Joe Friel's "Big Days". Do you do them?

I've never done this but it sounds like a tough workout.  I'd love to hear what others think about the idea...

I also agree with the person who said they'd fall asleep after the bike! 

No offense to Joe Friel, but I have a spouse who trains and kids I want to hang out with, so a day in which I work out 3x but do not brick the workouts together is not going to happen unless DH and I are on vacation together without the kids.

I do a long or days (90-100 mile bike + 9 mile run) to test my race-day plan (nutrition/pacing/etc) but do not add the swim.  I have done swim/long run days in the past when it fit in my schedule, but swimming is easiest for me to do at an easy pace (I train for and race a 5k swim every year) so I don't sweat it for my race-day execution workout.

DH does think the 5K swim + 56 mile bike ride is also a good workout but I'm not sold on that either.  I think the 90/9 gives me the best bang for my buck.

Those are good points.

I should have added that Friel recommends these only twice.  But still, the time commitment is great.  I also have a spouse who races and trains but luckily her IM is in June while mine is in September so we won't overlap too much.  But I hear you. 

About the swim/bike brick, Jordan Rapp recently posted on ST that he thinks the swim/bike brick is probably the most under-appreciated workout in the sport. 

I have this as part of my plan for my IM in November.  You are right that Friel has two of these.   They are part of what he says are the crucial long work outs in the 9 weeks leading up to the taper.  (I think its 9 weeks), in addition to the two big days, he advocates 5 long rides, 4 long runs, and 6-7 long swims (IIRC).   

I am going to try the big days leading up to my B+ priority HIM in June, to see how my body responds to it.  Benefit to my family is that Sunday will be an off day, if I'm conscious enough to spend it with them.  But, I really like the idea of trying to approximate, as best as possible, what the IM day might feel like.  I know I can't really get the feel of an IM, but this sounds like its a good prep.

My wife and I do a similar workout 3-4 times during an Ironman build-up. 

The morning starts with an hour OWS, then an imediate 5-6hr bike followed by an hour run. 

The first time I did this, I wound up under a shade tree waiting on SAG at mile 2 of the run.  The next time I did it, I pampered the bike too much and was a beast on the run.  My final go of it, I hit everything about right and was confident in my race strategy.

I will do this same workout for IMFL 2012.

Great feedback.  I liked the idea but wasn't sure.  I didn't do these during my first IM in 2010 so wasn't sure.  I suspect that it will remind me quickly how to pace the bike to avoid blowing up my run, which was my problem in 2010.

I'd consider the recover cost of such a big day.  Plus there is a risk of injury.

Personally my body prefers to train consistently. When I do big volume increase over normal, I tend to get sick or takes awhile to recover.

+1

I think such a "Big Day" is a good idea for a first timer because it will give them real perspective on how long the 140.6 day will be.  I definitely agree with practicing the pre-race, same time of day, same breakfast, etc. and the whole day as a "dress rehearsal" with all the same equipment as race day.  

To practice dealing with race day anxiety, pack up all your gear for this "Big Day" practice and go stay in a cheap hotel the night before.  This will ensure you're obsessed enough and uncomfortable enough that either you won't get a decent nights sleep or you'll be practiced at dealing with how to get a decent nights sleep (earplugs, eyeshades, melatonin, warm milk, calm music, etc.).

To Kathy's point, I suggest doing this 2 months or more before race day.  I would shorten the T1 to 45 minutes.  You might also plan to go at zone 2 heart rate for the first half of the bike, then go at "race pace" (which in my case, for my first full, was zone 2).  You'll get the same "long day" experience, with a little less soreness in you legs.  I would shorten the 90 minute T2.  Why not brick it?  Why not do T2 at race pace?  Further, to reduce injury risk and recovery time, I suggest do the first hour of the run at an easy zone 2 pace, then ramp it up the last hour.  You can get 95% of the experience in 9 hours instead of 11.

Yes, setup your run to loop past your home or gym or car every 3 or 4 miles for refueling.  Running the same loop 4 to 6 times gets boring.  Maybe plan a North loop and a South loop and alternate.

I recommend keeping precise notes of what you ate and drank and when.  On review, calculate your calories per hour and ounces of liquid per hour intake.  If you cramp or bonk you'll need to know what you did to know how to improve on it.  Compare this Big Day workout temperature and humidity with your race day forecast, to adjust hydration as needed.

Re: 2 months out.  I thought for a first timer if such a Big Day gave them just one of any common minor issues - saddle sore, IT band pain, shin splints, foot blisters, very sore quads, GI issue - enough that they would loose a week of training, they'd still have time to get back into routine and try again 6 weeks out.  Or they may simply learn their bike pace is too hard or too easy, or their nutrition was inadequate, and want to change it on a second Big Day.

Shane, I agree consistency over a long time is key.  But if someone has never done more than 5 or 6 hours of anything in one day, I think doing a Big Day will benefit them mentally, build their patience.  And if their pace is reasonable it will benefit them physically.

To give some additional context to what I said above about (the little) what I have read of Friel's plan, he assumes that the athlete has done at least a 9-12 week base period leading up to a 9 week build period before tapering for the IM.  The big days get sandwhiched between 5 long rides, 4 long runs, and 7 long swims, with other workouts filling out the weeks.  He also says to expect to take 5 days of active recovery after the big day work outs, of which he recommends 2 in that build period.  I've seen different articles with different timing for the big days.  One said 8 and 5 weeks out, the other 12 and 5 weeks out.  So there is the expectation that one would be coming into this build period with a very solid base, and would have had, and would continue to have, consistency in training.  For the long ride, he states 5-6 hours, and long run is 2.5-3. 

If I understand what he says correctly, the point of the long breaks is to give a simulation of the long day, without having to tax the body with a 4 hour run.

I do plan on doing these big days, but I'm not necessarily (i) and expert on them; or (ii) trying to defend their worth for all.  Just trying to provide more context for the plan in which they are included.

I think so too, especially after a couple duathlons this summer. Best example, in two comparable sprints (One du, one tri) a 13 minute swim at moderate effort was more detrimental to the bike and run than a 21 minute run at threshold was.