Trains, Travels

With the 2010 season winding down in the Northern hemisphere most Ironman athletes are already planning the year ahead. If you’re racing a branded Ironman then chances are you’re already booked in and the A race is set. Whatever stage your at there’s a year of training to do before you tow the line.

You could take the simple weekly Ironman plan and utilise that for the next twelve months, but to get the most from your performance you need an overall periodised plan. Consistently repeating a simple week is 90% of the work adjusting the focus and increasing training load is the final 10%. As the athlete develops the simple week needs to be adapted in intensity and volume.

Don’t forget the psychological aspects either. A year is a long time to focus on one goal. Too much too soon leads to mental burn out as much as physical. Planned periods of down time are a good, if not essential idea. Stepping back and decompressing so you return more motivated than before.

Step one is picking your event. There’s no right or wrong go for something that interests and motivates you whether it’s location, organisation or a goal. The season’s A race is the pivotal point for building your program everything else will sit round it and the plan works back from here.

Taper

Allow no more than two weeks for your taper. You’ve probably seen guides advising more, but read Chuckie V’s take on tapers first. Most athletes don’t do the volume or training load to need more than two weeks of tapering.

The first week of taper is still relatively big at about 60% normal volume. Keep a good dose of race intensity in and remember that’s race intensity not harder. Ironman pace is not the same as your all out effort however good you feel with extra rest. Develop a sense of the pace as you’re freshening up and make mental notes for race day.

The second week has a greatly reduced workload of no more than 30% normal volume. Front load the week so the amount of training thins out as it progresses. Take a day off your legs too with at most a swim. Don’t fret if you end up doing less than planned you’ll be fine (ITU LD Worlds being a classic example – I barely trained that week and had a great race).

Remember the aim is to arrive at race day injury free, rested and in form. You’ll go a long way to achieving this by holding back during the taper. Rest as much as you can, eat well (but not excessively) and limit intense work. Don’t try to train too hard it’s too late, equally avoid grinding to a halt.

Peak

Two to at most eight weeks out from your race is the peak when training really focusses on your racing goals. That means more race specific sessions with focussed blocks of pace or volume work. You’re aiming to shape the fitness you’ve developed into race performance.

My preference is for a single block of four to six weeks with a few easier days in the middle if needed. You could opt to deliberately divide this into two blocks of 2.5 weeks and schedule the rest in. Stick to the simple plan, but focus sessions on race intensities and have some major training days added in.

As you approach the taper reduce the really significant workouts. From three to four weeks out you don’t want sessions that are close to race performance. No long duration race pace rides or major bricks. Particularly avoid hard endurance runs I find they take a lot from the legs.

Despite that warning keep the weeks challenging up till the taper then you really rest up. You don’t want to leave your race performance at the end of the peak.

Build

The bulk of Ironman preparation is done around six to eighteen weeks out from the event. That’s a long time which will inevitably be split into shorter blocks with easier days in between. I don’t specifically schedule easy weeks in my plan, but expect to back down a few days every three weeks. As you become more experienced you can often listen to your body and back down when needed.

The focus is consistent growth of fitness. If you’ve picked a Summer Ironman then hopefully the weather is improving and there’s more opportunity to get some larger rides in. The simple weekly plan covers your needs just start to do bigger rides at the weekend. You don’t need to be at the biggest volumes you can manage, but it’s time to put in more work.

As the weeks progress increase the training load. By the end of the phase you should have approached your maximum weekly volume and have executed some significant workouts. Endurance will be well developed along with capacity to work aerobically. I’d schedule an easier week at the end of this period just to freshen up ready for the peak.

A race towards the end of the build is a great idea as a good indication of race form. Opt for a Half-Ironman and race hard (not Ironman pace) with a small taper and planned recovery afterwards. It’ll give a good idea of how you’ve progressed and what to work on during your peak.

Preparation

I’m avoiding the word base because for some the connotation is of long slow miles and hours in the saddle. Everything outside eighteen to twenty weeks before your race is about preparing yourself for the training ahead. The work you do establishes a base line you build on.

The period can stretch back for weeks so be wary of burn out. Don’t aim to be performing your best from the start. The temptation to jump back in to training straight after the race season ends is there, but rest will do you good. It can be tough as once you’re rested you’re raring to work towards the new goals. The schedule should be manageable and consistent and enough to keep you in good shape.

