March Training ~ Loose the Junk!

For those of you just joining in on this column, I am 2 months into a 6-month training plan for Ironman describing the Tri Guy’s journey to a competitive finish.

Now that most of the time constraints are worked out and ample time has been set aside for my new part time job of ironman training, it's time to get the most out of each minute. By the way, my time is extremely limited being the only income supporting a family of 5. I thought I would mention that so you know I am not some dude living with mom whose whole life is about training.

As volume has been increasing, sometimes up to 4 workouts in a 24-hour period, it's important to think about the next workout in terms of energy stores and intensity. Stale non-productive sessions can easily become the norm if we are constantly in the "junk zone" in terms of heart rate or not adequately refueling the body. So, with 2 months down of systematically increasing training volume at a relatively low heart rate, it's time to start increasing the intensity to get a feel for race pace. As I mentioned earlier, I like to stay away from the 80-85% junk zone because I feel it is too easy to effectively build speed and too hard for proper recovery therefore it's junky. If the work-out calls for going hard then I go hard knowing the next few sessions will be of another modality and likely recovery based.

Eventually, by the end of the month, I increase the volume and include 2 quality runs and bikes rides per week focusing on speed and hills. These will be considered some of my "key workouts" in the coming months and will be described in more detail next month. For this month I will be paying particular attention to where I place these workouts for proper recovery. This will hopefully keep the stale non-productive sessions at bay.

Looking ahead to next month I should have time slots figured out for these "key workouts" based on this months results on recovery. For my swim volume, I am currently swimming for 30 minutes and then another 30 minutes working on drills to perfect my stroke. Intensity will come later in the form of intervals. 

Till Next Month,
VP

Whoa There Hoss, Don’t Overtrain Yet!

With the Ironman 6 months away, this month's topic revolves around my January training.  Next month will be February's highlights and so on each month until race day at the end of June.

This time of year, with the race so far away, we need to systematically increase volume while preserving our motivational levels. Too much too soon will surely mean burnout before the real training begins later this spring. With that said, January has been a month of deciding maximum weekly volume and finding space throughout the week to put in these sessions.

For me, the most important part of the plan is finding balance with family, work, and training.  In other words, finding time for guilt free training.  Keep in mind that the length of each day's workout is going to dramatically increase the closer race day comes.  I like to keep a few holes in my schedule now for those added workouts later when the big mileage days begin. So, in order to avoid burnout and keep the fun factor high throughout the plan, I pay particular attention to where, when and how long each work out will be now and later this spring. Ok, now for my max volume...I have decided 24 hours in a week is all I want to handle. This works out to approximately 300 miles biking, 46 miles running, and 4 miles swimming.

So, to recap January, I have defined my max volume week and through trial and error figured out where all this time is going to fit in my schedule. Keep in mind that I am only doing about 10-12 hours per week right now in that oh so friendly conversational pace intensity to keep the motivation high this dark time of year. Looking ahead to February, I will be pyramiding volume each week by increasing for 3 weeks then backing off the 4th week for recovery. Next month's topic will touch more on this as well as some key workouts. So check back next month to see what the VP is up to.

       $ VP’s Million Dollar $ Ironman Plan $

     Well, with all those conversational pace workouts what should a triathlete talk about? Besides building huge base miles, this time of year should be spent planning your Ironman build in terms of volume. So one conversation you need to have during your next several workouts should be about how much weekly volume your body can possibly handle today and than "brag" about how you are going to progressively increase it slowly to an astronomical number before taper time in early June to prepare for Ironman Coeur d’Alene. Keep in mind that this may turn into an argument due to your buddies disbelieves.  This is a good thing and will only add motivation to your journey into no mans land. So, with all due recognition, here is the VP's million dollar plan free to you for visiting this column!

     With your maximum weekly volume in mind, let’s figure out how to get from the future from present. Over the next 24 weeks, starting January 3rd, let’s group the weeks into 4 stages. These stages will consist of a 10-week, an 8-week, and two 3-week stages.

     Stage 1 will be spent working on technique, efficiency, and food absorption while ever so slightly increasing our volume systematically for 4 weeks than backing off the 5th week for recovery. Twice through this and it's on to Stage 2. Stage 2 will consist of 8 weeks with your ultimate max volume reached at week 7. Building volume is the goal of this stage and again is achieved through gradual incline for 3 weeks than backing off on the 4th week. We will finish stage 2 with a much needed rest week before tackling the most important stage of all…Stage 3. This is where max volume is reached 3 times in the following 3 weeks and is directly responsible for your Ironman performance. In order to successfully complete this stage you should have done your "homework" consisting of Stages 1 and 2. From here it's onto Stage 4 which is taper time! In terms of volume, this 3-week taper consists of the first week being approximately 60%, than back up to 80%, than down to 40% for race week.

     Well that's all for now!  Join me on a conversational pace workout to learn "MY" max volume which actually might take more than one workout due to the Prez (PK) yakking about something totally different!

Ahh… the off season.  A time for a little relaxation.  No more slave to the workout….if we miss two or three here and there oh well! After ramping up the run intensity and volume for a couple fall 5 and 10k’s, it’s time to re-build the “engine” for the next season. This is done by tons of aerobic training. The key to aerobic training is the long, slow distance, to build the body’s ability to burn fat more efficiently. The more time spent in this training (known as Zone 2), the bigger your motor will be next spring when  we start tweaking the system with speed, tempo, and race pace workouts. Your speed next spring is directly related to the size of your motor. So, stay consistent, work at a conversational pace, invite all your training partners, and have a great swim, bike, and/or run.