traing plan question HIM (plan making me nervous 4 weeks out)

That's a similar brick to what the BT plan has TWO weeks before the race.

B: 2h 30m
R: 1h 40m
S: 3000.00 Yd
45m


My honest opinion is that it won't make a difference either way.  It's not going to help much to do it, and you won't lose much by not doing it.

I also think that at this point in your training if you can't recover from this brick workout during a week of tapering, you may be undertrained anyway.  I really don't think doing the workout will leave you 'unrested' for the race.

I would probably avoid doing a century or a 20 mile run or race the previous weekend, but this workout doesn't seem like it's too drastic to recover from, IMO.

Hi Trix,

This is a plan that I've written - and this workout can be pushed back to two weeks out if you not comfortable with doing it 7 days out. I've had many people do this workout  a week out from their A race with a great result. They key is to keep the intensity in the specified zones - really, it's 40' of Zone 3 work, and another 10-12' of Zone 4 running. Not a lot in the way of intensity, but I do see where the volume might make you hesitant to try the workout. Like I said, try it two weeks out - the whole idea is to understand pacing and get the idea of how easy you should ride the bike in order to dial up the run every few miles.

Good luck with you HIM and if you have any more questions, I'd be happy to answer them.  

Trixie - here is a condensed version as well. There are MANY options when training and sometimes you run into problems when there is a plan written for the masses and a good reason why you should also ask for advice - like you did - or try to work with a coach one-on-one.

Swim -stays the same, bike only do one round of 40/20, so the bike becomes 1:00 less, then just do the run off the bike, not the run before as well.

So, 50' swim, 1:20 bike, 40' run. That's still a 3 hour workout.

A sprint the week before - an option, but not really a good one. You aren't going to be going that fast in the HIM, so there is no correlation in pacing and effort. Also, within 10 days of an event, your workouts need to be race pace to get you familar with the pacing - and lastly, I would hate to see anyone get injured or crash in a sprint a week before an A race.

That's fine and if it works, do it. There is science that says any workout done within 10 days of your workout will NOT benefit you for your upcoming race. So, why waste that energy on a sprint, when you can use that energy on race day? The other point is, try that 40/20 workout sometime - it emphasizes how important it is to take the first half of the bike easy. The first time I did this pacing workout, it helped me shave about 15 minutes off my HIM time, and for me, that's huge - going from 4:50 to 4:3x. There is a lot of merit to this workout, or I wouldn't have put it in the program. As a matter of fact, I learned of this workout from a 6 time Hawaii Ironman Champ. ;-) So, I know it beneficial.

Now, a sprint or OLY two weeks out, might be beneficial, but a week before, I just don't see the point.

Is the brick supposed to be one right after the other?

The reason I ask is I was recently reading about a workout similar to this but you would essentially rest/eat/drink a little between each event. 

Edit: I'm quite sure Mike Ricci has a method to his "madness" and would follow his advise.

I like what Mike said at the end.  With a shorter ride and a short run but with better intensities.  Curious at this also considering I'm sure I'll be doing the same next season.