What Sowler - ETA and r0bh and hammerer- says makes sense to me. I think more regular running and lower intensity probably work best for many people- as in Don Fink’s plans, Joe Friel & some others
If nothing goes wrong (and it usually always does) my week currently looks a bit like this:
Monday: 30 minutes in zone 1 before work
Tuesday: interval session after work with a suffer buddy, call it 60 minutes
Wednesday: 60 minutes zone 2 (no work today)
Thursday: 30 minutes in zone 1 before work
Friday: 30 minutes in zone 1 before work
Saturday; 60 minutes zone 2
Sunday: rest
That’s 4-5ish hours of running, spread over 6 days, with just one smashfest and the rest pretty steady. I’m sure those 3 x short zone 1 runs do something good but cannot put my finger on exactly what.
In the New Year my plan is to gradually increase the length of one of the zone2 runs. Anyway, that’s the plan, who knows what reality will bring.
Like some others I’m not a massive fan of the 2 wheeled horse. But know that the long rides are critical. Getting to T2 crippled is going to spoil the day, no matter how much run training has been done. I have not got a bike plan dialled in yet, and guess one of the disadvantages of a run focussed iron distance training plan could be a lack of bike focus?
I am with @Hammerer and @Sowler on this. 3 hard sessions is too much IMO. I don’t understand the point of a long run 10-20s faster per km than marathon pace. Sounds really fatiguing but not sure of the benefit?
I read that as 10-20 sec slower then Mara pace. Even still, its too much for a weekly session when your trying to improve base speed and pace, even more so with those other sessions.
That would be my concern. Before being coached, I looked at RLRF for marathon training purposes, and found it attractive. What my own coach did in the lead up to my successful December marathon was not far off. With two seriously hard efforts per week (i.e. midweek 15 milers at MP, plus an even longer MP run at the weekend).
But what I talked about as a “run heavy” approach to IM training was nothing like that at all. I ran 4+ times a week, but in general, there was at most one session where I ran hard. Everything else was just easy aerobic, where the goal was to get comfortable running on tired legs. Maybe a short race pace brick run after the long ride. Even my last few weekend long runs were target run/walk like Poet has talked about (although I did 3k run, 20s walk, as that was my race plan).
RLRF for IM training does seem a bit excessive, and mean sufficient bike work is going to be really tough to fit in, IMO.
If I think back, didn’t you used to say that the Trainerroad IM training plans were too much intensity? Yet all of those are based on intense turbo sessions, and that’s going to be a lot more deliverable than the same amount of intense running?!
Yeah, I’ve had years of TR which is bike focussed, fairly heavy on the intensity. It’s good, but now is a time for a change and hard running makes more sense to me, and worked well.
I’d switch to bike focus in Q2/Q3 next year.
I’ve learned from RLRF, and am adapting it. Most everyone goes for long easy runs, tempo and intervals or hillls when they develop Tri plans and focus on the bike. This will keep the intense long runs, but shorten them inline with current science.
I think it is proven to work if you are marathon training and not a triathlete.
If I was only a runner I’d give it a whirl, no chance I could swim and bike off that intensity though.
Im tapering now and then will take a break from bike and swim, then focus on lifting. I’ll do easy running in between mostly short stuff and a few 5k efforts, until Jan 1st to rebuild some volume.
High volume running is the alternative approach to improving running, but I’m having good progress in 2020 with lower volume higher intensity so I’m keen to continue.
Form is a good point, I’m not sure how to improve form and I’m wary of random drills and stretching, so I’ll need some expertise on that.
Few people buy, read the protocol and follow it. Most who try it download freebies, don’t know the protocol and so fail. Lots decide they will add more running, and fail. I was concerned but it worked fine for me.
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