kenj mentor group - back for another great season! CLOSED (Page 9)

Being a free member myself I haven't see the BT plans. I used Don Fink's "Be Iron Fit". There are 3 different plans, starting with a "just finish". I believe I used the middle of the road one. They are all 30 week plans, broken down into 10 week segments. I thought the plans worked well andI could have used them WAYYY more effectively, but didn't. He gives specific work outs to do in specific HR zones and also has swim plans. You can find a copy pretty cheap and I think its worth it.

As for goals, for the first the goal should be to finish. For me that's A goal, but not THE goal. Worse comes to worse, I want to at least say I finished. My goal for IM #1 was sub 13. Foot pain forced me to walk since I couldn't train due to injury and didn't start running (literally, had never ran for the purposes of exercise) until 7 months before the race. 

For this year, my goal is sub 11. I think its a goal I will have to work very hard to accomplish, but its possible. Could it be a bit too ambitious, yes, but it will make me work harder. Also, you have to prepare for the worst; I have yet to have a "perfect" race. So have smaller goals for an IM.

Hi there,

You've all been posting a lot while I've been out at work!

This morning I ran some intervals on the treadmill - going quite fast (for me) and for 50 mins in total which is the longest I've run for a while which meant that.. I was planning about an hour in the pool but I felt shattered. I am glad that I actually got changed and got in the pool but ashamed I only did 8 lengths (with a lot of gasping at lane ends) before packing it in.

Anyway - back to the training plans. I have now looked at the bt half ironman. It looks ok on closer examination but mainly deals with times not distances. I would stick to my running plan which is from the great north run site which got me through the great north run (half marathon) in September.

One thing, it does suggest swimming sets to do in a given time. I don't think I would do them in the time stated. Would I be best to swim to time and see how far I get through, or should I complete the swim as stated and then see how long it's taken me?

Jennifer

Oh, and I also wanted to say that considering that you can join this site for free (which I have) to get as many plans as they have and access to this forum is just brilliant .

Lots of things can go wrong on race day, especially longer races like HIM and IM's.  BUT, most things that derail a race can be prepared for by adding them to our training.  I lot of folks, for instance, only use one nutrition plan but if the stomach rejects that you need to have a plan B. 

But your conversations show that you already have the best preparation you can for derailments, and that is a positive attitude about the big picture. 

Yes, the free plans only have times.  For those training to finish as their only or primary goal, doing the time in the plan will more than get you to the finish line.  That said, most of the plans for the paying members are also based on time.  They just give you a little more bang for the buck in specific workouts.  Especially with the swim sets, and bike workouts.  There are a couple of advanced plans that are mileage or yardage specific, but not many. 

The logic for this is that in the course of training for the week, the training needs to be balanced so that today's workout doesn't have a negative impact on tomorrows.  For instance, in most of the plans for IM's, the longest run is 3 hours I think.  If it was 20 miles instead, that might be 3 hours for some, but 4.5 hours for others.  For those in the 4.5 hour range, that volume has the potential for injury worse case, and best case it takes a lot more recovery before being able to do the next workout. 

Physically, doing the time will get you to the finish line.  Mentally some people struggle with the idea of not doing enough miles.  At this point kind of got to trust the plan and the expertise of the author.  But I know, it isn't easy!

that's one thing about the free plans is they aren't detailed enough and there is no one to ask if you have questions.

For swimming, you are definitely better off breaking it up than swimming distance.  I would structure it based on 3days swim/per week, like this:

1.  speed sets- do a short wu/drills then do 10x100's with 10" rest and 10x50's 10" rest followed by a short cd

2.  distance- short wu/drills then do 4x300's/400'/or 500's depending on where you are at, and then a short CD

2.  Do a day with lots of drills and a mix speed/distance.

I've used the BT HIM plan as an outline.  It's definitely something you can use to finish, but if you have time goals you'll need to put in some details to step it up some.

Eddie, if you haven't, read Friel's Triathlete Bible and his Going Long: Training for Iron Distance Triathlons.  There are other good books with plans, like Fitzgerald's Essential Week By Week Training Guide. 

You are right.  Trying to build over 40 weeks is asking for injury.  Periodization is critical and Friel will explain that.  You want to plan B races between now and the big one to give you goals and and break up the year in manageable mesocycles each with specific training goals.  We start with more unspecific training at this time of year and then build to a very race-like training cycle where we are doing hard bike, run and swims separated by easier recovery days.  But he explains all that.  Overload muscles, recover, repeat. Love this stuff!

 And the speed set, drills and distance is a great way to look at a week for swimming, biking and running.  Add time to your challenging sports.  And don't forget strength work.  We ought to be doing it all year but especially now. 

Treadmill.......I need a little help.

The weather has been a little iffy lately for early morning runs. I love being outdoors and I really can't stand being on the treadmill. 

Any tips to make the time go by faster - I do listen to music and I have  TV that I can watch but......

It alays goes faster for me when I change up speed/elevation some.  I'm not saying do an all out hill workout or speed interval set every time.  But make little changes at pre determined time intervals to make the time pass.

