2012 IM Plan, Looking for Constructive Criticism...

Dude, that looks a little too complicated for my tiny brain.

 Why not enter more races?

 I too have a long range plan for a 2011 IM so I'm biased. My plan includes 3-4 races per season, generally building distance as I go from spring to fall (sort of)

2008 2 sprint, 2 Oly (done!)

2009 1 sprint, 3 oly, 1 HIM

2010 2-3 sprint or 1-2 oly sandwiched between 2 HIM,

2011 Lake Placid July 2011

One thing for sure...taper comes before the race, not after.

If I were you, I would paint my future seasons in very broad strokes and not get too attached to the timelines and goals involved.  Planning the Current Season and setting up for the following season are going to be where the the most bang is going to be in terms of planning. Short Term and Medium Term Goals.

This means putting together a detailed training plan for your next race, having an idea of how your going to train for followup races within the season and some vague idea of what off season base building your going to do. After that future seasons are defined by a general idea of what race distances you want to tackle given a reasonable amount of training to get there.

Best of luck to you and keep us posted on your progress

I agree with all of the above!!!

I started tri just short of two years go with aspirations of doin an IM.  Just took it season by season and signed up for races that looked fun and I felt would be a challange, but still achievable.

Ended up that started triathlon with an oly, and I finished the first year with an HIM on a whim, then pushed to start this season with an HIM.  Realized, that if I increased my training just a little more, I would be ready for an IM this year.  So I signed up!

Would I have know that 20 months ago?  Not a chance.

Things come up, plans change, so I went by feel.

Just by the fact you created such a detailed graph/plan/chart, would indicated you like a lot of organization and order, which is fine.  But life (and your body) may not be aware of what your mind has planned!

good luck!

you are either a project manager or in sales right?

a few thoughts after looking at this

• I like it in the fact that I think many folks rush to IM. 
• Don't get married to the(or any) plan, be a flexible.
• If you are already thinking base building for a sprint in '09, you'll be ready for an OLY by next year.

good luck to ya!

A few thoughts...

1.  Too much detail and granularity.  3/19/12 ??  How about just going with "Spring of 2012"

2.  Since you're just now training for you "first sprint" what makes you think you are gonna like triathlons?

3.  Why do you want to do an IM?  Many people do triathlons for years and year and neve do an IM. 

 4.  If you do want to do an IM, what makes you think you need 4 years to train for one?

~Mike

I made a commitment in 2006 (after doing my first sprint)  to do an IM in 2008. I did IMAZ in April. If an IM is truly your goal I don't see why you couldn't do the same.  Especially if you hire a coach to help guide you.

However, don't forget to enjoy the journey! 

I'll take a different vent.  I like your plan, maybe not so much the focus on dates and window each year, but the general concept. 

I started Tri's with the intention of doing an IM for my 40th B-day.  I layed out a plan of doing 10 races.  The first year I did a sprint, year 2 I did a sprint and then Oly.  Year 3 I did a sprint, oly and HIM and year 4 the plan was to do a sprint, oly, HIM an finally IM.  I didn't really lay out the whole training plan in advance, instead as I approached a year, I picked the races I wanted to do and then built the training plan to match that.

Without the IM goal, I probably would have quit Tri's in the middle of the swim of my first sprint.  It was a 400 m pool swim and I was just thrashed, but then I thought a) I have done this distance in training - albeit only a couple of times and b)  I can't quit this, I'll never make my IM goal.  So I got through that first swim and then had fun on the bike and survived the run.

Again, I almost quit Tri's in the middle of my first HIM swim - but the IM dream kept me going when everything else was saying quit.

So once again, I like your plan, having that big goal at the end can carry you when times seem tough along the way.  

BTW I did alter my year 4 plan, I was having a lot of fun, looking for different experiences and such and ended up doing 2 sprints, 2 oly's, a half and finally IMFL last November.  

Have fun, because truly it is the journey that is the making of the cake, the IM is just the frosting on the top.  Do the work and the day at the end is enjoyment in a strange sense of the word.

i personally like your plan. or the concept, not the specific dates. I have the same type of plan (see siggy) BUT I am also keeping an open mind knowing that I may be off a year or two.  If it happens then great. If not...I'll keep working.

I'm guessing I'll be ready 1-2 years earlier, but I'm also planning around football season because that's what my future husband does and I want him there for all my first long races (that leaves out August - Nov). Now after I have my first under my belt, any race is fair game.

 I say work it if it works for you

So I have only been at this for one year, ergo my opinion is pretty limited in its worth.  However I think I would approach it a bit differently if I were you.  Wildman was my first race this year.  I intended to only do sprints.  I ended up changing Chicago to the Olympic distance and I am SO glad I did because I found that I like the longer distance.  Now for next season I am planning 2-3 olympics, 1-2 HIMs and 1-3 sprints.  I have no intention of doing an IM, but then again I said I would never go longer than Olympics (oops)

I would say have the goal of doing an IM BY 2012.

You can race sprints like every 2 weeks as you don't really need to taper.  You may find that you want to do an Olympic by the end of your first season.

I would DEFINITELY add more races - see how much you like it, get used to different courses, race directors....

Then you can make decisions about HIM and IM.

Starting your season with Wildman, you could reasonably do 2 more sprints in June and if you are trying to avoid the heat of summer, then do more sprints in september/october or even an olympic.

good luck

It matters not of what life and the body are aware.

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back-- Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now."

Too many details, too far away.  Train lots, race lots, have fun!

Wow, lots of conflicting information in there! All good though, I really appreciate the feedback.

I was always taught to begin with the end in mind and stay flexible and adapt as necessary to achieve my goals. We didn't get to the moon by dreaming of flying model rockets. I know long term plans are scary to some people, I see that at work too. And YES! I'm a project manager. Good catch ohiost90! I agree with comments regarding the specific dates. I'll pull those off and mark the months instead.

I also like the idea of adding additional races. I had the notional idea that during 2010 and forward I'd probably mix in some sprint/oly distance races in my more detailed plans for transition practice and race experience. I'm also reading that I might be able to be more aggressive and shoot for a 3 or even 2 year plan to IM. I'll have to keep that in mind when I review the plan periodically.

I also understand the one season at a time advice, and I think I've got that covered. Current task is to have fun training with my wife! Secondarily to build base to complete the sprint distance. I'm starting with an adaptation of the Michael Pates plan to get to Wildman: 2009 Wildman Sprint Triathlon Training Plan.

I figured I'd really map out the rest of next season in detail until sometime closer to the end of this year but keep the general goal of improving my speed at the sprint distance and racing again sometime in the June time-frame. That would give me a couple of 6 week cycles to work with.

Again, thanks for the feedback. Very helpful!

The slightly less specific, certainly not set in stone plan:

This may be a minor point and a matter of semantics, but..

You have taper/maintenance in yellow after each race. The taper period comes in the days leading up to the race. Recovery comes after the race, then maintenance/base building, then race specific training, then taper, race, recover, maintain/build, repeat.

As I mentioned, I too have long range goals with a multi year plan. My goal was formulated with a specific time frame in mind; my 50th birthday. I do remain flexible and adaptable, but it's highly unlikely that a ship without a rudder will get where the captain wants to go.

I'm tracking on the pre-race taper. I'll account for that in the more specific plan for each training cycle.

My thought with the yellow cycles was that I would allow a few months of maintaining or slightly reducing my distance/speed to allow for full recovery both physically and mentally.

That is also the hottest/most humid time of the year here, so pushing myself further and faster in 95degrees and >90% humidity is rather unappealing to me.