I’m not having a go - just outlining what I can see it takes.
n = 1 and all of that.
Alan Couzens has some thoughts here:
https://www.alancouzens.com/blog/Fitness_base_camp.html
“…they go ‘all in’ for a period until stuff starts falling apart in other areas & then they are ‘all out’ of sport all together as they swing widely back in the other direction (e.g. career) to ‘balance things out’…”
I think this is part of the problem; especially as some of us are a bit ‘Rainman’ in general 
(I include myself) and partners see as obsessed/self engrossed.
I hit 119CTL at the end of my 4-week IM Hamburg peak (15-16h av); I was ready for a break after that! A lot of those hours were commuting by bike too, so getting those hours in without that, would have been a right PITA; well it would have meant evening training, which I always try to avoid in favour of kids bedtime & sofa time with wife etc.
Yes, I like to keep it balanced by being resolutely medicore at everything 
Pedestrian, really.
That’s just a smidge above a “recreational” athlete, you didn’t even take a 25 hour week training camp 
Where was your “adventerous” family trip or weekend?
" From December on, the prospective KQer is training ~2-3 hrs each and every day through to October"
“Consistent bike commuting across the seasons, making a habit of eating at your desk so you can fit your daily lunch swim or run in, ‘adventurous’ family trips & weekends 
, foregoing the couch each evening for the floor and a lacrosse ball for your daily mobility work”
Also, @Matthew_Spooner - sorry for thinking you were in M50 yesterday, I thought I’d seen you mention somewhere you were “aging-up” this year, but I think that was @chickenboy, so apologies!
Anyhow, @Adam - here is Matt’s ballpark competition from 2019:
Indeed; that volume only netted me 42nd/402 in M45-49.
Commute training and when kids in bed/wife at work is what is helping me with the change in job and still getting in “sofa time” with wife and shipping kids to scounts, swimming, brownies, football etc my typical week at the moment:-
Mon a.m swim p.m threshold turbo i.e 3x15@ftp(wife out at work, kids in bed)
Tue a.m 6.5 mile aerobic run commute p.m 6.5 mile aerobic run commute
Wed Week 1 a.m 6.5 mile aerobic run commute p.m 6.5 mile aerobic run commute
Wed Week 2 a.m 6.5 mile bike commute p.m 1hr to 1:30 aerobic bike
Thur a.m 6.5 mile aerobic run commute .m 7mile threshold run(I.e3x12@155bpm)
Fri Week 1 a.m swim
Fri Week 2 a.m swim p.m 30min steady run
Sat a.m threshold turbo(kids in bed, wife at work)
Sun week 1a.m long run(up to 1:45 at the moment) p.m 1hr steady turbo
Sun week 2 a.m long bike/turbo(up to 2:30 structured turbo at the moment)
Having structured HR & Power based targets to hit during sessions is definitely helping as is having a defined warm up/warm down period on runs and bikes, which is something I never really did before.
106 CTL, 101ATL, 14 TSB at the moment with this week being the first ramp up in hours/week. My CTL going in to Wales 2018(10:52) was 151 but ATL of 124…
Why not combine your 1 and 2am swims into one longer swim? Is it done right in the middle of the night for some reason?
yes bud, Aged up to the 50-55 last year.
Mr Zieman with the 1:20 swim!
Remind you of anyone…<paging @Matthew_Spooner>
It’d be interesting to see a list of the professions of all of the KQers - not just from this Couzens guy. Reading this thread and understanding the sheer level of commitment and time needed, i wonder how many floorers or bricklayers or people who work in hospitality could manage this, for example.
They’re all excel jockeys like me
Edit: Or dentists on P5Xs obvs.
I’ve hit 140 CTL in a couple of seasons.in the past in my dream of KQ
Didn’t help with the punctures/40 degree heat/nutrition flying off coming down Sheephouse lane
Still, every year is a new year
Definitely!
I wasn’t saying the training itself isn’t hard, but you were including having a shower after swimming as “time spent training”. Would you not have a shower in the morning if you hadn’t been swimming?! It’s those kind of things.
My alarm goes off at 6:15 for the club swim session that starts at 6:30. On a normal morning, I faff way more than being out the door 5mins after my alarm goes off. I also wouldn’t even be out of bed by the time I am home from that swim session. In that sense, it’s effectively free training in terms of time.
Commute runs are free training time, so knock time off your “lost time” there. I’m lucky I have a pool and wattbike 100yds from my office door. I know that. But if you arrange it that way, it means lunchtimes become more free training time. If I’m not training, I’ll take an hour away from my desk. If I am, I eat a sandwich at my desk. Hence I’ve got an hour session in without any impact on a non-training routine at all.
Yes, this all “depends” on your personal circumstances. But you can make life choices that complement what you want to do if you so choose. I’m not going to lie that moving jobs would factor in the potential loss of time efficient and convenient training. And the output basis of assessment. I am also aware I have a lot of built up goodwill in that area because of my longevity within the company. Which is another thing that puts me off moving.
Nice point, correlation/causation. Also, as a well established name in triathlon/endurance sport he probably attracts a higher proportion of the type of people with the resources to KQ. Doesn’t in itself make his methods the best or a pre-requisite for KQ. Altoug as general advice there’s probably good reason he’s well known - I don’t know enoug about him to have an opinion, just recognise the name.
Interesting that he leads that article with a quote from Bill Sweetenham. He was director of British Swimming through my youth and made wholescale reform. Largely credited with increasing workload, and toughening up the system/enforcing resilience. On a national level British swimming certainly improved and has continued to afterwards, likely partly due to some of his changes. But a lot of good athletes got sacrificed along the way who couldn’t fit the ethos.
Similar to British Cycling and lots of other NGBs who are paid by results, they talent develop to find the one hero who can cope and win and it works as a funding/political approach. Doesn’t make it best for one individual athlete to achieve their potential.
