Gordo Byrn's Group - FULL (Page 41)

 In general, the most important workouts (per week) to hit for the 150 are the two longest bike rides that their standard plan suggests.

 With the rest of the plan -- assume 1:1 ratio

 Make sure that you have two days per week REALLY light

 Make sure that you do a couple of weekends where you ride long on both Sat and Sun

 That's pretty much it -- you have a good attitude and are tough -- good attributes for the 150!

 g

g.

this is GRAND.

SO very helpful.

thank you!

i was thinking along the same lines, though i felt unsure of myself.

that's very affirming in and of itself.

this takes me a little outside my knowlege base, but im willing to learn/grow/evolve in the process.

its the climb, right?

having a good attitude and being tough, indeed i am.  thanks for the compliment.

onward i go!

Swim of 1900 yrds (46 min)

Bike 7.5 miles easy, 33 min.

G-Man:

Cycling question - Hammer a big gear?  Spin a high cadence you'll need your legs for the run?  Something in between?  Whatever is comfortable, your body will tell you?

 I recommend that you ride what is comfortable leaving yourself room to lift HR by at least 10 bpm on the run.  

Generally, you'll find that as race intensity heads up, cadence will tend to head up as well.  In other words, your long TT cadence will be lower than your short TT cadence.

 g

G,

Your book details the importance of creating an annual training plan.  How that plan is developed appears to me to be focused on targeted races (in particular you’re A-priority race).  For me that A-priority race is behind me - I just wanted to finish my 1^st Sprint Tri.  So, I have moved along to the next goal which is to finish an Olympic distance race.  I’m 4 weeks into a 19 week plan that gets me to:

Swim Build Day: 65 minutes

Run Build Day: 80

Endurance Day: S: 60/B: 100/R: 70

Long Ride Day: 245

Once I complete that plan I’ll feel comfortable completing an Olympic distance race.   That gets me to approx. the middle of July.  I’m not really worried about races per se, yes I really enjoyed the 1^st one, and  I’m sure it’s a great way of measuring fitness levels as one moves along.  I guess what I’m trying to say is that I really don’t have any A-B-C priority races.  I just want to focus on building endurance for 2010 season. 

Going forward, my thoughts were to put together another 18-20 week plan that pushes endurance levels up while incorporating skills technique work that you have detailed in your book and in this forum.  I’ve never been there so I’m not sure if this makes sense and whether or not I should incorporate some type of transition period.  If a transition period is appropriate when to schedule it is the next question?  Perhaps my body will tell me when enough is enough.  You have been there many times yourself (at a much, much higher level) and with your clients.  Your thoughts?

4.1 mile run --- 39 min.  HR Zone 3+

 Being based in Florida, you'll likely want to take a transition period during the hottest part of the summer -- that can be really draining.  So if your race is mid-August then two week unscheduled would make sense after that.

 September would be a good time for swimming and shorter (perhaps indoor) skills sessions.  The cumulative effects of heat stress can be material over 2-3 years.

 Ideally, you want to rest before your body packs it in -- pro-active scheduled rest is superior to hitting the wall.  However, we all hit the wall at times so when you have an unplanned set-back... learn from it and do your best to manage.

 If you are training for an Oly Distance race in 19 weeks then another Sprint race about half way along would make sense -- you'll learn each time you race and the sprint tri will balance your endurance/skills focus in your training week.  You can also rest before/after the sprint tri and that will help maintain freshness.

 g

just quickly reporting in...

48 min run outside, crushed limestone 1.1 mile loop.  run w the club, all women this morning.

48 min swim.  still working on that cricket stroking.  its coming along nicely, taking alot less energy/thought.

steady as i go.

Thanks.  Will incorporate into my plan.

During the transition period should the excerise just be light recovery based work (walking/short and easy biking/hiking)?  Also, coming off the transition how far should you backoff the duration/intensity of the workouts you were completing just prior to the transition (i.e... on my long run day if I were doing 90 minutes should I back that down to 75 minutes coming off the transition)?  Or should I just pick up were I left off?

 No fixed rules but a few things to keep in mind...

 As you get more experienced and can tolerate a greater training load across the year... then the deeper/longer the transition period needs to be.

 If you don't unload all the fatigue then it tends to build year-to-year // I've found that I needed a REALLY deep transition period every third year.  I didn't plan these breaks... the were forced by becoming overtrained.

 Try to avoid structuring your unstructured periods -- just do a little something each day, keep it easy.

 If you are a weak swimmer then you want to maintain a little bit of swimming for skills.  As well, you also want a little bit of running in there to maintain your biomechanical fitness.

 Coming off the transition period... I like to start the frequency back first -- so you have two weeks where you do all the sessions but short and no main sets.

 Then you have two weeks where you bring back the steady work.  

