20-04-2009 / 26-04-2009 (Week 5)

Week 5 (20-04-2009 / 26-04-2009)

Swim 2:30 - Bike 6:00 - Run 3:30 -- Total: 12:00

This is designed to allow recovery during the week with some extended long work on the weekend. Since we've begun to add significant high intensity work -- and will be adding more in the future -- it's important to take some extensive recovery time every 4-6 weeks to enable the body to rebuild completely before progressing further. This week's hard intervals will be shorter and the durations of most of the workouts have been significantly reduced. By the end of the week you should be ready to tackle the weekend, as well as the next cycle.

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Monday

Total day off -- relax and allow your body to rebuild.
Remember, rest with as much intensity as you train!

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Tuesday

SWIM 0:45

WARM UP

6 x 150 continuous, alternating Swim (#1 & 4) - Kick (#2 & 5) - Pull (#3 & 6)

MAIN SET

3 x 300 w/30 sec recovery

#1 @80-85%

#2 @85-90%

#3 @90+%

COOL DOWN

600 Pull @70%

-- use perfect technique and minimize your stroke count

BIKE 1:00

10:00 getting your HR up to 60% -- straight into

5 x 20 sec fast spinning (100+ rpm cadence) w/40 sec recovery spin @90 rpm

MAIN SET

We're going to play around with this set a bit, asking your legs to recruit different muscle fibres by adjusting your cadence in the middle of each repeat. Forcing this adjustment serves two purposes: it simulates real riding more closely, and it helps promote pedaling efficiency. It's tougher, for sure -- have fun with it!

2 x 10:00 @84-92% w/10:00 @60-70% after each

each 10:00 repeat should be done as follows:

- 2:00 @85-90 rpm (hard gear)

here's where you adjust your gearing (6:00 total)

- 4 x (30 sec @95-100 rpm -- 10 sec @105-110 rpm -- 50 sec @85-90 rpm)

- 2:00 @85-90 rpm (hard gear)

COOL DOWN

Continue spinning @~100 rpm, bringing your HR back down gradually to 60% with 5:00 left, and finally below 50% by the end.

DAILY TOTAL: 1:45

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Wednesday

RUN 0:40

15:00 warm up jog, allowing your body to slowly get up to 60-65% by the end.

2 x 7:00 steady tempo run @70-75% intensity w/3:00 recovery jogging @60% in between

- focus on holding proper running form

Bring your HR back down to 60% with 5:00 remaining & 50% by the end.

BIKE 1:00

WARM UP

15:00 spinning @90-95rpm

- get your HR up to 60% in the first 10:00 and closer to 70% by 15:00

DRILLS

These drills are designed to help smooth your pedal stroke for greater efficiency:

2 x 3:00 Isolated Leg Training w/30 sec recovery after each

MAIN SET

3 x 7:00 @75% w/2:00 easy spinning - hold 90-95rpm cadence throughout

COOL DOWN

10:00 easy spin (small chain ring) @95rpm,

allowing your HR to return to 50% for the final few minutes.

DAILY TOTAL: 1:40

WEEK-TO-DATE: 3:25

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Thursday

SWIM 1:00

WARM UP

800 Swim - every 4th lap Kick

MAIN SET

12 x 100 w/15 sec rest

alternate 2 Swim - 2 Choice - 2 Pull w/Paddles (twice through)

4 x 75 w/10 sec rest

- each 75 is (25 moderate freestyle - 25 choice - 25 fast freestyle)

COOL DOWN

600 easy swim, minimizing your stroke count

RUN 0:50

Standard track workout format -- use the suggested times only if you can't get to a track.

15:00 easy jog, gradually raising your HR to 70%

- finish with 1-2 laps of accelerated running down the straightaways to get you ready for the main set:

This set totals slightly less than 5km and should be done at a relatively high intensity. Challenge yourself to push toward faster times -- this is where progress is made!

4 x (1200m / 5:00) w/(400m / 2:00) easy jog after each

- use #1 to elevate your HR up close to 84% by the end

- #2, 3, & 4 should be hard efforts within the 84-92% AT zone

Jog easy @60% or below to the end -- walk 2-3:00 to complete your cool down

DAILY TOTAL: 1:50

WEEK-TO-DATE: 5:15

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Friday

SWIM 0:45

WARM UP

400 easy swim

MAIN SET

3 x 200 (50 Kick - 25 Right Arm - 25 Left Arm - 100 Swim) w/20 sec rest

- concentrate on maintaining a low stroke count per length

for the final 100 Swim

4 x 100 IM w/10 sec rest

6 x 50 Swim (25 easy - 25 fast) w/5 sec rest

COOL DOWN

300 easy swim

DAILY TOTAL: 0:45

WEEK-TO-DATE: 6:00

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Weekend Note:

This is the first "serious" weekend of activity. The optimal layout involves a long ride on Saturday (anywhere from 60-70 miles -- though you shouldn't worry about the total distance covered) and an extended run-bike-run (a "bike sandwich") on Sunday.

The idea is to offer your body a solid idea of what an extended duration of activity feels like. Ideally these kinds of weekends will begin with a ride that will help you test your fueling strategies (you should stop as little as possible), and finish with a run that puts you solidly in the aerobic zone for an extended period of time. In future training cycles this weekend will get slightly higher in intensity and will even include an extra run on Saturday (we'll even include a short swim once or twice to give you the total triathlon experience). This extension of activity should also be building your confidence that you can complete a full Ironman distance race, if that's what your future goals include.

You'll notice that we haven't included an indoor alternative for Saturday -- this is because we want you to ride outdoors, if at all possible. If the weather is cold and rainy on Saturday, feel free to switch the two days and try for Sunday; if Sunday's weather is equally unattractive, then go ahead and choose an indoor alternative from a previous weekly schedule.

The bottom line is that we'd really like you to get outside this weekend, on both days, for an extended "Iron Weekend" of great outdoor training. Have a great time with it!

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Saturday, 6/14

BIKE 3:30

You should still be scheduling all of your longer weekend rides outdoors, weather permitting. In fact, if the weather is poor on Saturday and the forecast calls for improved weather on Sunday, then we'd recommend that you switch the two days to enable you to get some long "road time".

DAILY TOTAL: 3:30

WEEK-TO-DATE: 9:30

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Sunday, 6/15

RUN 1:10

You might find it helpful to mentally break this run into 35:00 chunks. I always find that to be more manageable than a full hour, for some reason, and it helps maintain the focus throughout this longer duration.

Spend the first 20:00 getting into it, watching your HR slowly get above 60%

2 x 20:00 @75% w/5:00 @60-65% in between

BIKE 0:30

Immediately after the run...hold the intensity @70-75%

RUN 0:50

I'm going to ask you to really challenge yourself here -- time to up the tempo and close out your week with a bang. Remember, you've got tomorrow off, so go out there and make this a strong effort.

You'll be starting with a fast tempo right out of the blocks:

2 x 15:00 above 80% w/10:00 @60% after each

DAILY TOTAL: 2:30

WEEK-TO-DATE: 12:00