HIM Hours Joel Friel and Matt Fitzgerald

Someone else will probably chime in on this but I've done both and I'm partial to the meters. I rarely run "just for an hour". It's probably down to personal preference. I like seeing solid numbers on the mileage and meters I get in. 4000, 4500, 3500, etc. in the pool broken down into a workout based on what I need to do whether it be sprints or drills. Its easier for me to keep track of and organize how I train. Some people are better with a "get in and swim for x amount of time" approach but I can't do that very well.

Bottom line: personal preference.

I have used Fitzgerald's plans for my last 2 HIM races and been very pleased. As you stated Matt uses time for both the bike and run and distance (yds) for the swim. The swim is pretty straight forward, swim the prescribed drills for the distance specified and you are set. For the bike and run workouts he specifies a time and then a type of workout. In the description section of the book he gives a detailed explanation of each type workout. If you use heart rate he gives you the zones to be in or if you are like me and use RPE he gives those also. For the run I use the McMillan calculator and take my training paces from that. So if Matt calls for a 60 minute tempo run, I use the tempo pace from McMillan to know how fast to run for that 60 minutes.

The plans prepared me well and I like that there are 10 levels to choose from for each distance. I will be using his plan again this year for my IM in September. Good luck to you, and if I can help with any more info let me know.

This

Here's an example of a bike workout.  The plan calls for 3x25' at HIM effort (time and intensity).  No matter what, the overall workout is going to take about 2 hours (15 min WU, 90 min MS with rest intervals, 15 min CD).  For me to do this, I would probably average about 19 mph on flat roads, so I need to plan a route that's about 38 miles to make sure I have enough distance to fit everything in.  On the other hand, if Bradley Wiggins was doing this workout, he would probably average closer to 25 mph at the same "effort", and he would need to make sure his route is closer to 50 miles.

It's technically the same workout for both of us, but two different distances.

Great, thanks everyone!  I'm happy to hear that Matt's wo's have worked so I'll lean toward his plans.  My HIM is in june so I've got lots of time to prep before teh 20wk plan starts.  I think I'll follow Joel's book until then.

I'll also check out that speed calculator for running, sounds pretty cool

This is where I get hung up.  two different distances but prepping for the same race.  But I remember in the running room's book they mention you don't need to run a marathon length before the race as the race day will bring together the accumulation all of your workouts.  So i'm guessing, same principal applies with tri's.