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Fluro's Ironman Training (FIT)

Face your fears live your dreams

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

ATP 2005-2006

Below is copy of the plan I intend on following in the leadup to IMOZ06. I've broken up the year into two periods. The first phase of training is targeted towards Port Macqaurie half Ironman on the 23rd October 2005. The second phase of training will target Ironman Australia on 3rd April 2006. My goal at the Port Macqaurie half is to go a sub 4.35. All my training in the lead up to this race will still lean towards Ironman racing. The only change I will make will be in the Peak period where I will do TT work at half Ironman pace intstead of Ironman pace in order to put some speed into my legs.
The major changes I have made since last year are that I have moved to a 4 week cycle instead of a 3 week cycle. Secondly. I'll be doing more TT (ie 1 bike and 1 run) towards the end of the recovery week to monitor my progress. I'm doing this to make sure that I'm improving consistently throughout each phase of training. Thirdly, since I'll be training with my volume this year and next year, I've decided to extend my taper an extra 2 weeks up to 5 weeks. This way I'll ensure that I'll be racing the Ironman on fresh legs.

ATP 2006
21 30/5/05 Base phase 1 (1/4)
20 06/6/05 Base phase 1 (2/4)
19 13/6/05 Base phase 1 (3/4)
18 20/6/05 Base phase 1 (4/4) recovery
17 27/6/05 Base phase 2 (1/4)
16 04/7/05 Base phase 2 (2/4)
15 11/7/05 Base phase 2 (3/4)
14 18/7/05 Base phase 2 (4/4) recovery
13 25/7/05 Build period 1 (1/4)
12 01/8/05 Build period 1 (2/4)
11 08/8/05 Build period 1 (3/4)
10 15/8/05 Build period 1 (4/4) recovery
9 22/8/05 Build period 2 (1/4)
8 29/8/05 Build period 2 (2/4)
7 05/9/05 Build period 2 (3/4)
6 12/9/05 Build period 2 (4/4) recovery
5 19/9/05 Peak period 1 (1/3)
4 26/9/05 Peak period 1 (2/3) Gold Coast 1/2
3 03/10/05 Peak period 1 (3/3)
2 10/10/05 Taper 1 (1/2)
1 17/10/05 Taper 1 (2/2) Port Macqaurie 1/2
23 24/10/05 Recovery week (1/3)
22 31/10/05 Recovery week (2/3)
21 07/11/05 Recovery week (3/3)
20 14/11/05 Base phase 1 (1/4)
19 21/11/05 Base phase 1 (2/4)
18 28/11/05 Base phase 1 (3/4)
17 05/12/05 Base phase 1 (4/4) recovery Canberra 1/2
16 12/12/05 Base phase 2 (1/4)
15 19/12/05 Base phase 2 (2/4)
14 26/12/05 Base phase 2 (3/4)
13 02/1/06 Base phase 2 (4/4) recovery
12 09/1/06 Build period 1 (1/4)
11 16/1/06 Build period 1 (2/4)
10 23/1/06 Build period 1 (3/4)
9 30/1/06 Build period 1 (4/4) recovery
8 06/2/06 Build period 2 (1/4)
7 13/2/06 Build period 2 (2/4)
6 20/2/06 Build period 2 (3/4)
5 27/2/06 Build period 2 (4/4) recovery
4 06/3/06 Taper 2 (1/4)
3 13/3/06 Taper 2 (2/4)
2 20/3/06 Taper 2 (3/4)
1 27/3/06 Taper 2 (4/4) Ironman OZ