Once you’ve had some down time you want to start developing fitness. Take the weekly plan and ensure the key sessions are there for each sport. Then build up additional workouts to focus on limiters or areas of development. I want to use winter to build my swim and run further so I’ll keep the key bikes, but run and swim a lot more.

Key sessions will have a lot in common with the rest of the year. The main thing is not doing too many nor too much overall volume. My focus will be building my running with other workouts take a back footing. Once the New Year comes as I move further through the phase I’ll raise my efforts towards build levels.

General Notes

None of this is radical thinking. I move from general training aimed at increased fitness through to specific Ironman work later in the season. I utilise a simple weekly structure to manage a routine and to maintain consistency. The nature of workouts vary, but generally their placement doesn’t.

Throughout the phases I’ll utilise periods of overreaching. A decent training camp or two in the build phase and a good scattering of training races. I’d advise against stacking too much in the latter part of the peak phase, look to be moving towards your taper then.

More experienced or advanced athletes don’t need to differentiate between preparation and build. After a period of recovery start back into training. Build up over a period of a month till you hit a weekly routine and volume that you can manage until the peak. Cycle in blocks of overreaching, recovery and training races to keep pushing that bit further.

If you’ve ambitious goals and the training history (along with the time) to handle this it can be very effective. Consistency remains the rule, but now you’re maintaining a larger training load for a longer period. You need the key workouts, but also more focus on race specific sessions throughout. Routinely incorporate race efforts into longer workouts to achieve this.

Finally I want to reemphasise the need for downtime and to manage expectations when you return to training. When you’re a year out from your big race you don’t need to worry if you’re not hitting sessions exactly how you want. You’ve months to prepare and reach your goals. If you’re hitting them now it’s a great boost and perhaps you can rethink plans, but the aim is to progressively build fitness. Start out too hard and the result can be burn out.

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Perhaps you’ve noticed I’ve not reported on the state of my Kona preparation in a while. The last three weeks haven’t been going to plan. With six weeks left to the big day I’m increasingly anxious. This post is part cathartic exercise to get past the issues and part lesson in the skewed perspectives of endurance athletes.

It begins with a successful ITU Long Distance Worlds. A mediocre swim, reasonable bike, but notably strong run gave me the race I wanted. Everything on track and my run was an asset again. I’d ambitious plans for the following eight weeks before I’d taper for Kona. Then I hit the first bump in the road.

The little niggle in my calf was now an issue and run training was out. Even walking was painful if anything more so than running. The only approach was stop running and hope that with work it would heal. Three weeks later and there were still problems, but my suspicions moved from calf to hamstring.

Losing fitness

I’ve sat watching fitness I worked so hard to build dwindle. All that run training and then a huge break! The plan was to be pushing further than before. Instead I spent each evening using stretch cords and a roller to iron the problem out. Once again I’m optimistic as the calf feels much better, but an easy run tomorrow morning will answer that.

The big question is how much fitness I’ve lost? My concerns are based on the Performance Management Chart in Training Peaks WKO+. A blue line represents fitness (Chronic Training Load) in terms of the training load over the past few weeks. A few weeks ago it towered above previous heights, but now drops daily.

How much can a graph tell me about performance? With fitness at an all time high I had a superb race in Immenstadt, but I’ve seen great biking after a long break and drop in bike fitness. From big fitness gains earlier in the year the charts may drop, but performance seems to last.

I’ve four weeks left to work on the run and I’m allowing myself a little optimism. Sub 3:05 may still be possible it’s not time to give up yet. Rereading the Journey of Justin Daerr helped reassure me the possibility remains. I just hope for pain free running in the next week!

Still holding on

Run fitness may trend down, but for the bike it remains stationary. The graph stubbornly refuses to rise without consistent days of hard bike work. Every week there’s been hard days of work, but not tightly scheduled to push the numbers up.

Each session is harder than last year’s equivalent. I’ve the ability to work at higher power levels, but that blue line says it’s not good enough. The key must be performance if I’m working harder and the raw power numbers are up then I’m moving in the right direction.

