Am I in denial?

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Am I in denial?

Postby flavadave » 07 Jan 2010 10:40

So I started the BeIronFit competitive plan last week in line with IMCH on 25th July... Thing is I'm no longer doing IMCH!!!
Is there any real benefit to me to do all this training when I'm not going to use it? Will I feel stronger and fitter as a result or just sick to death of it? Was contemplating Big Woody at the end of August, but that just looks like a killer and besides, its not in my plan!!!

Don Fink has me by the balls...
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Re: Am I in denial?

Postby TRIumphant » 07 Jan 2010 10:50

Depends on what you rgolas are. If you're still thinking about The Big Woody (or The Little Woody) in August, then get yourself booked in, and it'll give you focus for your training. If you're still lokking to do an IM race in 2011 when the little one is a little bit bigger, then an additional year of structured training can only be a good thing.

However, if your;e not looking to now step up to IM/HIM distance races, then ease back on the extent of the training.
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July Challenge Vitoria
September IronMan Wales
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Re: Am I in denial?

Postby flavadave » 07 Jan 2010 11:22

Hmmm reckon you're right.. Would be good to have something to focus on later in the year and yes, I might drop to the little woody thinking about it... Aaah what the hell, I'm signing up today!
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Re: Am I in denial?

Postby andyb99 » 07 Jan 2010 11:35

still places for IMUK dave...1st August....
of course to keep doing it will get you in shape...but getting in shape isn't enough motivation to keep it up for 7 months you need a goal. and who cares if the big woody is tough....they are all tough....if it was easy we wouldn't want to do it right??

i'm doing beironfit...i love the program......although one run in and i've had a false start (snow and a cold) and i'm itching to get back on it.
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Re: Am I in denial?

Postby S11 » 07 Jan 2010 12:05

May I be a touch contraversial here.

Do you not think that everyone following similar training plans is wrong? I mean everyone is different and with different levels of fitness, shape etc so is following the same training plan, which will be generic, not feel wrong?

Just a thought.
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Re: Am I in denial?

Postby andyb99 » 07 Jan 2010 12:14

Ahhh well...see i'm not following the 'competetive' plan...i'm following intermediate...and i'm doing that one because its based around how much time you can commit to each week...so in terms of distance, speed and goals etc...every training plan is actually different.
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Re: Am I in denial?

Postby didds » 07 Jan 2010 12:19

shadowone1 wrote:May I be a touch contraversial here.

Do you not think that everyone following similar training plans is wrong? I mean everyone is different and with different levels of fitness, shape etc so is following the same training plan, which will be generic, not feel wrong?

Just a thought.



I've posted on this before so I am now gonna bore you all be repeating it again :-)

I suspect S11 is spot on, but here's the didds brain dump on training plans (FWIW which is not a lot!).

1)Any plan is better than no plan.
2)A plan can be as simple as X times sessions per week per discipline, do what you feel like.
3)If you are just starting or just have a goal to "just finish", basing the entire plan on building endurance (that Zone 1 + Zone 2/train at an intensity where you can just hold a conversation thing) is likely to be fine, whatever the distance.
4)You can hire a coach to produce tailored personalised plans - but if you fall into point 3) above then are you paying £50 a month for someone to tell you to increase your distances by 10% a week but do a lighter week once a month? If you use a coach do you get speedwork included in your plan despite actually really only being interested in finishing, first and foremost, because the coach has to justify the fees/cannot think past semi-elite level triathletes?
5)When you are not competing for podium spots, but are trying to improve/be faster, generic training plans may still provide you with breakthroughs.
6) A generic plan can never get you to your full _racing_ potential over a personalised, tailored plan (howsoever attained).
7)There are paid for coaching plans available that are actually no more than generic plans made to look pretty .

Which can be summarised by

A) You get what you pay for.
B) You can pay for stuff you don't need.

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Re: Am I in denial?