fluro

Sunday, June 26, 2005

week endng 26/6/05

Base 1 (week 4/4). This was my first recovery week since starting up training again. I kept all sessions in zone 1 except for a 10km TT run on Thursday.
I did the 10k in 43.21, which is a PB by 2min. My av hr was 155bpm. This is my _ ironman hr zone. The course I run is 1km downhill, then the next 6 km are quite flat. The last 2km is straight up hill to home. It takes some real effort just to break 5min k's for the last 2km. My average hr for the last 2 km was around 170bpm. Not an easy run overall. On the flats I'm running around 4:15-4:25 pace comfortably holding a 150bpm. My goal over winter is to get my 10km TT down to around the 40min mark and maintain a 155bpm av hr.
I had my first massage on Saturday. I didn't realise how much of a bad state my muscles are in. The massage therapist said I was one of the worst cases she has seen. I need to urgently start hydrating and stretching much more. The lady who was massaging me said she couldn't even believe that I could walk down stairs without experiencing any discomfort. I know now I really need to start taking care of my body more in order to get the most out of my training.
The goal in base 2 is to keep increasing my volume. I want to increase my running up to around 8hrs pw, and increase my cycling up to 10-15hrs pw. I intend on focussing on strength work on the bike for now, by riding as many hills as possible. I designed a bike session that will take me over the three hardest climbs in the Illawarra. They are Saddleback Mtn, Jamberoo pass and Mt Kembla all in one ride. I think the ride is around 140-150km and will take approximately 6.5-7hrs to complete. I will post each climb on www.cycle2max.com I'm looking forward to the challenge. On the run the aim is to increase my volume to improve my durability and remain injury free. I probably won't start swimming until base 3 or build 1. The focus is still to improve my greatest weaknesses for now.
Hope your all enjoying your training and coping well with the rain that is out there at the moment.

fluro

Sunday, June 19, 2005

week ending 19/06/2005

Base 1 (week 3/4)
A solid week of training. I’m really looking forward to the recovery week ahead. The breakdown of my training was as follows
Zone 1: 10:48
Zone 2: 3:21
Zone 3: 0:36
Zone 4: 0:05
Spent much more time in zone 1 this week. This is important for building up my mitochondria, capillarisation and fat burning abilities. I still find it hard to get my head around zone 1 training as it feels so easy. At most I limit myself to Aet -10bpm. I need to stick with it though to really develop the deep base I need before entering the build period.
I did 3 BT sessions this week. My LSD bike on Saturday really nailed me. I climbed up Jamberoo Pass, which is an undulating climb up to Robertson. The toughest part of the climb is a 6k section with a gradient of 9.2% according to my polar hr file. It certainly felt like it. In some sections I was out of the saddle sitting on about 8kph with a cadence of 35. It doesn’t help having only a 21 tooth on the back. Oh well. I survived the climb, only just, and it left me feeling smashed for the next 2hours of the ride. Overall, I was very pleased to be able to complete such a tough climb. It was a good strength session. Doing climbs like this makes going up Mt keira, a 9km climb at 6% grade feel like a walk in the park. My second BT session was my double run. I ran 18k in the morning and 14k in the afternoon. This was probably my best run to date. I feel like my legs are starting to cope well with running twice in the one day. My times have been approximately the same each week, but I feel my RPE is dropping. Hopefully it won’t be long before I see a similar improvement in my pace. My final BT session was my first brick session since starting up training again. I did a1.5 hr bike followed by a 30min run. All went well.
Now I have a recovery week to follow. I’ll aim for about 10hrs of training, which will include 4-5 rides and 5-6 runs. I will cut back the volume of each session by 50% but keep the routine of the frequency going. Mentally I’m feeling good. I’m training well and I’m eager to get out there each day. It’s important that I keep this enthusiasm going and if I feel like I’m grinding along I’ll look at what I’m doing and change things up.
What I’ve learnt this week.
Heard a good quote about why people think Lance Armstrong is so good. Basically he trains a lot and trains hard. This is so true. It’s simple really, to do well you did need to train a lot and train hard. This is why I picked out the hardest climb I could possibly do in the Illawarra on Saturday. I knew it was going to challenge me and hurt me like no other climb.It did hurt me, it nailed me actually and I had nothing left. It was a climb that no one does and I thought well lets just get out there and do it anyway. Do the things no one else is prepared to do.


fluro

Sunday, June 12, 2005

week ending 12/06/05

It was a mixed bag of training this week. I hit my target of 15hrs which was good. I did 10hrs or riding and 5hrs of running. The breakdown of my weekly training was
• Zone 1: 2:45
• Zone 2: 5:37
• Zone 3: 2:56
• Zone 4: 1:50
• Zone 5a: 1:11
• Zone 5b: 0:29
• Zone 5c: 0:23

