Training Peaks Blows My Mind!

I used to be the triathlete who thought all of the expensive gadgets were a waste of money.  The only electronic device I used was a speed/cadence sensor for my bike.  Even today, I have a hard time justifying the cost of some of the products that are out there, made to enhance your training.  The difference between when I first got into triathlons and today is, I wish I could buy most of those over-priced gadgets.  I still don't know that any of them are 100% necessary, but a lot of them are pretty darn cool.

It all started when my wife bought me a Garmin Forerunner 310xt.  It's a gps watch for triathletes, and until I owned it, I had no idea what I was missing.  To sum up it's use, it is basically like having a coach follow me around during my workouts.  I can set it to let me know when I'm going too fast (like that ever happens!), too slow, if my heart rate is too high or too low,  or a ton of other different notifications.  I'm pretty positive that my training to qualify for Boston would not have been successful without it (or at least gone as smooth as it did).  And that's just the tip of the iceberg!  There's devices that tell you how many steps you are taking and at what rate, how much power you are exerting on the bike, lap counting devices for swimming, devices that you can hook your bike up to and ride virtual courses, and the list goes on and on!

CycleOps Power Meter - Cycling Power Meter

Garmin Foot Pod

Swimming Lap Counter

Computrainer - Bike Trainer with Virtual Courses

No technology here, just a bad, and slightly funny,  crash

And with all of these devices comes the never ending task of interpreting the data that they record.  Since I only use my Garmin watch, my data interpretation is pretty basic.  I have been using Garmin's online site for storing and analyzing, called Garmin Connect.  It wasn't until recently that I decided to give Training Peaks a try.  I've heard a lot about Training Peaks in the past, mainly from various websites.  This past week, I have been in contact with a new website called CoachMETriathlon.com, and they are going to be using Training Peaks, so I decided to give it a little looksie.  As a side note, I'll explain the whole CoachMETriathlon.com thing once I'm sure what it's all about...basically they contacted me (and a gazillion other people) about starting this online coaching community, and wanted to know if I'd be interested in doing some coaching...more to come later this week.  As I was saying, I just created an account with Training Peaks.  And, holy crap!  This site is out of control!  I've only signed up for the free version at this point, and the uses are just about unlimited.  The way you can analyze the data is so much more in depth.  And you can keep track of all your food intake, copy and paste workouts, and so much more!  It's just a couple notches above the Garmin website.

I haven't quite figured out how the whole site works, but from the 30 minutes I spent looking around on the site, I'm pretty sure I'm going to start using Training Peaks instead of Garmin Connect.  I definitely recommend it.  If you're looking for a place to track your training and analyze the heck out of it, then you should try it too.

Ah, and I almost forgot.  I found a new way to train for the swimming portion of Ironman Arizona.  It's pretty cutting edge, so I don't want to give away my exact plans.  But, here's a little video that gives a taste of what I'm going to incorporate into my training once the race gets a little closer:

IMAZ Training - Week 1 schedule

 

Week 1 is upon us!  Well, me, I guess.  I'm pretty excited to get back into training for all three sports.  I pretty much neglected biking and swimming during my marathon training, which I shouldn't have done.  However, my wife was thankful for it (or maybe she wasn't, and prefers I be gone training more...).  Anyways, these first few weeks are going to be pretty laid back.  There's set workouts, but if I'm not able to squeeze in a full workout, I'm not gonna stress too much.  Running is the only aspect that I can't skimp on, since I have a 12-person, 200-mile relay in three short weeks!  So without any further delay, here is week 1!

• Sunday - Run - 12 x 400m @ 1:19 with :90 rest intervals
• Monday - Swim - 30 minutes of easy Zone 2-3 swimming.  Bike - 45 minutes of Zone 2 spinning, shifting through various gears to simulate rolling hills.
• Tuesday - Run - 2 miles @ 7:46/mile, 3 miles @ 6:11/mile, 1 mile @ 7:46
• Wednesday - Swim - 30 minutes of easy Zone 2-3 swimming, including drills.  Bike - 1:00 of Zone 2 spinning, shifting through various gears to simulate rolling hills.
• Thursday - Run - 8 miles @ 6:49/mile
• Friday - Swim - 45 minutes of easy Zone 2-3 swimming, followed by 15 minutes of easy spinning on the bike
• Saturday - 1:30 of easy spinning, including 5 sets of "spin-ups"*, followed immediately by a 30 minute run.