Postby S11 » 07 Jan 2010 12:30

Yes a plan is better than none. I agree but I just find it odd that people can follow the same plan when in fact it is generally speaking very generic. I suppose the individual can amend the plan to suit their own personal goals as well.
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Re: Am I in denial?

Postby didds » 07 Jan 2010 13:27

shadowone1 wrote:Yes a plan is better than none. I agree but I just find it odd that people can follow the same plan when in fact it is generally speaking very generic.



I think its possibly a vase of on the whole (maybe/) people that follow generic training plans are generally quite new to the sport, and whatever their personal requirements fundamentally the plan(s) give everyone a chance to build towards whatever they need = improvement.

Then after a few years of involvement people have pretty much worked out what they need to do anyway, especially if not podium hunting so end up with their own plans albeit based on what "worked" for them from previous plans - so they end up with a personalised plan based on generic principles. ie they don;t use a generic plan but don;t actually have a personalised, specific one.

If you took people that have been involved for several seasons and then gave them a generic plan to all follow you may well find some went backwards - i can see that happening easily which is where I think S11 is coming from.

One other thought as well... once you pick a plan finishing in an "A" race - stick to it - don't change horses in mid stream. Then reflect on the plan and what it gave you and use that knwoedge for subsequent plans (howsoever derived).

Personally I used a generic online plan for my first tri in 2008 - I sterted on a sprint plan but found I was training less than I had been, so used a generic olympic plan. For 2009 I tried to make my own plan using TTTB but just didn;t have enough knowledge to devise the actual session plans (I thought), but did use Runners World plans to prepare for my Half marathon and 10 miler in March and May, interpersed with swimming and a bit of cycling. I sort of cludged my own plan together building towards Blithfield Oly in July which focussed on bike endurance, a bit of tick-over running (I didn;t run as far as 10K between the 10 miler in May and the 10K at the Oly at Blithfield!) and mainly lake swimming by then.

220 published a 4 week plan between oly's (by Doug Hall) which I used with some initial scepticism but I have to confess made huge improvements in my run speed (though I tweaked the swim sessions quite a bit). I basically then just raced until sesson end so just did some mid week tick over work "on the fly" and unscheduled.

I've started a plan for AT 70.3 using endurance planner but I'm not that impressed really. Because of the changing horses thing I'll see it through but I am "personalising" it quite a lot. After AT70.3 I'm not sure how I'll approach the rest of the season but I have no other races definitively planned yet aside from probably Cotswold Sprint so i'll cross that bridge.

I am hoping that for 2011 I'll have picked up enough to be able to use TTTB properly.

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Re: Am I in denial?

Postby Jellybaby » 07 Jan 2010 13:27

I'm following* the Fink plan as I have no experience whatsoever in designing training plans that work, and as much as I read up on them, I still feel far more confident that Don knows a lot more about what he's talking about than I do. Once I've got an IM under my belt and know what is required to get to that point, what weaknesses show up, etc, then i will be more able to design my own plan. Currently my running is shoddy at best, but after 30 weeks of training i might find that it is fine, but my swim isn't. I can't possibly build a plan for myself until I know these weaknesses, which I will only know once I've done it, and a coach can't really help me this year as I can't discuss my weaknesses over IM distance as I dont yet know them.

*I imagine everyone interprets the plans slightly differently. For example, a 45 min Z2 ride could be done right at the bottom of the range, in the middle (where it probably ought to be) or right at the top. A Z1-2 run might be on a track or on a rolling cross country course. I know that in the swimming plan, my drill sets are different to a friend of mine who's doing the same plan - I do more stuff focusing on my catch and recovery while he works on his kick. The plan is more like a guideline as to what you should be doing rather than having sessions set in stone, which you get with a coach.

Dave - Get signed up for the big woody (28 August), and keep on doing week 1 until the 25th Jan when you start the 30 week programme properly. The bike on the Big Woody IS hard, but the run is actually quite nice (depending on your reference point ;) )
2012 plans: tbc

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