Omahabritt - 2013-01-02 9:43 AM

robingray_260 - 2013-01-01 2:18 PM

Omahabritt - 2013-01-01 8:49 AM Happy New Year everyone!! Ken, good luck with your race!! Trying to start off the year right & posting my goals for Jan... 1.) Get back in the pool! (2-3x per week) 2.) Settle on a training plan for IM Wisconsin & pre Ironman (I really do best with a structured plan) 3.) Get a bike trainer (not a person) 4.) Detox food wise from the holidays 5.) Start logging my training in my BT training log (last year I only did it for half the year, I didn't stop working out, it just looks like I did. I really would have liked to see what my numbers were for the entire year) 6.) Adjust to Eastern Time Zone for the group. Headed out for a run later when it warms up a bit (it's only 3 right now!) First question...have any of you done the BT Ironman training plans? I did one for my HIM last year & was well prepared with a few modifications (suggested by BTers). Was hoping to do the same this year.

Can't help with the Ironman training plan - but am curious what modifications you added to the HIM training plan?-Did you add extra bikes or runs?  I am using it along with a Fitzgerald HIM training plan from training peaks.

A lot of people said the plan was a little light on the bike. I followed the plan pretty closely, but would add time to the longer bike rides & made sure I had several rides close to or over 56 miles. I added some to the run too, but just because I like to run. It also seemed like there were very few "hard effort" bike or run workouts. This got boring after awhile, so I would add in some intense hill repeats or some other all out effort work.

Thanks so much - that makes perfect sense to me, I too thought it was a little light in some of the distances!

In the interest of full disclosure and to avoid 'lurker' status, here is my Bio info -

NAME: Kurt Wiesenberger

STORY: I am 59, semi-retired, and entering my 5th year of triathlons.  I live in Huntersville, NC (near Charlotte).   I'm guessing I've done about 30 tri races from sprints to IM Florida in late 2011.  I joined BT in 2009 and Ken was my mentor that year.  Last year I took a semi-break although I still did 5 races including the Eagleman 70.3 in Columbia, MD.  Gotta admit, the motivation fell off after that one.  Hottest temp. race yet and I had a minor bike crash. Now I'm ready to get back on the horse with improvement to diet and much more discipline to training

FAMILY STATUS: I’m married with 3 grown sons, one of whom is getting married in May.  My wife is very supportive of my tri efforts.  We just got a new puppy for Christmas.

CURRENT TRAINING: I have been a lazy trainer but now that the holidays are over, I am raring to commit to the BT HIM plan.  I also want to work on weights and core exercises 2 x week.  I have the time and the facilities to get it done.

2012 RACES: Eagleman 70.3, 2 olympics, 1 sprint, and 1 half marathon.

2013 RACES: My A race is IM Lake Placid followed by local Carolina HIM in Sept.  I will probably add 2-3 others but need to avoid too many short races that compromise my long course training.  I am now in what Bob Babbitt calls the 60 to death age group!  My goal is to not to win but to finish with a respectable time and have a positive experience.

WEIGHTLOSS: I put on some extra weight over the last few months so I plan to get it off. I raced IMFL at 175 and that felt like my low limit so I will aim for that for Placid.  I need to increase my water, fruit, veg intake and decrease my carb and alcohol intake.

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTEE:  I have learned a lot from Ken over the years and appreciate his mentorship.  I am an executive coach and will be very supportive to everyone.  I'm happy to share my experience but certainly can learn a lot from everyone.  Glad to be a part of this group!

x2 - breaking up the run into smaller sections (even if it is a long easy run) helps me.

It looks like I may have to endure the treadmill as well until we get more snow.  The rain has caused a solid sheet of ice to form on all the roads and sidewalks. What a crazy winter we are having here!

I have heard a lot of people really like www.swimsmooth.com

I really like NTC Masters swimming website http://www.ntcmastersswim.blogspot.com/  but I use it to get ideas for workouts.

At least I'm not alone....

Thanks for the tips everyone. I've been wondering what that incline setting was all about...

As I structure my training cycles (a la Friel)  I am trying to figure out how to identify an A race, because I am doing this point series where I essentially have an important race every 2 weeks for 8 weeks (Oly, Oly, sprint, and then oly or sprint for the last one).  Then I have a midseason break, followed by 1-2 longer races in the fall.  How would you all approach this?  Thanks!  Jaime

P.S. CyborgQueen you should definitely do the Moab Skinny Tire Festival! 

Doing a series like that would offer a challenge to training, but I think how you look at the series will help determine your goals.  Are these races you want to perform at your best or are they a lead into the second half of the year?  I would suggest if you are looking to perform well in the series that the first race is where you want to reach the end of the cycle then a series of recovery/taper efforts for the 8 weeks.  Then a good recovery before building again for the longer races in the fall. 

If anyone else has any thoughts on this, I am not that experienced in racing that often. 

I have seen the runnerval series from Coach Troy, but have not tried them.  I will take a look at that app though, since we have snow that is piling up with no signs of melting, other than the race series with closed roads, my running is going to be on the treadmill until vacation at the end of the month!

I vary the elevation between 1 and 2 percent.  It takes at least 1.5 percent before my HR gets near what it would be for a similar pace outside.  There are also some good hill simulations that you can do using the elevation buttons.