The Order of Things

Disclaimer that I am self-coached, but have executed a few really good training cycles over the years - I agree completely with this concept.  The timing really matters during the week in managing your recovery / training absorption.  I mean it's obvious that if you have 3 6-mile runs planned in a week you're not going to do them 3 straight days then no running for 4.  Unless I'm specifically trying to do a workout in a fatigued state (which is rare) I strive to "recover" (which for me equals sleep + nutrition + time in some combination) as much as possible between discipline workouts.  The different disciplines put different stresses on our bodies and if you can balance those out through the week so much the better.

There's a school of thought specifically on bike/run placement that puts your long run the day after your long bike so you get used to running on "tired" legs, but I disagree with this and would rather spread those two out a bit.  That's one example.

So many variables, right?  Three disciplines plus any strength/core/yoga/whatever you do to keep the body from falling apart, work schedules, anchor workouts that can't be moved, family, etc.  It's taken a lot of experimentation (after all we are all experiments of one, right?) to get through a training program fit, on form, and most of all not injured.

Ya...I am self coached too.  I have got a lot of help along the way with some of the free pre-written plans, opportunities to participate in custom plans/coaching  specific to me, and training software at near free prices.  I was worried for the first few years about moving things around in a training weeks fearing that I would mess everything up.  When I got brave enough to start moving things around to better fit my week I didn't notice any difference at the end of the day.   I am working on plans for races in October and December right now and have felt for the past few weeks like I am just throwing mud at the wall to see what will stick.  I keep wondering how my plans would compare to plans structured by someone who has studied the science of all this.     

Long course certainly adds another layer of complexity to the whole thing, especially the long ride which can get upwards of 6-7 hours for IM training and that's not always easy to fit in to a work/family/social/training schedule.  I've always done sprints and Olys so I have more flexibility and don't need those large training time blocks.