Friday’s terrible turbo didn’t help my anxiety. Just as I get used to indoor cycling again (I was amazed how much I did in my old training diaries) I have a nightmare session. A classic threshold set of twice twenty minutes at threshold.

It was going well until my hamstring started tightening. In a moment of weakness I bailed on the second set. The discomfort was enough that trigger point and friction massage was preferable. I inflicted some serious pain on the hamstrings via a tennis ball then followed it with gym work the next day. I don’t need another niggle flaring up at this point!

Poor focus and priorities

With running absent from the plans I should have been swimming much more instead it entered maintenance mode too. If there’s any positive in this (and there isn’t much of one) I’ve reached a point where I can maintain a one hour Ironman swim form. I’m not slower than before, but unfortunately I’m not faster either.

This brings up the underlying issue of focus. It’s not been there since ITU Worlds, like I peaked too soon. My attention has been drawn in surprising directions as I find myself pulled into the working world. I’ve spoken about sustaining this lifestyle and as coaching becomes more successful it takes more time. Perfectly reasonable, but I’ve become engrossed in the process to the point of distraction.

With other activities fighting for time it’s easier to make excuses. The pool will be too busy, too warm, isn’t good for training, I can train later, I’ll do more tomorrow… Excuses are easy and of course I’m working not just wasting my time. I want and need the business to be a success, but this is poor time management and prioritisation.

It creeps into every detail and the list of errors grows. Insufficient rest leading to fatigue which is another potential excuse. Poor recovery leading to niggles and tightness that shouldn’t be there. Nutritional mistakes as I still prioritise weight loss when increased intensity demands I fuel my training more. All leading to frustrating detonations like Friday evening’s turbo session.

This isn’t what a smart, focussed athlete does.

Moving on and peaking

There’s four more weeks till I taper. It’s been enough for some good Ironman performances in the past. There’s no reason it can’t be the same again especially considering those performance graphs have me fitter than this time last year. If I believe them when they say I’m losing fitness then I need to believe them when they say I’m fitter than 2009.

What’s needed is proper focus and prioritisation. My coaching is important, but it doesn’t need to impact on my training. I’ve time to do both. My personal emphasis for September is train, rest, recover and eat well. I need to be smart and work towards my goals not drift. Everything I do now is a step towards my race in October.

What’s key is gradually building back fitness, but primarily working to improve overall performance. When I land in Hawaii on September 26th I want to be injury free, fit, and ready to taper well. No taking niggles, excess weight or undue levels of tiredness to the big island.

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The simple training plan is the backbone of effective Ironman training. A program that can be performed consistently by an athlete. Adapting volume and intensity over time to emphasise individual sports or to increase training load. Another way you can boost training load throughout the season are periods of overreaching.

Don’t mistake this for the feared overtraining syndrome. It’s very unlikely you can overtrain if you’re following my simple plan at around twelve hours per week. Overtraining syndrome exists, but to push yourself to that point takes an extreme amount of stress. Many athletes conclude overtraining when periods of hard work lead to fatigue.

Building fitness requires fatigue its a natural consequence. I’ll reach the end of training blocks exhausted and under-performing. Rest or a taper will restore me though it may take a week or more. After this recovery phase I’ll return to greater fitness.

Overreaching is about short periods where you step beyond the regular plan. Applying extra stress to the system by increasing volume and intensity. It needs to take you beyond normal training levels to push you further. The aim is to work harder for bigger returns, but to do so in a manageable fashion.

In 2008 training took on a new form. Spurred by success in my first two Ironman races I dreamt of new PBs and Kona. More significantly I had the nerve to imagine leaving work and training full time. With all these in mind I started to increase my training volume and soon was averaging close to twenty hours per week.

The additional volume came in several ways, frequently from big weekends of overreaching. Additionally two very large volume training camps, first in France then Epic Camp in Italy pushed me further than before. You can see the size of the Epic Camp spike in week 21 of the graph.

For working athletes periods of overreaching are effective ways to push themselves. Utilising big training weekends makes scheduling around work and family easier. Hopefully over an entire season you can arrange a few weekends focussed on Ironman preparation.

Scheduling

Big training weekends are short enough that they can be regularly scheduled. Once a month seems to work well placed before an easier week in your training cycle. You make a final push at the end of a training block knowing you’ve allowed for more recovery the following week. Most importantly you don’t break the consistency of your weekly program.