*Spin-ups are done in an easy gear, spinning as fast as you can (without bouncing).  The goal is to gradually build to your max cadence over 1 minute, then stay at your max cadence for as long as possible. When you need a break, recover for at least one minute, then repeat.

I forgot to mention something earlier.  Most of this training is based off of heart rate zones.  If you're going to do any of this training,  go to this website and do one of the tests to find your recommended training zones (also found in Joe Friel's "The Triathlete's Training Bible").

2011 IMAZ Training Plan!

So here it is.  After hours and hours of work, slaving over numerous books and websites, and reviewing my previous training, I'm finally done!  I've put together a training program, with the swimming and cycling portions mostly based on Joe Friel's two books, "Going Long" and "The Triathlete's Training Bible".  He has many, many other books, but I read too slow to read more than two a year, so maybe I'll consider them next time.  For the running, I'm going to be sticking with my proven training book, "Run Less Run Faster".  It's quite a long plan, going from January 31st to Ironman Arizona, which is on November 20th.  Here's the weekly categorization:

• Weeks 1-3 - Transition period.  Basically I'll be easing back into working out multiple times a day.
• Week 4 - I have the Ragnar Relay Del Sol race.  I'll train through this race though, rather than do any tapering.
• Weeks 5-8 - Prep period.  Again, getting used to working out multiple times a day.  However, now I'll be sticking to my weekly structure more strictly.
• Weeks 9-12 - Base 1.  This period focuses almost strictly on endurance.
• Weeks 13-16 - Base 2.  This period adds some speed work.
• Weeks 17-20 - Base 3.  This period has the same focus as Base 2, but duration is increased.
• Weeks 21-24 - Build 1.  This period will add some focus to anaerobic endurance.
• Weeks 25-28 - Build 2.  Same as Build 1, but duration is increased.
• Weeks 29-30 - Peak. This period contains race specific training.
• Week 31 - Race.  This week has the Disneyland Half Marathon, where my goal is under 1:34.
• Week 32 - Transition.  Basically a recovery week after week 31.  
• Weeks 33-36 - Base 3.  Same as weeks 17-20.
• Weeks 37-39 - Build 1.  Same as weeks 22, 23, and 24.
• Weeks 40-41 - Peak.  Same as weeks 29 and 30.
• Week 42 - Race.  Ironman Arizona!!!  Goal is under 12:00 (and to tell Eric Byrnes "nice job" as I pass him!)

Now to explain all of this just a little further (but not too much, because if I'm getting bored typing, I know you're getting bored reading!), it's basically a bunch of 4-week cycles.  There are 3 weeks where the daily workout times increase gradually, then it backs down for a week, then builds back up for three and backs down for one.  Repeat that about one hundred times, and that's basically the plan.  It's called "periodization" and supposedly is the thing to do, if you're looking for things to do.

The weekly workouts were a bit of a struggle for me to figure out.  Because I have a family, it is best for me to have some sort of set schedule, so they know what training I'm needing to get done each day, rather than having it change on a daily basis.  So trying to come up with a weekly schedule that could stay the same every week, and work with my work schedule (going to work for 24 hours, then being home for 48) was a little tricky.  I needed to have my workouts split in such a way that whether I was going to work in the morning, or coming home, or not working that day, I would be able to get my workout done.  So here's what I came up with:

• Sunday - Run
• Monday - Swim and Bike
• Tuesday - Run
• Wednesday - Swim and Bike
• Thursday - Run (long run)
• Friday - Swim and Bike
• Saturday - Bike and Run (done as a brick)

And on top of all of this, I'll most likely be riding my bike to work (36 mile round trip) starting in March.  There's going to be days when I have to do my biking on the trainer, and there's going to be days when I have to run on the treadmill.  But, that's just the way it's going to be.  And I know there's no days in there to rest.  All I can say to that is, Sunday and Tuesday are going to be short workouts, and every fourth week is going to be a recovery week.

Wow.  That looks like a lot of training.  And that doesn't even say anything about the actual workouts I'm going to be doing.  I'm not going to list those out, not only because I have no desire to stare at this computer screen for that long, but also because I know nobody is going to sit and read through all of that nonsense!  Instead, I'll do weekly posts about my training.  Similar to my previous blogging, I'll include in each "training post" what I plan on doing in the coming week, as well as a recap of how the previous week's training went.  Which, will start tomorrow.  Woo hoo!  So if anybody feels like training for Ironman Arizona along with me (other than you Eric Byrnes...don't be stealing my training plan!), feel free!  Week 1 will be posted tomorrow...