What's Your Training Plan?

I'm working with a tri coach for the first time this year to put together a season training plan.  Over the winter I've just been doing Z2 HR base training (getting a bit bored with that), but next week will be getting a training plan that starts to build to my first race in June and my "A"  race in October.

My coach is a Joe Friel associate, so a lot of what we do is based on The Triathlete's Trainng Bible.

I guess that I should add the disclaimer that I'm a 52-year-old age grouper who's just trying to maximize my personal performance and hopefully become a consistent MOP'er.

If you're a naturally gifted athlete and there's a smallish field in your age group when you race, then this could work. It's all about how much are you willing to put in to get what you want out of it.

I know people that do 1 or 2 tris a year with this kind of training a few weeks out from the race. They don't place top 25% in their AG, but they have a good time.

Sounds like a plan with a huge potential for injury and little potential for reaching your, uh, potential.

Training for the Baja 70.3 in May. I am using the Markallenonline.com.   I usually train 6 days a week.  3 workouts per discipline and 2 strength days. I will admit that if there is a workout to be skipped it will usually be the strength workouts.  Have my long days on Sat. and Sun..   The plan is based on hr and time.  Large base building and just started speed workouts last week.

I think its a little expensive for just a plug in your information and a plan is generated kind of a program. However it is working for me but next time I think I will go with plan with a little more personalized touch. Such as emails from a coach or phone calls.

My training plan is a make-up of several.  I'm using the run plan from the half marathon, the bike plan from the intermediate olympic and the swim plan from the "Couch-to-Sprint".  I generally train 5 or 6 days a week.  Generally my swims are during my lunch hour, my bike rides and runs are in the evening.  Soon I'll be doing more biking as the weather improves so it'll end up being trainer rides during the week in the morning and outdoor rides in the evenings and weekends, intermixed with the running which will scale back just a bit to fit every thing in.

I spent the winter months working on my run base and speed with a spinning class thrown in for the bike.  At this point my swim times are the same, my bike speed is a little bit slower and my run is much faster as compared to where I finished last season at.  I'm also about 5lbs lighter than I was at the end of last season.

Chris.

I knew when I started this that I'm commiting heresy with my training.  I just have a hard time fitting in very many workouts.  I know most here have busy lives.  I have 3 kids, wife works, she trains almost every morning for a Marathon in June, job, bla, bla.

I am reasonalby gifted and seem to have pretty good muscle memory.  2 years ago it took me several summers to get to 8 min miles.  I did not run all winter, lost 5 pounds and started off in the spring at 8 min miles.  This year I did not run all winter and started in the 7's and have been pushing my distance.  I never really did more than 5 miles at once last year.  This week I just did my longest distance ever, 12 miles, at about 7:45 min miles.

Swimming same story.  In December I did the challenge, did I think 20 miles, did not swim until a few weeks ago.  After a few swims at 2-3 miles a session.

What i'm getting at is, can my plan, if you call it that, of going out and doing longer single event sessions, at a hard to max pace, be an effective initial strategy.  I want, after I'm confortable with the longer distances at a fast pace, work in some intervals.