Fastmazor
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If you want to pick the plan back up again after the sprint plan, I would probably just move the individual workouts manually to start on the first day after the sprint plan ends. Make sure the dates of the sprint plan are clear and then insert it. This will save you from having to do a lot of deleting of workouts and trying to discern which ones are part of which plan.
Tagging onto this post, I have been dealing with some chronic hormonal issues and have found an amazing functional medicine doctor. After a year of blood testing and adjusting my hormone and vitamin/mineral levels, she had me perform The Dutch Test, a urine stress test. The consultants at the company said of my results “we don’t even know how she’s functioning.” Yikes! All this after two years of really easing off my training with a focus on Zone 2 work. I think that most of my stress was work-related, and I’m 6-weeks into a sabbatical where Im really trying to focus on taking care of myself, but part of taking care of myself was an exciting upcoming racing season. Trying to figure out how to move forward. Im told this is a 1-2 year recovery process, but I’m so impatient.
Hi! I’m putting myself out there as the poster child for slow running because I have struggled with this very issue for years and have finally figured out how to master it.
Try a couple things: 1. If you are running outdoors, jog in place and see if you can keep your heart rate in zone 1. I have found that I can. It’s the propulsion forward that starts kicking my heart rate up, so I start my warmup jogging in place and I try to speed up very gradually. You will be running much slower but this will help you find a slow running pace. If I speed up and elevate my heart rate, I return back to a jog in place until it calms down. I do this so that my body learns to remember the mechanics of running (which is very different from walking) and gives me a place to retreat to bring down my heart rate without walking (which during a race can be both a physical and mental kiss of death)
2. I run my endurance runs at between a 20-minute and a 15-minute mile. I could run at this pace for hours without tiring.
I promise this works! I trained just like this with my intervals at Zone 4/5 and I just ran a 5-K at an 11 minute mile. I never trained at this pace.
You’ll be just fine ending the plan on the 28th. I’d just make a slight adjustment to the last week. The pre-race workouts the two days before the race are really intended to acclimate you to the race course, make sure all your gear is working, and shake out your legs. You can add another day of rest or active recovery earlier that week to make up the difference.
Great question. I don’t tend to pay attention to heart rate for swimming, but rather perceived exertion and pace-paced zones. If you loose your form, that will result in you both slowing down and also working at a higher exertion because you are working to overcome your form. What I suggest is introducing a pull buoy into your workouts when you are working the lower zones. It does a few things for you: 1) It mimics the experience of being in a wetsuit with buoyancy under your legs. 2) It will help improve your form and mimimize the drag in the water. 3) It will therefore allow you to twin at a lower perceived exertion, therefore lower heart rate, lower zone. My CV is around 2:15, but with the pull I can comfortably do Z1 at this pace and then if I push my pace, I can do Z3 at 2:00. The range of paces for the zones in the swim will be quite narrow, but you’ll see huge improvement with a focus on good form. And even a Z3/4 swim will not be nearly as taxing as a similar run or bike so you can accomplish quite a lot during the off-season on your aerobic system through swimming. Another tip is to alternate with breast stroke during your warm-up and cool down. It’s a slower paced stroke, but a good one to master if the swim is anxiety provoking. You can always use breast stroke to get your bearings, site, and navigate buoys.
Josh,
I know this seems counterintuitive, but these short speed sessions are so important to race prep. Unless you are doing a completely flat course, there will be points along the run that you’ll need to recruit those fast-twitch muscles to show up for you along the course and keeping up these workouts even as race day approaches keeps that system tuned up. I actually look forward to this point in the training when the long endurance runs subside and I get a chance to get my race day jitters out with a burst of speed. This article that Matt wrote on the importance of speed workouts even late in the training for triathlon is helpful:
Hi Charles,
Yes, the acceleration runs are a bit of a challenge and there are a couple strategies that have worked for me.
For outdoor runs, I go off perceived exertion with the zones because my HR fluctuates depending upon weather conditions and other stressors. Over time, I’ve come to know what the zones feel like and can adapt my effort accordingly. Zone 4 I can’t talk, but I don’t feel sick, Zone 5, I’ll feel sick after more than 45 secs. I think the important part to get right is to make sure you return back to zone 1 for recovery. For me that can sometimes mean taking a short walk break or jogging in place. You’ll end up burning out on the later intervals and not be able to hit Zone 4/5 if you don’t honor the recovery.
For indoor runs, I plan out the paces I think will hit the zones in advance and then make minor adjustments according to heart rate while on tread. I preset tread with the intervals so I can get there quickly and not loose time in the transition.
I’ve come to really love these acceleration runs and I think they’ve had the greatest impact in improving my running speed, so whatever else comes up in the week, I make sure not to skip these or to reschedule if I do.
Hope that helps!
I agree with Winora. If you have not done a 70.3 before, I would start with the Level 0 plan. That will give you two days off to fit in your Karate. On your work days, you’ll have workouts typically under an hour, which are easier to fit in to your schedule, or reschedule if you miss a day, without putting too much stress on your body. If you are feeling good at this level you can always add in strength sessions. I’d give it a year at this pace and see if you can establish a rhythm that works with your lifestyle before leveling up.
I’ve had a piriformis injury and mine was nerve-related. The impingement was actually in my hip and the result of a structural condition and a labral tear. So my advice would be to seek medical attention until you find out the root cause.
Next advice is to do what doesn’t hurt. Peloton bike is much closer to running than biking and it worked for me to get high heart rate intervals in. You can mimic a running workout as long as you are in your running heart rate zones. You can keep up your endurance by swimming…and this is how triathletes are born!
Last advice is that you will either decide to race with an injury or not. I can tell you there have been times that I was so committed to a race that I ran through the pain, and other times that I took a step back, rested and reset my goals. You will pay either now or later, but your choice which is worse. Those are personal decisions and Matt’s latest book, the Comeback Quotient, is a great guide as to how some of the worlds greatest athletes make these kinds of decisions.
Either way, have fun because this is supposed to be fun!
Hi Sensei,
I’m going to leave the Garmin question to another, but I can answer on heart rate and swimming.
In order to get heart rate data you need to wear the chest strap in the pool. If you do, it will then give you pretty accurate data when you download your workout, but honestly, I find pace to be a better metric for the pool because you can test it regularly and then use it as a target/proxy for HR on exertion. For example, I look at my paces at 30 second (25s) as Z4, 2 minute (100s) Z3, 10-12 minutes (500s) Z2, and 30 min Z1 and check in on these monthly on recovery weeks. I use training peaks and get a sTSS number when you don’t use a chest strap.
Hi,
From a fellow athlete, you sound like you are well positioned for under 7 and probably faster. Every course is different, but from what I can tell the NC bike is pretty flat, and that will be the biggest predictor of your finish time. As long as you can stay calm in the swim and steady on the run, you look to be in great shape! But my best advice is not to be so fixated on the time. Conditions drive everything on race day and affect everyone and something will not go in your favor so be mentally prepared for the unexpected. I have raced the same course at the same fitness level multiple years in a row with dramatically different times.
Thanks, Matt + Matt! I had the same question. My two 70.3s are only 6 weeks apart and I’m now in the taper for race #1, which means time on my hands to plan for race #2. I’m thinking that I’ll start the cycle on a recovery week, get three solid high-volume weeks in and then back to the taper. Now that the weather is warmer and we have access to open water, I’m excited to get in those 3000 yard swims that weren’t possible in the 50 minute pool times we’ve had. It always amazes me how effective long distance swimming is on raising overall fitness levels. I also love the days when you can just take it easy on the bike or run and enjoy the beautiful weather and scenery.
