity intervals. Nothing beats time spent out there, building the base and muscular endurance. The swim is important but as long as you can make it round safely, its not as important as the later two.

  3. 0 - 4 interval sessions per week (across all the disciplines) at an intensity under anaerobic threshold (AT, LT2, LT, LTP, FTP or any other abbreviation that refers to a hard Timetrial pace (40k Bike TT or 10-k run)) is all the ‘speed’ you need. building up to continuous long reps rather than little short ones. Not every week and not all year round.

  4. Challenge yourself mentally, to deal with the day of the race. Successfully enjoying an Ironman is more mental than physical. Its going to be hard, you will have bad hours, learn to deal with it, and move on.

  5. The fact there are so many programmes out there only tells you one thing. There is no ‘right’ programme.

  6. Nutrition is vital, both for training and racing. Recovery and fuel will enhance both training quality, adaptation to training, and eventually the race.

  7. Look after yourself (injury, illness and fatigue can undo all the good work), this website has some great stuff on keeping yourself in good shape through self massage etc http://www.mobilitywod.com/ (not affiliated with him)

  8. This is a much more complicated question than you can fully answer in a forum post!

8

plan

and spend more time there reading what he writes than wasting your time on ST

You call that simple?

And someone needs to tell *everyone that white text on a black background destroys your vision. Fcking stop it!

9

plan

and spend more time there reading what he writes than wasting your time on ST

You call that simple?

And someone needs to tell *everyone that white text on a black background destroys your vision. Fcking stop it!

oops…right so swim a bit/ bike a bit/ run a bit…here you go simple like the pimple of my arse i am gonna pop in the shower

10

What’s your IM goal?

Finish with a smile? Swim when you can, but closer to the event, make sure to get in 3x/week, at least 1 hour per. Bike as often and as long as you can at an effort that is easy enough that you can train again the next day. One weekly longer ride, building up to a consistent 4-6 hours. Total bike time should be in the 6-9 hour range most weeks. If you can do more, that’s great. Run 3-4x/week, easy and gradually build up to at least 4-5 long runs of 90 minutes, 1-3 runs of 120 minutes and 1 run of 135 minutes (overall…not in the same week).

If you really want to simplify, just forus on riding your bike. A lot. I had a different screen name when I first logged in to ST many years ago. I changed it to reflect my overall view – keep it simple.

Of course, if your ambition is anything advanced, hire a coach. That has been my simple plan for the past 3 years…

Good luck.

11

If your schedule changes a whole lot you might like an automated plan.

I think egrip does this and i know that 2peak.com does this.

It prints out your schedule, you do it or you don’t, when you log your workouts it automatically adjusts to what you did or didn’t do. If you did extra it will adjust for that as well. 2peak will adjust in the middle of the week.

In this instance, if you don’t feel like messing with a coach as far as communicating, trading emails, etc the computer just changes the program, no judging you or pestering you, you just go out and do it.

This is probably one of several ways for you to do your thing.

12

Sami is damn fast…
http://samiinkinen.tumblr.com/...rets#permalink-notes

A simple plan:

Monday:
Swim 1 hour
Tuesday:
Run 1 hour
Ride 1 hour (with 4x10 min at 70.3 pace)
Wednesday:
Swim 1 hour
Run 1 hour (4x1 mile at 70.3 pace)
Thursday:
Run 1 hour
Ride 1 hour (2x20 at 70.3 pace)
Friday:
Do one hour of anything with your wife (hike, yoga, …)
Saturday:
Ride 3 hours (grow to 4-5-6 hours as the season progresses)
Brick run 20 minute minimum
Sunday:
Run 1:45

As you get fitter this will get easier. Start adding 15 minutes here and there to sessions as you have time. This is about 15 hours, seems pretty simple.

13

Thanks so far for all responses. Much appreciated.

14

I’ve used something similar, basic plan repeated till a) I get bored or b) I fail to show improvement.

Each week I did:-
Swim 1 long slow swim, 1 swim with 400m efforts, 1 swim with 200m efforts

Bike 1 long slow ride, 1 ride with X number of hills, 1 ride with 2x20s

Run 1 long slow run, 2x medium distance runs, 1 run with 800m efforts.

Rinse, repeat.

15

Exactly!
Good advice.