I am racing the Vineman 70.3 this summer, and likely another 70.3 in the fall with some Olympics thrown in if I can find a good price/location. To train, I have joined a Master’s swim team (M/Th/Sat), and am using the TrainerRoad half-iron plan during the week (M/Tu/W/F) and then doing an outdoor ride on Sat above target-distance and then followed by a run near target distance.
In sum, my schedule looks like the below:
Mon: AM - Bike Trainer; lunch - Swim
Tues: AM - Bike Trainer; PM - Run
Wed: Bike Trainer
Thurs: Swim
Fri: Bike Trainer
Sat: BRICK: Outdoor ride (60-70 miles) / run (10 miles)
Sun: Run / Swim
My question is how to best add in run training. I currently have a spot held for Tuesdays and Sundays for the run. How should I use this time? Tempo? Track? Long-run? Recovery?
I have a fairly high-intense job and after-work commitments, making it hard to do a lot of post-work workouts.
It all depends on what is your strength and weakness. I find 3 runs a week very hard to build volume. Maybe change your Saturday brick to something easier. Long ride + Long run needs more recovery.
Maybe something like this(3 swim, 4 bike, 4 run):
Mon: AM - Bike Trainer; lunch - Swim
Tues: AM - Bike Trainer; PM - Run
Wed: Swim
Thurs: Run
Fri: Bike Trainer
Sat: BRICK: Outdoor ride (60-70 miles) / run (3-5 miles)
Sun: Long Run / Swim
Mon: AM - Bike Trainer; lunch - Swim
Tues: AM - Bike Trainer; PM - Run
Wed: Bike Trainer
Thurs: Swim
Fri: Bike Trainer
Sat: BRICK: Outdoor ride (60-70 miles) / run (10 miles)
Sun: Run / Swim
.
Can you move the long bike to Sunday and do the long run Sat?
That’s a lot of trainer time. Maybe move the swim to Fri., (thereby giving you a rest before the brick); Fri bike to thurs and add a run of 20-30 min thurs. Cut the long run after the long bike down to something shorter (30 min easy), and just do the 10 miles on Sunday. Tough to really judge w/out knowing the intensity of each of these workouts.
I’d drop one of the trainer rides and sub it for a run. I’m doing basically the same thing, following TrainerRoad’s Mid Volume 70.3 Plan. It looks like this:
Monday: Bike Trainer + Short Full Body Strength Training Circuit
Tuesday: Masters (am), 1 hour Tempo Run (pm)
Wednesday: 1:30 hour Bike Trainer
Tuesday: Masters (am), 1 hour Interval/Fartlek/Hill Run (pm)
Friday: 2 hour Bike Trainer
Saturday: Swim/Bike Brick: Masters + 2 hour Group Computrainer Ride (outside ride once the weather improves)
Sunday: 1:30-2:00 hour Long Run
My fault for not including more details about my background. I came to triathlon from running, but it has been long enough that I do not have much of a strength in running compared to the other disciplines. Rather, my bike is a weakness whereas the other 2 are “just okay.” This is my second 70.3. I ran my first last fall, and completed it in 6 hours and 8 minutes. My swim was 36:40. My bike was 3:10, and my run was 2:14 (rounding). I completely collapsed on the run. After the first mile, which was about a 7:45 pace, I started cramping and ended up walking a lot of the course. Hence the several brick workouts planned before my second 70.3.
I also should have mentioned that I can’t switch up the swims. My masters program offers specific workouts on specific days. I have targeted the freestyle days. I can switch out a bike for a run. As I mentioned, however, my bike is really a weak point for me (my FTP was last recorded at 179, but this was after a few weeks off due to surgery), so I am hesitant to move away from that.
Thus, my question would have been better phrased as: what do I do with the time that I have to improve my run the most?
My fault for not including more details about my background. I came to triathlon from running, but it has been long enough that I do not have much of a strength in running compared to the other disciplines. Rather, my bike is a weakness whereas the other 2 are “just okay.” This is my second 70.3. I ran my first last fall, and completed it in 6 hours and 8 minutes. My swim was 36:40. My bike was 3:10, and my run was 2:14 (rounding). I completely collapsed on the run. After the first mile, which was about a 7:45 pace, I started cramping and ended up walking a lot of the course. Hence the several brick workouts planned before my second 70.3.
I also should have mentioned that I can’t switch up the swims. My masters program offers specific workouts on specific days. I have targeted the freestyle days. I can switch out a bike for a run. As I mentioned, however, my bike is really a weak point for me (my FTP was last recorded at 179, but this was after a few weeks off due to surgery), so I am hesitant to move away from that.
Thus, my question would have been better phrased as: what do I do with the time that I have to improve my run the most?
Goal = Volume
Increase Frequency
Reduce number of bike workouts and substitute with run workouts (Frequency is not as important with the bike)Add short runs before or after swim or bike workouts. These are not for the purposes of a “brick”. You’re simply trying to add volume into the set schedule your life gives you
Reduce Intensity
Goal is to run more so run slow so you can run more
Long Run
Total volume is priorityDon’t over-emphasize a single weekly long runIf you are running long, it should be a “quality” run and separated from your long bike/brick
Bricks
Respectfully you didn’t cramp/walk due to a lack of bricksRappstar said it best along the lines of, "No one needs to practice running shitty"Brick as a time management toolA limited number of bricks with short runs as “race rehearsals” (bike pacing, nutrition, race gear, confidence, etc) may also be of value to you
In case you haven’t heard of it, here’s the BarryP run plan: http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=1612485;search_string=runtraining;#1612485
Running 3 days a week isn’t going to cut it. Read my plan linked by the poster above, or in my sig line below.
In short, you need to add in 2-3 more runs a week, but you dont’ have to replace other workouts. You can just do the run before or after another workout, or squeeze them in during lunch or early in the morning. These other runs need not be very long, but they are a way to help bump up your mileage.
Based on what you posted, I’m going to assume you are running about 20-22 miles a week. Ideally I’d have you stick with that mileage at first, but split it up into three two mile runs, two 4 mile runs, and a long run of only six miles. Over time you’d add 1-3 miles total every week, and within 2-3 months you should be at about 30-35 miles a week, I’d expect. That would be three 3-3.5 mile runs, two 6-7 mile runs, and a long run of about 10 miles.
About 2-3 months before your A race, replace one of those 6-7 mile runs with a race paced run of 20-40 minutes.
If you do that, you’re run should be much, much better!