Based on these results I can see now why I have been susceptible to overuse injuries in the past. I am definitely spending too much time training in zone 5 and up. I need to spend much more time in zone 1 & 2 developing my endurance. Especially zone 3. This is what I consider the grey zone. I really need to look at cutting back the time I spend in zone 3 and spend more of that time in zone 2.
My double run (BT session 1) day has been disappointing in the morning, but by the afternoon I’m pulling out a really good run. This week I ran 18k in the morning. I sat on 4:54min k pace and my average hr for the run was 143bpm. This is higher then what I would like for the pace I was running. In the afternoon I ran 12k. I held 4:44min k with an average hr of 147bpm. My hr here was good as this run is quite hilly for the last 30min and my pace was in line with my RPE. The only drawback was that my ITB was playing up on me. I will need to really focus on my flexibility now. I don’t know why I’m feeling off with my morning run yet. I should be running well under 140bpm at that pace.
The LSD bike (BT session 2) went really on Saturday with the tri club group. We rode up MT Keira and I decided to TT it to see how close I could get to the record found on the cycle2max website. I made it to the top in a time of 19:43 (av hr 165bpm). The record being 19:05. I think I’ll be able to knock some time off that record in a few weeks time once I get my climbing legs back. I was chuffed with myself to get within 40seconds of the record. It feels good to have these little goals to go after along the way.
I was meant to do a 16km TT run on Saturday, however, I decided to can this and replace the TT with an easy 11km recovery run instead. This worked out for the better as it allowed me to recover enough to be able to ride and run again on Sunday. In doing so I had little trouble reaching my target of 15hrs.
Next week I’ll aim for around 17-20hrs of training. This will include riding 11-14hrs and running 6hrs. My two BT sessions will be the double run day again (20/12) and my LSD bike 4-5hrs. Because this will be my biggest week of training I’ll will aim to keep the intensity down on the rest of my sessions.
What I have learnt this week.
Use the strengths of others to help you achieve your targets for the week. Don’t be afraid to share your ideas with as many people as you possibly can. There are so many people out there with great advice that you can use to help refine your own training.
fluro

Sunday, June 05, 2005

Week ending 5/6/05

The week went to plan almost. I managed to hit all the sessions during the week, but I missed the Saturday TT due to work commitments. Legs are feeling great at the moment. I contribute this mainly to the increase in run frequency from 3-4 sessions per week to 5 sessions per week. I think I’m ready to introduce another run and start running 6 sessions per week. I’m running around 5 hrs a week now and will I aim for 6 hrs next week. I did my first Long bike ride with the cycle club. I really opened it up going through Jamberoo pass. I think my HR peaked at 172bpm, which is high. I did around 6.5hrs of training on the bike, which is still quite low. This week I’ll aim for around 8-10hrs depending on time. My second job is chewing into a bit of training time at the moment and it’s not easy juggling everything.
I’m focusing on 4 sessions next week. The double run day (18k/12k), 16k fun run, 4.5 LSD bike and my first brick session (1.5/40min). Everything else will be a filler.
I was reading Rich Strauss website the other day and he is aiming for around a 9.22 at IMCDA. The guy is so dedicated to the sport. I look at my own goal of 9.30 and realise now is the time to really refine my approach to training, nutrition and flexibility if I want to have a good crack at that time. Training alone for a 9.30 won’t be enough. I really need to sort out my nutrition and flexibility over the next few weeks. The reality of doing a 9.30 is just starting to sink in now. At the moment I’m meeting all my targets. That being I’ve averaged 35.8kph on my first 20min interval. I’m running comfortably 4:30 pace over 10k’s. My next goal is to start breaking 4min k’s at Kembla joggers fun runs. I think doing these fun runs now and improving my top end speed is making me much more efficient at my Impace. My Aet fresh pace (same as Impace in theory) is sitting around 4:30-4:40’s at the moment. I think once I start running around sub 4:30’s I’ll be right on target for a 3:30 IM marathon. The key to that though is building up some serious bike strength in order to comfortably ride a 5:05-5:10 bike split. Looking at the course profile at Port Macquarie and comparing it to Forster I’m starting to think that Port Macquarie will be an easier course. There appears to be 2 short sharp hills that will start to sting by the third lap, but they don’t appear to be long enough to really impact the stronger riders.
Tip of the week.
Mix things up to encourage your body to make the biggest adaptations it can. Doing the same thing week in week out will soon leave you sitting on a plateau. Your body quickly becomes accustomed to when, how and why. Change the when, the how and why regularly and your body will continue to grow stronger and fitter in a continual climb towards your overall goals.

