11-05-2009 / 17-05-2009 (Week 8)

Week 8 (11-05-2009 / 17-05-2009)

Swim 3:00 - Bike 8:45 - Run 5:15 -- Total: 17:00

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Monday

Total recovery day -- relax, recover, stretch out, and enjoy...

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Tuesday

SWIM 0:45

WARM UP

300 Swim - 200 IM - 100 Kick

MAIN SET

10 x 150 @ 85% with :15 rest

work on keeping your pace and HR even, so try to avoid starting out too fast. Also, keep your stroke count even during the entire set.

COOL DOWN

8 x 25 Choice, below 60%

BIKE 1:25

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

We're adding higher intensity speed work to the mix this cycle. A great Ironman performance come s from the proper balance between endurance and speed work.

12:00 @ 84-92%/9:00 @ 88-92%/6:00 @ 90-95%/3:00 @ 92+% with 3:00 easy spinning after each repeat.

Try to stay relaxed while giving each repeat your full effort. Don't strangle your bike or grind your teeth to dust! The more relaxed you are the faster you will go.

COOL DOWN

After the last 3:00 easy, hold your HR at 70-75% for 10:00 before gradually slowing down to 60% with 10:00 left, and finally below 50% by the end.

DAILY TOTAL: 2:10

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Wednesday
Keep the effort under control today -- you had a hard day yesterday and will have another hard session tomorrow.

RUN 1:15

20:00 warm up jog, allowing your body to slowly get up to 60-65%

1 x 40:00 steady tempo run @70-75%

- focus on holding proper running form

Bring your HR back down gradually, to 60% with 10:00 remaining down to 50% by the end.

BIKE 1:40

WARM UP

10:00 spinning @90-95rpm

DRILLS

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

MAIN SET

We're putting more emphasis on longer efforts at the higher end aerobic zone to better prepare you for the long bike effort of an Ironman.

2 x 30:00 @75% w/5:00 easy spinning between repeats- hold 90-95rpm cadence throughout

COOL DOWN

Spin easy (small chain ring) @95rpm,

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

DAILY TOTAL: 2:55

WEEK-TO-DATE: 5:05

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Thursday

SWIM 1:00

WARM UP

4 x 200 Choice, descend from 50-75% with :20 rest

MAIN SET

You'll be changing gears during this set, so concentrate on staying relaxed as the lactate builds up in your muscles.

3 sets of: 300 @ 80%/200 @ 85%/100 @ 90%; :30 rest after each interval. No added rest between sets.

COOL DOWN

10 x 50 nice and easy below 60%

your choice of strokes or drills.

RUN 1:10

Back on the track this week.

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:

Today's workout should be fun. It's a fancy fartlek workout that's really good for building speed and strength. Should be a hard but nice change of pace. No pun intended!

2 sets of the following, with (200m / 60 sec) easy after each one:

(All at 88-92%):

- 1000 (2-1/2 laps of a standard track)

- 600 (1-1/2 laps)

- 800 (2 laps)

- 200 (1/2 lap)

-- take an extra 800m in between the sets

The fast running adds up to 2600m and should be done in the 88-95% range, so do it as fast as you can while making sure you don't burn out your engine prematurely. Each set should be the same or the second should get slightly faster. If your times get slower, then you started the set too fast. Jog the easy 200s and the 800 at a consistent pace below 65% -- don't allow these to slow down as you get more tired. Have fun!

DAILY TOTAL: 2:10

WEEK-TO-DATE: 7:15

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Friday

SWIM 0:45

WARM UP

6 x 100 alt Swim-Kick-Pull; second set of 3x100 faster than the first

MAIN SET

8-10 x 100 IM @ 75-90% with :15 rest ; increase your effort as the set progresses.

COOL DOWN

6 x 100 (25 Kick - 25 rt arm - 25 lft arm - 25 perfect technique) with :10 rest

BIKE 0:50

WARM UP

10:00 spinning @95rpm gradually raising your HR up to 65-70%

DRILLS

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

Continue spinning @65-70% intensity & 90-95rpm cadence

Bring your HR down under 50% by the end.

DAILY TOTAL: 1:35

WEEK-TO-DATE: 8:50

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Weekend Note:

We've had a lot of questions about what intensities these weekend workouts need to be at since we don't offer set parameters. The goal is to push yourself as hard as you can while staying aerobic -- below 84% for sure and under 75% as much as possible. The most important aspect is simply putting in the time so that your body feels the duration of an Ultra distance race is no big deal (though the effort you put in might be!).

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Saturday

BIKE 4:00

Feel free to mix it up on a group ride if you have that option, just make sure you keep your ego in check and keep your race day goals in perspective if the pace gets too fast for you to keep your HR down.

If you're stuck without being able to ride outdoors, then pick an "indoor alternative" from a previous week.

RUN 0:50

Quick transition from your bike to the run, then get your HR above 80% quickly. The bulk of this run -- at least 25:00 -- should be between 80-88%

Finish your run with 10:00 of light jogging, bringing your HR under 60% by the end. Walk 2-3:00 to complete the cool down process.

SWIM 0:30

This can be put in either first thing in the day -- to simulate the order in a triathlon -- or last in the day, to enable a more complete recovery.

800 warmup swim, gradually getting your HR from 60-70%

If you're doing this workout first, then reverse the intensities

(65-70-75-80%) and have a quick transition to your bike:

400 @80% - 300 @75% - 200 @70% - 100 @65%

DAILY TOTAL: 5:20

WEEK-TO-DATE: 14:10

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Sunday

RUN 2:00

Steady endurance effort, keeping your HR between 70-75% throughout the bulk of the run. At the 1:30 mark, bump up your effort to 80-84% for 20 minutes before cooling down the final 10:00.

BIKE 0:50

Immediately after the run, @60-65% and 95+rpm. Stay in your small chainring to keep as much stress of the legs as possible.

Tomorrow's a recovery day --you earned it -- great job!

DAILY TOTAL: 2:50

WEEK-TO-DATE: 17:00