01-06-2009 / 07-06-2009 (Week 11)

Week 11 (01-06-2009 / 07-06-2009)

Swim 3:00 - Bike 8:00 - Run 4:30 -- Total: 15:30

This will be another short week -- same durations as last week, but the weekends are longer. Next week will be equally short as well. This is to give your body a break from the miles you put in earlier in the summer. Don't deviate from the program.

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Monday

Have a great day off!

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Tuesday
The bike intervals will be done at the same intensity, but the repeats will be shorter and there will be more of them.

SWIM 0:45

WARM UP

400 Swim - 200 Kick - 200 Choice

MAIN SET

6 x 200 @ 70-90+% with :20-:30 rest

#1 & 4 Swim

#2 & 5 Pull (optional)

#3 & 6 Swim

Within each 200, increase your effort every 50 from 70+% to 90+%. The last 50 of each 200 should be at or just faster than race pace.

COOL DOWN

400 Pull @ 70%; perfect technique

BIKE 1:15

15:00 getting your HR up to 70% -- straight into

5 x 20 sec fast spinning (100+ rpm cadence) w/40 sec recovery spin @90 rpm; then spin easy for several minutes

MAIN SET

Hit each repeat hard from the beginning, but be sure to finish each repeat strong too. Try to keep your effort and speed consistent throughout the set.

Do 3 sets of the following:

12:00 @ 84-92%

4:00 easy spin at 60-65%

Work on keeping your upper body and breathing relaxed. Avoid strangling your aero bars.

COOL DOWN

After the third hard repeat, shift into your small chain ring and pedal at 100+rpm. Allow your HR to fall under 60%.

DAILY TOTAL: 2:00

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Wednesday

RUN 1:15

15:00 warm up jog, allowing your body to slowly get up to 65-70% by the end.

Then do 3 sets of:

10:00 @ 75%

5:00 @ 65-70%

There should be a definite change in your pace from the longer repeats to the short and back into the long ones. Keep your upper body and breathing relaxed. And keep your stride rate at 90-95.

Cooldown to 1:15 by brining your HR below 60% with atleast 5:00 left.

BIKE 1:30

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

MAIN SET

3 x 18:00 @ 75% with 4:00 @ 65-70% between repeats.

Hold 90-95rpm throughout the set. Choose gears that allow you to pedal fairly easily instead of having to exert too much effort to keep your cadence up.

This is the major difference in pedaling between shorter races and Ultra races. In shorter ones, the idea is to constantly maximize your effort. In Ultra races, the idea is to get as much speed as you can with as little effort exerted as possible.

COOL DOWN

Spin easy in your small chain ring @95+rpm,

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

DAILY TOTAL: 2:45

WEEK-TO-DATE: 4:45

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Thursday

SWIM 1:00

WARM UP

9 x 100, alternate 100 Swim - 100 Kick - 100 Pull; increase your effort in each set of 3 x 100

MAIN SET

3 sets of the following:

10 x 50 w/:05 rest

200 (or 150) easy on 4:00

Get your time for every 50 and add them up for a timed 500. Try to make your times faster on set #2 and #3. Start set #1 at your race pace.

Try to hold your 50s even. If your times drop off, it's because you started out too fast.

COOL DOWN

4 x 100 total recovery below 60%

RUN 1:05

We're going to keep the repeats short with minimal rest, so you can build some final strength and speed.

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:

16 sets of the following:

400m (1:45) @ 80-85% (final four up to 92%)

100m (:30) @ 65% easy jog

The key is to keep your effort and times for the 400s (if done at the track) as consistent as possible. The effort should feel similar to that of a fresh marathon pace (not at the end of an Ironman).

Pick up your pace the last four repeats, making each one faster so the last one is nearly all out but still very much controlled. You should finish feeling like you could have done 1-2 more repeats as fast as you complete #16.

Cooldown by jogging below 60% to the end. Walk it in the final couple of minutes and stretch out the calves, glutes and hamstrings.

DAILY TOTAL: 2:05

WEEK-TO-DATE: 6:50

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Friday

Last day devoted mostly to IM work.

SWIM 0:45

WARM UP

200 Swim - 200 Kick - 200 Pull - 200 Swim

MAIN SET

6 x 100 IM w/:15 rest

on #1, 3, 5 sprint the 25 fly and breast;

on #2, 4, 6 sprint the 25 back and free;

the other 25s are easy.

COOL DOWN

400 Pull @ 70%; work on perfect technique and keep your stroke count even the whole way

DAILY TOTAL: 0:45

WEEK-TO-DATE: 7:35

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Weekend Note:

The long ride and run have gone back up in time this weekend. We need to keep your body in touch with the long efforts you'll be putting it through on race day, but without having you be out there all day long. This weekend's workouts are a perfect compromise.

Next week the run will get shorter and the ride will stay virtually the same.

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Saturday

BIKE 4:25

Keep your effort aerobic. No hard group rides.

Bike aid stations are usually set 5 miles apart, so work on taking in fluids consistently atleast every 15 minutes. Set your watch to beep every 15 minutes if you can to remind yourself to take in fuel. The less you have to think about during the race the better!

RUN 0:30

Brick run right after biking. Push the pace right away at a pace slightly faster than what you want to run your marathon at. Your HR should not exceed 85%.

Run the whole 30:00 at this pace. Then finish up by walking for atleast 10 minutes and stretching out afterwards.

SWIM 0:30

Today's swim is mellow, with some technique drills. Work on perfecting your stroke during the Drills set

WARM UP

10 x 50 Swim w/:10 rest; increase your effort every two 50s up to 80% on the last two.

DRILLS

10 X 100 (25 Left arm - 25 Swim - 25 Rt arm - 25 Swim) with :10 rest;

COOL DOWN

300 total recovery; your choice

DAILY TOTAL: 5:25

WEEK-TO-DATE: 13:00

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Sunday

RUN 1:45

After 15:00 of warming up, hold your HR at 70-75% until the 1:10 mark. Then bump up your HR into the 75-84% range for 20 minutes before cooling down completely.

By speeding up the last several miles at the end of a long run, you're teaching your body to push harder when it's already tired. If the 20:00 at 75-84% are comfortable, then you're making great progress towards a great marathon.

Walk it in the final couple minutes. Then stretch out your calves, glutes and hamstrings.

BIKE 0:45

Keep your HR below 65% and spin in your small chain ring @ 95+rpm. Try to do this right after running to flush out the legs.

DAILY TOTAL: 2:30

WEEK-TO-DATE: 15:30