fluro

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

IM bike session 2: LSD ride

IM Bike session 2: LSD bike
The weekend long slow distance bike is probably the most important session of the week. The key to IM success is being able to ride strong and comfortable enough to be able to set yourself up for a good run. If you aren’t strong on the bike it will show through on the day and result in a sub par marathon. Therefore, the LSD bike should be treated as a key session you should do each week.
Stage 1: Go the distance
First and foremost you need to be able to ride 180km. Use the base period to start building your LSD up to at least 180km. You can never do too many 180km rides in preparation for the IM. If you have planned out 3 base periods then this will give you approximately 12 weeks to incorporate as many 180km rides into your program as your current fitness levels allow for. At the very least you want to be aiming for at least 2-3 180km rides by the end of base 3. As a general guideline aim for 1 x 180km ride in base 1, 2 x 180km rides in base 2 and 3 x 180km rides in base 3. Once you are comfortable with riding the 180km you are then ready to enter stage 2.
Stage 2: Making it better.
Now it’s time to make your LSD ride a good quality ride. The aim being on developing the Strength required to TT at a strong, efficient and comfortable pace. Its time now to start inserting periods of 40-50min TT’s at Impace within the LSD ride. As a rule once you’re at stage 2 keep the LSD on a terrain that will closely resemble the IM bike course on the day. Build your main set up to either 4/5- 40min efforts at Impace, or 3-50min efforts at Impace with a 10min RI. This should be achieved by the end of base 2 or end of build 1. It’s important for you to be able to comfortably TT for 180km, therefore TT in training for around 3-4 hours with rest intervals should not be an issue at all. Once you are comfortably TT for around 3-4 hours within a LSD at a pace that resemble closely your goal Impace you will then be ready to enter stage 3
Stage 3: Now I’m ready.
In stage 3 the LSD ride now becomes a challenging BT session. This is where you will start inserting periods of HIM work to really challenge your body and to take it to the next level. The goal being that come race day the 180km TT you will be completing should be a walk in the park compared to your LSD bike session at stage 3. At the end of each 40-50min effort at Impace insert periods of 5-10min at HIM pace and then recover for 10min before hitting it again. This will test your ability to see if you are TT’ing correctly at Impace. If you are then you should be able to lift to the next level ie HIM. If not, you may be TT’ing too hard at Impace. Repeat this cycle 4-5 times and you will be well on your way to developing a very strong bike leg come race day. Once you are completing the session above and not experiencing any real difficulties doing so you are ready to go onto to the final stage.
Stage 4: Know your limits, the 180km TT
In stage 4 you should be able to complete an 180km TT at or even slightly faster then your goal IM bike split. Remember if you can’t do it in training do expect to do it on race day. This TT should be performed on a course that closely resembles the course on the day. It should be completed in your full race kit. The TT can be used to evaluate your pacing and nutritional requirements on the day. It will also give to the confidence needed to go the distance and what to expect along the way. As a general rule try to do the 180km TT in training at the end of your recover week. Where possible you want to be a fresh as possible for the ride in order to get the most out of it. I like to schedule at least 2 x180km TT’s. The first one being at approximately 11-12 weeks out from the race and then again approximately 5-6 weeks out from the race. Completing two TT’s is a good way to assess your build period. Remember the 180km TT in training should not be a daunting task, because come race day it should be nothing more then a solid TT that leaves you feeling good enough to run a marathon to your potential.

fluro