Then you extend the duration.  Six weeks in, you should have tapered into a normal level of _early_ season training.  Don't be in a rush to get back to where you were in, say, June.  A lot of people get down on themselves because they aren't back to pre-race shape in four weeks... that's not the way the body works -- the goal is to build to good form, ideally a little higher, each year.  The folks that rush this process get fit quick but not to a very high level, relative to their potential.  Lots of people will have peaked in the mid-Feb to March timeframe and that will be it... the rest of the year is spent hanging on.

 Final point, if you make progress on the body composition front then don't give it all away in a two week binge to celebrate the end of the season.  I've made this mistake and coming back is a lot tougher when you've gained 15-25 pounds.

g

HI G-TEAM

reportin' in.

splendid day.  50s.  sunny.  cool.  looks to be a GREAT bikerideable/outdoor runable week, all week!

13 mile ride, the first of twenty rides for the MS150.

i FINALLY figured out a way around the park w the least amt of traffic ie strollers, people, dog et al.

i followed the cyclists (like little ants they were) and they showed me a whole different section of the lake/park to ride.

you contend w a few more cars this way, BUT only a few.

the roadway is STILL in the park and the speed limit is 15 mph.  STRICTLY ENFORCED.  and the section of roadway has a VERY WIDE AND CLEAR OF DEBRIS BERM

YEAH!

i also figured out today that its an EIGHT MILE round-trip to PANERA BREAD (all backroads, cept one short section)

on a Sunday morning early, no one is out on the roads.

im thinking when the weather gets nicer, i can ride to do my Sunday morning bagel run [i see cyclist ride this route all the time through this Industrial Park]

w that and a 5 mile loop through several developments close to my house, i could make it a good 13+ mile roundtrip if i needed.

and then i would have REALLY worked for THAT bagel. 

getting creative.

Hi all hope the training is going well.

Only 4 weeks to my first race so the next 3 will be fairly intense with a taper after. Going to concentrate on cycling and speeding up the running but mindful of not getting injured or ill ahead of race day. Its not my A or even B race so no point in spoiling those by going mad at it.

Had a great ride on the mountainbike with kids in the trailer yeaterday for 24km. Plenty of hills which made the quads burn nicely but stayed in the saddle and tried to spin up them as much as possible.

G, I have a question for you.  I just got some tri-shoes for the bike which have carbon soles and Look cleats. They are virtually impossible to run in but I dont think I am ready to have them clipped in and try to slip my feet in on the move as the pros do. Any suggestions for T2? I was thinking maybe carry the shoes and run barefoot to the mounting line then put shoes on and get on the bike. Or should I practice the pro method ?

thanks. Dave

 Dave,

 Learning the elite-method is worth the time -- if you ride from home then the quickest way to learn is to leave your shoes on you bike all the time.  That way each ride you get to practice on/off -- you'll be set in a month.

 I recommend that you walk relaxed in all transitions (running just spikes the HR) -- it will be fine with bike shoes if you do that.  

Last thing you want to do is worry about your shoes in the mount/dismount area -- that is a real zoo during an event.  So if you put them on old-school-style then do that at your transition area.

 g

Thanks Gordo appreciate the advice.

Think I will practice the elite method and see how it goes. Can always change back on race day if I am not confident

Dave

Day off for me today but wanted to chime in on Tri Boot Camp.  Fabulous experience.  There were 12 instructors/coaches and every single one of them had Iron Man experience.  The camp focused on all aspects of the sport from video stroke analysis to gate analysis, streching, warm up and nutrition.  We had a coach that has competed in 60 Ironman events and won 6. 

Having read Gordo's book especially about the swim and trying to put to practice the swim instruction, it was even better getting hands on instruction and seeing you executed in a video.

Every single instructor/coach was fabulous given the diversity of teh group.  There were people who haven't done a race yet all the way up to people who have completed Ironman's in the past. 

I must say, after this past weekend, although tiring, I'm even more amped for the sport!

hi everyone.

easy day today, still tapering this week.

23 min/900 yd swim.

felt great in the water,a nd the cricket stroking is defiantely coming along.  i must say.  feels good.

and then a 23 min/2.25 mile run

felt good as well.

the taper week (again) was very well placed.

not sure everyone knows (unless you chkd my log)

we had another death in my family.  my uncle past away on sunday....the viewing is tomorrow, funeral is thurs.

glad its a taper week in lieu of all that....

im planning on taking thurs and fri OFF, though i will still do something light/active, not sure what yet, but....

then instead of trying to get a 30 mile ride in, outside, im gonna do the 2 hr endurance spin on saturday and then call it a week.

being mindful of my limitations, but desirious to stay active, plus i everything feels so much more 'manageable' when im doing something active/physical. 

cant put a price tag on all that good brain chemistry/stress reduction/tension release that happens during a trng session, even a tapered one.

onward inspiteof.

3 mile run, 29 min.    

2000 yrd swim   5 X 400 yrds

49 minutes