Week 1 & 2 Update
Jan 22 - Feb 3rd
24 weeks till Lake Placid
Week 1
Week 2
(Detailed example workouts are at the bottom of the page)
Swim:
I had Cindy do a CSS test and she was surprised at how fast she actually went... I wasn’t. Based on Cindy’s previous swim times in triathlons I gave her some goal times for her CSS test.
400m time: Tim’s goal 6:00 (Cindy = 5:58)
200m time: Tim’s goal 2:50 (Cindy = 2:49)
CSS= 1:35 pace per 100m or 23.75 per 25m
Cindy’s comment: Tim you are good! I thought I was much slower.
Hmm, I wonder what she would have swam had I; A.) not given her a goal, or B.) given her a goal that was faster…
Now we can take these numbers and use them to prescribe efforts and hold herself accountable in her swim workouts. We are doing workouts with focus and a purpose. I design swim workouts to have a mixture of easy technique work, CSS pace, and some high intensity pace. (see example workout at end of post)
Bike:
At the end of week 1 Cindy came over to our house and did a formal FTP test on my wahoo Kickr. Before the workout started, Cindy told me that she can’t get her HR over 140 on the bike indoor.
Needless to say, we had her HR above that before the warm-up was over; and during the test her HR was up to 165. Cindy’s initial FTP = 184 watts!
She has ordered a powermeter and she is waiting for it to come in. While she waits for the power meter at least she has a better understanding of the perceived exertion needed for the efforts and intervals in the bike workouts. We are continuing to focus on getting stronger and faster on the bike. Our goal continues to be, build FTP.
Run:
Higher intensity speed work every Tuesday. On Thursdays we are alternating threshold efforts one week followed by an endurance run the next week. I want to make sure that she is ready for the marathon in March. On weekends after her endurance ride, she has the option to do a short brick run off the bike but has to keep it under 5 km. On Sunday she alternates between LSD long run on weeks that she did threshold efforts that Thursday, or a shorter recovery run on weeks where she did her long run on Thursday.
Cindy’s Thoughts about week 1 and 2:
General comments about the training week:
I am definitely training more with a focus/purpose. When I trained for my 70.3, I did not have a Garmin watch, heart monitor or your (Tim’s) help, so everything was based on feel or my own research. Often, if I had a long day at work, I would just tell myself to go out and train. My workouts usually consisted of a low intensity and low volume sessions, but I kept telling myself “at least I went out and trained”. Now, with focus, I push myself harder. You keep me accountable. I am learning so much about myself and training. For example, I am always so surprised how I can push the limits. I was extremely exhausted Friday night after working and training all week, but I had a bike ride to complete. I came home from work at 5:30 and decided to relax first before training. I only got on the bike at 8:30 p.m., but I did it.. And I did it well. I reminded myself that all the little daily decisions I make about training will affect and help me prepare for my first Ironwoman.
I can’t seem to get my HR over 140 when I bike on my trainer, but when I was doing the FTP test my HR was higher. I can’t wait to get my power meter in order to measure my watts when I train on the bike instead of HR.
How do you feel? (General fatigue, how are you recovering between workouts?, mental?)
Working out has always been part of my lifestyle but now with each practice having a focus and my ultimate goal to complete the Ironwoman, the “intentional training” is hard. I feel a little more fatigued at work. At times it feels like there isn’t always enough hours in a day to accomplish everything. My body feels sore, so I often foam roll or practice yoga. This week, I would say the toughest part of my workout is the warm-up. My body is sore and fatigued from the previous workout so it takes me time to get into the right mind set.
Breakthroughs, favorite workout of the week:
I like variety! I can’t do the same workout in a week. My favorite workout this week was my speed workout run on Tuesday on the Tancheon. There was barely anybody on the path, it was quiet, large snowflakes were falling and the sun was out. It was beautiful! During my last set as I was excited to finish the final push an ajosshi(elderly Korean man) gave me a thumbs up and smiled at me. That small gesture from the stranger made me smile and finish strong.
3 Example Workouts From Cindy’s Week 1-2 Training Plan:
Swim workout: (source: A FamilyFirstTri original)
Focus and purpose...
800m warm-up adding in some drills etc..
2x400 with (short)Fins and Snorkel
Focus on a tight core and swimming picturesque the whole time.
- 1 min Plank on deck before each 400
Working in the endurance Zone so it is not overly difficult and you can focus on technique.
Using fins allows you to have similar speed and body position in the water as if your were racing.
Focus #1 having a tight active core muscles the whole time. This takes a lot of mental presence to do. This is the purpose of the 1min plank before hand. It gives your support muscles a “wake-up”.
Focus #2 aligning everything to go straight down the pool. No side to side, no inskulls or outskulls on the pull. Just get a good catch and pull straight through.
I tell my athletes to pretend they are being filmed for a hollywood movie when we do this type of set.
4x200 @ CSS pace minus 1-3 sec100m.
8x100 (75 Fast, 25 Recovery)
The 75 fast should be similar to your 200m pace for your CSS test.
Feel free to do the 25’s as double arm backstroke
200 Cool Down
Workout Total = 3,400m
Indoor Cycle Workout (Source: https://roadcyclinguk.com )
If you have the luxury of time to do a longer warm-up, riding for 30-minutes and building through your zones and hitting your sweetspot [at the upper end of zone three/lower end of zone four] will get your legs up to speed.
After warming up, ride for 30 seconds at 130% FTP power (VO2 max heart rate). Without any rest go straight into 30 seconds at endurance (zone two) and repeat for fifteen minutes.
Warm down for ten minutes (zone one).
Run Workout
Tuesday speed Workout
Do a good warm-up & Strides
3 sets of (1000m @ 10K-10 seconds/km, 2-minute jog, 200m @ 5K-20 seconds/km) with 4-minute jog between sets
Cool Down