Training Plans

So glad you asked the question. I as well have been looking at the training plans- and have the same question/concerns. Look forward to responses!

-H

It's about putting your body through predictable workouts.

I'll bet that a 6 mile run is a fairly different workout for you and I. If you run for 6 miles in Zone 2, you may take 42 minutes while that same 6 mile Zone 2 workout takes me 50 minutes. We both ran 6 miles, so we got the same benefits, right?

Nope. I did more work, so I had a more productive workout. I got more benefit out of those 6 miles than you did.*

But if we both run for 50 minutes in Zone 2, you around your 7' pace and me at my 8'22" pace we'll get about the same workout, deriving approximately the same benefits. This is an important principle, particularly for training plans that need to work for different people. If we both did the same amount of work, theoretically we should need about the same amount of recovery too, which is another important factor in the plan. A 15 mile recovery bike session is going to be a much different load for one person than it is another. A 45 minute recovery bike session will be a very similar workload.

Look at it from your body's point of view. When you train or race, your body doesn't know how far it swam, rode or ran. It does know, however, how hard it worked and for how long. The goal of a particular workout isn't to cover a set distance (usually), it's to put a specific workload on your body that will have a specific result.

Now apply this to training in 3 different sports at once, and the idea of overall volume becomes crucial.

If your only goal is to complete one race, cross it off of your life's to do list and then never race again, I can see the distance approach. To get across the finish line and then move on to something else, distance training is fine.

But the purpose of these training plans isn't just to get you across the finish line of one race. It's assumed that you are committed to fitness and have a larger goal for your training. We're not here so much to get you across the finish line once as we are to help you get and stay fit. For that purpose, training by volume is appropriate because you're putting your body through predictable amounts of work each workout and each week.

If you're concerned about crossing the finish line, don't be. The volumes in these plans are designed so that if you can swim, bike and run for those amounts of time, you'll be able to finish the race. And then build on that base of fitness to race again, whether you plan to go for a longer distance race or stay at the same one.

I've received I don't know how many emails saying that the writer had just finished their first Sprint, Olympic, Half Ironman, or Ironman triathlon and had followed one of our plans to do it and how happy they were with the plan. (I love those emails. They're right up there with having my kids yell DADDY!! when I walk through the door at night). I've never read one that said "I followed your training plan and it didn't work".

We have no way of knowing how many people have used our training plans. Based on our traffic and membership numbers of the past few years, my guess would be thousands. If you follow one of these plans, you'll definitely be able to cross the finish line. How fast will depend on how closely you follow the plan, your nutrition, and most importantly where you started from.

*This is how I justify my half ironman times btw. I get my money's worth from the course.

Here are some popular route map tools:

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=83876&posts=17&start=1

http://www.walkjogrun.net/

http://www.mapmytri.com/

Create different distance routes that wiil equate to minutes , add to make a library so that you have a good variety.

I'm kind of partial to the BT Route Tracker.

It comes with experience. I've got a bunch of routes now and can look at my list to determine what's right for a particular workout. If I have a 50 minute run scheduled I can look at run routes by distance for instance to pick something between 5 and 6 miles that will suit what I'm scheduled to do and what I feel up to.