[dougie]

I think the Masters plans are a great idea and as someone who is 60 this month and doing my first IM in 3 months from today, I’m very interested. I appreciate that IM wasn’t listed on the plans, but I’m interested in potential nudges I could/should possibly apply to my current IM plan.

I adjust my plan frequently, dragging and dropping things around the TP calendar as life events crop up and I need to adapt. I’m reasonably relaxed about this and mindful of avoiding the obvious pitfalls such as back-to-back hard workouts (or easy), and keeping the overall balance and intensity consistent.

But ocassionally I feel washed out and simply take a day or two out. I think this is probably because when time pressures mess up the schedule I’m inclined to squeeze in too much to ‘catch up’, which I know is a bad idea.

However the new Masters launch has also raised my awareness that I’m an older ahtlete following a program that covers all ages and I’m intrigued by the idea of the microscyles.

So to cut a long story short, are there any, for want of a better word, philosophical nudges I could apply to my IM plan to suit my age. In particular, if I feel I’m overcooking things a little and need to reduce the workload slightly, what should I consider reducing.

[leyla@8020endurance.com]

Hi Dougie,

That’s a great question regarding masters plans for Triathlon. We actually recommend our Level 1 Triathlon plans as Masters plans – and while we are considering Triathlon Masters plans – right now due to the natural cross training nature of triathlon training, some of the risks that occur with running are not an issue in triathlon training. For older athletes I recommend a Level 1 plan with a strength program as a starting point. This will give you a day off per week, and the strength program will help with any aging related strength loss. If you are already doing this combination but still getting overly fatigued then consider an additional day off every 9-10days, skipping a run session if needed.

Hope that’s helpful.
Leyla

[dougie]

Thanks Leyla. I am indeed on a Level 1 plan so that’s very useful.

Dougie

[lrtman]

I have a very similar situation with an IM in 3 months using a Level-1 IM plan. Except I am 75 doing my first IM since the pandemic and I need to add more rest to the Level-1 plan. I am thinking of taking Monday and Friday off at least until I feel really rested. What changes to the plan are best to add a day of rest to the plan week?

[leyla@8020endurance.com]

@lrtman. If you are needing 2 days of rest per week I would recommend starting with the Level 0 plan which has 2 days of rest scheduled into the plan. You can always move back up to Level 1 if and when you feel you no longer need the 2nd day of rest. Another alternative to having 2 days off but staying with the Level 1 plan volume is to combine your swim sessions down to 2 by combining a shorter sessions with a moderate distance session. For example in Week 1 & 2 of the Ironman Level 1 plan, you could shift SF3 to combine with STT2 on the Tuesday, then move the RRE5 run to be on Thursday afternoon. This will then give Monday and Friday off, without reducing the volume of the week.

Leyla

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