Training - post season, off season, general questions, long post

Yes, it is another beloved training plan thread. Ah, well. I have some ideas/questions, and I am always interested in the opinions of those more skilled than I.

Here's the scenario - I've trained hard this past season. Really! Check the logs! I had a reasonable season, for me. Much improved run, slightly improved bike, slightly improved swim. I can't complain, but I do anyway. I'm essentially now in post-season. I'm done with tris for the year and probably done with bike events. There is only one run event on the horizon - a turkey trot 10K in November. At this point I've taken the past week off and I'll go very light for a couple of weeks. I'm suffering a bit of mental burnout and also trying to decide what to do for the next round of training.

Short term plan: The rest of August will be some light training, probably a bit unstructured just to give me the mental recharge. Starting in September, for the run I plan to resume speed work (track with a coach/group), and LT efforts for the long weekend runs - maybe a recovery run during the week. For the bike I may do the same here - an interval day, a long LT day, and a recovery day. For the swim, I'll start swimming with a masters group that is challenging for me one day per week, and a manageable group one day. So the take home is: 2 days swim - one challenging, one strong effort; 2-3 days bike - interval, long LT, recovery (optional); 2-3 days run - interval (track), long LT, recovery (optional).

Longer term plan: Without getting into too many specific, I would like to take a periodized approach next year and target at least on HIM, maybe two around August/September. Most likely the season will start in June with a couple of sprints, late June/July a couple of olympics, and then the HIMs in late summer. To prepare for all this madness, I see this as a viable option. Again, the specific dates are somewhat arbitrary. I'm going more for concept here. I've put a * next to some bits t

Late November/December: Mostly base training. 2 days per week per sport. Little speed/LT work* Spend time in the weight room*

January-March: Major emphasis on bike work - Jorge's program, most likely. Maintain run (short interval day, long run day)* Maintain swim (2 days). Weight room?*

April-June: Ramp up the intensity across the sports. Shoot for 3 workouts per sport each week. 1 interval day, 1 LT day, 1 recovery day. At the beginning I'll be emphasizing shorter efforts - mostly intervals (3 minutes) with some LT work (for example, 10 minutes X 2). As I progress through, the focus will shift toward longer efforts - longer intervals (5-6 minutes) and LT (2 X 20 minutes).

June: Mostly a taper month due to multiple events. Similar to what I did this year. Maintain and race.*

July/August/September: Only one A-race each moth. Build intensity up to the race, taper, race, recover.* Other events are fine, but they'll be treated more as training days.

Questions:

November/December I'm thinking recovery, treat injuries, enjoy the holidays. My fear is that I'll lose what I've gained this past year. Ideas on how to avoid too much regression?

Weight room - My thought is to spend time in the weight room to build strength for the bike. If I do squats, step ups, etc. - classic strength training - will this help for the bike later? I'll also include strength work for the whole body just for balance.

January-March I really want to focus on improving my bike. I think it is lagging now. Ideas to maintain the other two while ramping up the bike efforts? I'm guessing 3-4 bike days, 2 swims, 2 runs during this phase. How about weight work during this? Unnecessary? Necessary?

June this year consisted of a lot of tapering - 3 races in June. Am I doing myself harm by packing too many races into a short time? Or, does the race intensity prevent fitness loss.

July/August/September: Most of the events I'm considering are about a month apart. This seems amenable to 2 weeks of intensity, one week taper, race, 1 week moderate effort after the race, repeat. Seem reasonable?

General swim: My primary focus is to start swimming with a different masters group that is very challenging for me. At this point I think spending some time on technique - class, clinic, etc. - will do more to improve my swim than anything. Reduce drag, swim faster. The classes will really be to train the muscles for the effort.

General training:

OK. That's really freaking long. Thank you if you made it this far! 8^)

-Kirk