@Adam I’m doing Outlaw.
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https://alancouzens.com/blog/kona-qualifiers-basic-week.html
"When an athlete throws out this goal in an ‘off the cuff’ manner e.g. Me:“So what are your goals?” Them:“Well, Kona, of course.” I think back to that old MTV show motto – “You think you know, but you have no idea.”
And it’s not your your fault. There is a whole big business industry of pre-fabricated ‘time crunched’ programs that promise (& heavily market) FOP results on a BOP time investment."
Alan Couzens mentions in several articles that most of his KQ athletes have a CTL above 150
THis is Alan Couzen’s typical KOna qualifier PMC (taken from an average of all his athletes that have KQ’d). Again also shows the CTL building to 150+, but starting from a low base with a gradual ramp up.
Note the stepped build up with clear recovery/consolidation blocks. I have got myself into the CTL 150 range but always found it very difficult to stay there long - think it’s all about guiding yourself into that area for just the last block. I’ve been up there but dropped back before my ‘A’ race. Need to manage it a bit better in future.
A lot more running than cycling, session wise.
6 runs per week, mostly Easy and not too long.
The bikes are mental - 2hrs Monday and Thursday, 3hrs Wednesday and Friday, 5hrs on Saturday.
Most of the sessions are back-to-back, too.
Do these people work midday to 8pm?
When you read the article, he also talks about them sacrificing lots of other things in life to KQ, and having very flexible work arrangements.
Other thing that is interesting… that ramp to 150 is over 10 months.
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…although he never explicitly mentions what.
After 20- years of coaching athletes and the data he has, you’d think he’d know some more concrete facts.
It’s pretty much living as a professional athlete around a working life. I’m good at finding the time to train and have a flexible working environment and home life to support that; less good at prioritising diet and recovery to fully realise the benefits of that training. These need attention and focus and I’ve fallen short (and am still falling short).
If that pesky thing called work could go away I’d have more chance…
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But this is purely the reflection of his trained athletes, following his plan, which leads to all those things, your performance chart for someone following a plan is just the plan, all the folk who just missed KQ by 20 minutes would have the same graph, as would others who mis-paced and blew up completely. Some who couldn’t follow the plan for whatever would have other graphs, few of those would likely have KQ’d, but certainly such patterns of training are not the only way to KQ
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Probably because he thinks it’s not a ‘good look’ to outright state what could be at stake if you KQ. It’s obviously the same for elite/Olympic athletes i.e. the tunnel-vision; but they tend to be young and not have dependents.
Everyone’s situation is different; but I’d be in a bedsit seeing my kids every other weekend with Couzens levels of commitment.
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That was me last year, I got myself up to 140, however, I just couldn’t maintain it. This year I am building more gradually. I expect to be at 150 some time in April
Or even try to KQ.
So, Kona diary:
Monday: Get up at 0530, travel 15 minutes to the pool, get changed for 15 minutes, go swim for 72 minutes, which, let’s be honest, is probably 90 minutes with rest times, get changed for work, go to work.
You’ve over 2 hours right there for 72 minutes of active swimming time.
You then carve out 2 hours at lunch to ride, with getting changed either side, plus eating, you’re looking at 2hrs 45 minutes out of work.
You are then doing 18 minutes of mobility in the evening, just a quick change into some gym kit, so that’s 30 minutes of actual time.
Already, in day one, you’ve carved out 5 hours and 15 minutes for exercise.
Along with your 7hr 45 minute working day (which stretches into the evening, due to your long lunch)
We are now up to 13 hours, add the commute on each way, so that’s around 14 hours.
Plus the required 8 hours sleep to absorb that training and recover, onto 22 hours.
This gives you 2 hours to spend with any loved ones you still have…
and you’d be cursing them for ruining training every 2 weeks as well!
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Is that the time it takes to tie up the intricate corset i assume you’re wearing for it to take 15 mins! haha
No - just realistic, and that’s with business casual - no suit to straighten out.
You finish your swim at, say 0730.
Haul yourself out of the pool, with your pull buoy, paddles, bands, fins, kick board and drink.
Put that into your net bag, take a swig of drink, get into the shower.
That’s two minutes gone.
Three minutes in the shower scrubbing off that chlorine, as it itches like a beast if you don’t get it off when the sweat re-activates it during your 2hr turbo over lunch.
We’re on five minutes now - but you need to brush your teeth and do your hair, as you know, you left home at 0545 to get to the pool.
Say 8 minutes so far, throw wet towel and jammers into the bag, too. (Yet more time spent later washing and drying those - or do you expect your partner to wash all of your kit and go around after you?)
We’re now on about 10 minutes.
Getting changed, kegs and sock, pull on those slacks, get the Oxford shirt buttoned up, get that Hawes & Curtis V-neck pullover smashed on, zip up the Patagonia Synchilla vest top, lace up the Loake brogues and you’re ready to go…what’s that? about 15 minutes once you’re back on your bike, or in the car/bus/train.
Loake brogues?
Churches dear fellow. Only Churches.
Not for work 
Plus, the factory shop at some ridiculous hour when I was in Northampton.
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You guys are buying off-the-peg shoes? Seriously, have some self respect.
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You make it sound harder than I think it really is. I swim before work on a Wednesday (like today), and I’m home whilst my gf is still in the shower.
The longer bikes I’d shift around a bit, as it’s not really practical to do lunchtimes, but I have in the past during quieter times of the working year done 1.5hr runs and bikes during my lunch “hour”. I’m output assessed, not time sat at my desk. But in general, I’d do the shorter run at lunch, and the longer bike in the evening. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I’m currently doing longer turbo sets at home, and I’m finished before my gf gets in.
The only one I’d find unrealistic is the Thursday morning 3hr ride. I workout in the hall (as mentioned) and that’d get too loud at that level of early-ness. That may be more possible if we move soon, as I’d then have my own turbo room away from sleeping areas. I know numerous couples (married and unmarried) where one half (can be male or female) gets a multi hour workout in before work. One guy (who has KQ’d) frequently does 5hr easy turbos before work 
He did something like a 3hr turbo before jogging to parkrun on Saturday!!
Yes, kids would mess with the plan. But from the people I know who train with kids, the early mornings just become late evenings, once your children and partners have gone to bed. 8hrs of sleep is never going to happen when you get into that situation, but as Ruth Purbrook demonstrated, you can still do well off reduced sleep. It’s just even better for you to have it.
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It depends, though, doesn’t it?
Look at how @Jorgan structured his life to juggle to demands of family and Ironman training last year, enviable? Perhaps.
Sustainable? Ask him what he’s doing this year…
I don’t think I’m making it sound harder than it is, because consistently training for an average of 20 hours per week is hard.
8 hours per week training involves around 3 hours kit changes and faffing.
Then the longer you do, the more kit changing and faffing you have, especially with longer rides - sorting out all your nutrition, a route with little to no lights, garages for toilet breaks and refills, etc. etc.
Obviously, it must reach a limit, say 5 hours per week max.
To a partner, as well as the 20 hours training time, the farting around that goes with it just becomes an extension of training.
Add to that the time spent on TrainingPeaks, Strava, TriTalk, emails to coach, 1-2-1 coaching calls etc, you’re looking at another 5 hours.
So if you’re not thinking about training, you’re doing training, if you’re not doing training, then you’re preparing for training; if you’re not doing any training, you are either working, or asleep.
I don’t think that’s unrealistic, but it certainly is hard.
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