After training for Ironman Texas and racing it at my limits, I returned to reality to run a cycling camp, do a Half Ironman (5' of my PB), run a Lake Placid training camp and a 130-mile hard ride with Team Fuelbelt.
By the end of it all I was sick and tired -- literally -- of training. I could barely get out of bed to eat, much less train. It was the worst "hole" I had ever been in, and I did everything to try and get out: doctor visits, change in diet, prioritization of sleep, etc. After another few weeks of no real change, I decided on two weeks of total inactivity.
Man, that was really hard.
But I returned slowly with a lighter weekend while supporting the Team vs Ironman Lake Placid. I began to regroup and laid out my plan. The initial goal was to work off of what I had done for Ironman Texas, but after 4 days I realized I couldn't do it. It wasn't that it was too hard…it's that it was too much.
My "usual" program of about 14 to 16 hours a week with multiple two-a-days was overloading my system. It was then that I decided to commit to a more minimalist training program to close out my year. Basically the goal was to create the easiest to execute plan (1 session a day) that would focus on raising my fitness.
Note: It certainly helps that I have a decade of triathlon experience and that I put up some good volume earlier this year, but that said I think a lot of folks can benefit from what I have done.
The Basic Week
I took this week from a post I read by age group phenom, Sami Iniken (link). You can read the full post to see his position on training, but the fundamentals made really good sense for me.
From my experience, my best fitness would take place in the winter when I could pile on the intensity and not have to do any volume work. Transitioning to the regular season meant longer rides and runs as well as the addition of swimming.
During this phase I would literally watch my high-end bike and run fitness numbers drop. By the time I got to race day, I would lose anywhere from 25 to 35 W off of my FTP. On the run I would lose 1 to 2 points off of my vDOT.
The only saving grace was the fact that I lost weight during this volume period. As such, the loss fitness was offset by the fact that I was lighter. Regardless, it was really frustrating to race on race day at a fraction of what I knew I could hold for training.
My goal in transitioning to this minimalist program was simple: arrive on race day with peak fitness numbers and zero fatigue. I may not have the miles in my body, but I'll be as sharp as I'll ever be.
The top things I took away from Sami's approach were:
- One workout a day is enough, especially if you are pushing your limits and then allowing for recovery.
- Training tons of time to accumulate fatigue and then hope for a bounce in fitness is fuzzy at best…we can do better with what we know now about the human body and the demands of race day.
- Recovering from a session (absorbing it) is more important than just doing more work.
Leveraging A Fixed Schedule
The structure of the basic week meant there was little time for additional training. Instead, the focus was on seeing improved results within each session. Not from day to day, but rather from Tuesday to Tuesday.
For example, when I started out running my long run was approximately 12 miles. The first week I averaged just about 7:30 minute miles. Every week I chipped away at that number and by week four I was running low 7:00 minute miles.
In other words, instead of working at the same intensity from week to week as a result of adding time or more volume, I could accomplish more work by upping the intensity incrementally. This also made seeing progress very easy: if I wasn't faster than last week…I wasn't stronger.
This type of progress is usually harder to discern in a program that adds more time or more distance each week…your incremental adaptations are driven not into going faster but holding the same pace for longer.
Another unforeseen benefit was the fact that the rest of my life fit into a very simple schedule. With the training for 5/7 days locked in the morning before my kids wake up I have ample time during the day to do all the things I need to do in regards to my work, my family, and my other commitments. The only downside so far is needing to be in bed by 9:30!
Interim Results
Of course I'm only a sample of one, but I'm very pleased with what I've seen so far.
As I mentioned earlier, I've been doing triathlons for for 10 years and have done a lot of training within that time. Not to mention the training I did already earlier this year in preparation for Ironman Texas. So the results below are by no means typical, nor should you expect them on your own. That said, I encourage you to try this out simply to see what you could possibly do.
The Bike: The entire training cycle I have uses 3 rides a week. 2 of them are indoors during the week, averaging between 70 and 90 min. a session. The third ride is a longer session, always 5 hours, with different amounts of work inside of it.
At the outset, the midweek rides were both very intense. There were short intervals at or above FTP. As a result, the weekend ride was more aerobic. Once I got within six weeks of my race, I changed the set up to be as follows: one hard bike during the week, one muscular endurance bike during the week, and a quality long ride. By quality I mean repeat 25 min. intervals just above target Ironman pace.
The midweek rides allow me to see progress by targeting FTP numbers, and I could increase the work on the weekend rides by manipulating intervals across the fixed time of 5 hours.
The Run: This area is perhaps the most specific to me. The fact that my vDOT is a 56 means that I can run very few hours and still log a decent amount of miles. My run training has been effectively three sessions a week, broken down as follows: one hard run, one easier short run on some rolling hills, one long run at or above goal race pace. Between these three runs I'm averaging about 30 miles a week.
The Swim: My epiphany here came at the hands of local swim guru Trent Theroux at one of my first workouts back in the pool. He pulled me over and said something to the effect of: you are a good swimmer with a good foundation...but when you started swimming you were on 1:30/100, now ten minutes later you are swimming on 1:40s and barely making it. You should do intervals."
Coming from Endurance Nation and Coach Rich's approach, I had to laugh -- that's what I was SUPPOSED to be doing but I thought I had a better way. I broke things down to a 40 minute swim workout where I could do about 1750 yards per session and really focused on (A) quality swimming and (B) consistent pacing.
While I am not amazingly faster per the Bike or the Run progress, I have gained a new depth of appreciation for my swim technique and what it takes to both hold on to it as I get tired but how to get it back when I have lost it. Both are new to me and I hope will translate to a better Kona swim.
It has been very refreshing to return to a focus on intensity as I can see the results from week to week in terms of my progress, or lack thereof. There is no fudging the math–I'm either stronger and faster or I'm not.
Lessons Learned
In case you haven't figured it out yet, I'm pretty jazzed about the fixed schedule. It's great for setting expectations and making the workouts fit into my day-to-day life, with the added bonus of being able to benchmark my performance from week to week.
Spending time tracking baseline metrics is really valuable.
Previously I spent a lot of time tracking my workouts but that quickly devolved into a game of seeing how much I could do. By tracking things like “number of hours slept” or “number of push-ups done” I'm able to improve my overall fitness and wellness in a manner in which tracking workouts themselves didn't allow me to. It has the effect of really connecting me to where my body is at on a day-to-day basis.
Even great training doesn't make you feel anymore ready.
My numbers are super high right now, better than I've seen them in a long time before an Ironman. But that same doubt still remains, the doubt we all have approaching a big race or were not sure of is that enough work. Doing more work for me is simply not an option so I am making sure to do the best I can given what I've allotted myself. Again, race day will tell the truth.
Goals for Kona
As I have mentioned elsewhere, by breakthrough performance at Ironman Texas was a double-edged sword. While part of me was so psyched about what I was able to do the other part of me said what else is there to do?
This renewed focused on minimalist training does give me an opportunity to continue to test my limits in a way that I can still mentally and physically handle. Making this commitment has also forced me to step away from setting any massive goals.
At the end of the day nobody cares what you do at Kona, it's a celebration of getting there.
I plan on giving my best on race day but that's it. The rest of the trip focuses on the family and enjoying a great vacation! Thanks for reading!