More experienced athletes with more time on their hands can look to generally increase the training volume at weekends. As 2008 progressed the distinction between a normal weekend and a big weekend became smaller. As I often mention the key is being able to recover from the extra work at the weekend and continue with your week as planned.

Training camps are a different matter. Early in the year the focus is likely to be getting away and training volume. If you’ve time to commit to this pick a week and set out with an objective of training more than usual. With additional rest and fewer distractions you’ll find yourself doing far more than usual. Whilst you can do home based training camps a new environment can provide a motivational boost and minimise distractions.

Moving on in the season the nature of a training camp changes slightly. It’s no longer a matter of a week logging high volume, you want to factor in race specific work. There’s the potential to use a trip as a very specific period of training, perhaps looking to emulate your A race’s course. Whilst you’ll do higher volume than normal there needs to be improved intensity within that.

Recovery

Consideration of recovery takes more significance nearer your race. An easier week will work for a weekend, but a more significant step back is required from a week’s camp. You need to factor recovery time into the program minimising impact on consistency. Placing training camps before scheduled easier weeks, but backing the easier week off further is the easiest approach.

Recovery isn’t inactivity the body is in a constant state of repair even when training. The effective rate of repair changes the less you do the more it focuses on rebuilding. Equally the less you do the more you lose fitness adaptations. The body is ruthlessly efficient in what it does! A balance that minimises fitness losses, but allows strong recovery is required.

My experience of Epic Camp Italy a few weeks before Ironman Switzerland is an example of what not to do. Primarily I’d allowed too small a gap between a huge camp and my major race. A week of recovery wasn’t enough following the jump in training load. I would probably have coped better simply tapering from Italy through to Switzerland.

Attempting to minimise the recovery period and squeeze in a further ten days of focussed training acted to drain me further. I was overreaching, perhaps even bordering onto overtraining, but the main issue was I didn’t allow adequate recovery for super-compensation. Without that final step my body was unable to repair and rebuild itself in time for the race.

What to do

Cycling makes up the bulk of training time on most Ironman programs and is normally the focus of a big weekend or training camp. A weekend is too short to make a swim focus worthwhile, though on a week’s camp there’s potential. Running can be an option, but comes with the associated injury risks. Something for the more experienced runner to experiment with if they’re confident.

Plan two long rides with the objective of riding both at a solid effort. If you’ve not ridden long back-to-back before this will probably be a challenge in itself. Managing pacing and recovery between sessions to ensure you finish strongly takes practice, but also teaches you about Ironman pacing. Too hard too soon and you will suffer.

Schedule at least one swim over the weekend, probably on the Saturday. A decent Ironman distance swim before breakfast followed by a long ride during the day. Starting with a swim/bike day then a bike/run day is a manageable approach. With more experience and greater fitness there’s the option to add run and swim to both days. Build into that volume weekend the aim is to do big training, but not break yourself.

Adding a shorter distance event (olympic or less) is another way to increase training load over a weekend. Racing is motivating and adds intensity to your week. Going into the event without tapering may not lead to a PB, but it will increase the week’s training load. With the rest of your weekend’s training still in place you effectively have your big weekend.

In 2008 I raced local sprint tris or duathlons followed by a three or four hour ride in the afternoon on several weekends. It was a lot of fun and tough training too. The racing would be intense leaving me exhausted, but after lunch I’d be getting a long ride into the legs. Again more experience of riding in a fatigued state and pacing.

With week long (or more if you’re lucky) camps try to extend the principle of the weekend. Train in at least two of the sports each day with the focus being bike mileage. Facilities allowing it’s good to swim as often as you can, even if it’s only an easy session. Again be cautious with your run volume experience should dictate how far you push this.

Conclusion

Putting aside normal time limitations for a big weekend or training camp is a useful tool in Ironman preparation. Not essential, but it can go a long way to improving your Ironman time. It’s hard to recommend a structure for these occasions as they’re dependent on personal fitness levels and experience. A definite area where a coach can help you make the most of them!

If you’ve not tried this approach before be cautious in introducing it. Don’t attempt to do the hardest training right from the start, grow the volume and intensity of the weekends with experience. Remember the aim is to work harder over a short period, but not to interrupt the overall consistency of the program.

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