I saw equal sized packs at Roth and Frankfurt.
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There was one pack at Outlaw, I say âpackâ, it was a peloton.
Mainly featuring some of the athletes they profiled on their Facebook page 
They passed me at about 100km like I was standing still.
We were on a long straight (0.5% uphill/headwind) road.
They passed and just vanished. Itâs insane how much faster they were going. I was doing about 30-32kmh at that point. They mustâve been doing about 36-38kmh. Madness.
Drafting is probably the best thing you can do to hit your race goal. The energy saved is massive, so even if you get pinged for 5mins penalty, youâve already saved that on the bike, and youâll make it up on the run.
Makes it a total no brainer.
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Yes and no, far too much overcomplication for the vast majority of hobby athletes but sub 9 is a huge undertaking so does need a bit more planning around it to maximise training and recovery times. I use macro cycles for target race, say sub 9 is the goal I will look at where we are now, where we want to be and work out what needs to be done to get there by working back from race day with interim goals. Meso cycles I usually space where we test and review, so 6-8 weeks depending on 3 or 4 week cycles. Micro is just my weekly plan and this changes weekly/monthly based on feedback from sessions, fatigue, likes and dislikes, work schedules, pool times. You need to break it down to make the most of your time, BUT, you need flexibility. No point doing a hard run fatigued, be prepared to cut back and do it the next day when fresher so rigidity in training , especially with outside stressors, isnât always a good thing.
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Cheers @Hammerer - thatâs much better than how I could put it!
I think most of us do the macro/meso/micro without realising it.
5Ps isnât it 
If it was warmer outside, I could probably do a sub-12 tomorrow, a sub-11 might be a push, but a sub-10 would need about 18 months of training (mainly to reset from last season and not think about sub-10!)
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Are you looking to get another job out there, for when the gardening leave is up?
Probably the most important messge so far, and one I have been ignoring / thinking about.
Lets start with Macro
I am planning to keep my TSS relatively constant accross 6 * 4 week blocks, however, intensity will be easier and more constant in the earlier blocks, later blocks will have a more polarised approach with easy and hard efforts. The 4th block will include a marathon, 5th block will include an ultra cycling event of some kind. The 5th and 6th block will also focus more on race effforts⌠I tend to think of these as junk miles earlier on, but will be important as I approach race day. I will do an Olympic Distance Race 3 weeks out
Meso
In earlier blocks, each week will be similar. As I get into Block 3 I will plan a lighter week, Block 4 and 5 will have a recovery week, after Marathon and after Ultra, Block 6 will have a taper. Block 3 and 4 will include some marathon focused prep. I am not targeting a Marathon time at the moment, I will see what pace looks like in April and will train to a target a pace at that point, however, it wonât be a 100% effort as I donât want to disrupt training too much. To be in a position to run a 3:05 IM marathon, I need to be able to run a sub 2:50 Marathon, but that doesnât mean that I actually need to run a sub 2:50, just be able to do it (Hope that makes sense)
Micro
Monday will be swim squad
Tuesday will be ZRL races (at least for next 8 weeks)
Wednesday will always be track intervals
Thursday will be swim squad
Friday will be swim squad
Saturday will be Parkrun (Marathon pace only⌠honest no 5km PBs)
Sunday rest day, hiking, skiing, whatever
30 mins S&C on weekdays
On Monday to Saturday will add in other activities depending where in cycle I am
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Got in the pool today, nice easy set
10 * 100 with 30s RI
5 * 200 with 30s RI
Focus on technique and keeping to steady 1:45/100m
My Avg HR was 107
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Thereâs a bit more to IMCHâŚ
Which makes this a better prospectâŚ
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Think I did 55/4:45/3:10 at Roth. Panic attack start of swim, I raced angry after that 
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If I can do that @daz iâll be a happy man
Youâll do it at Roth
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So a bit more of an update.
Iâve got the ergo back out and been doing 10,000m for the past couple of days. It takes me around 35mins. I find it a very nice workout
For Christmas I was given a Zen 8 indoor swimming band and bench. Iâve been using this daily for 30 mins, certainly seems to be a good workout for swimming muscles in arms, shoulders and back, also find that lifing legs makes it a decent core workout too
Swim Squad last night was very nice, 3 sets of 500m @ IM pace, with drills in between. There was no drafting, and I was swimming the 500âs around 1:48/100. Always my first 2-3 lengths are great, with lovely form, then my muscles tire, my cadence goes up and I slow down. If I can get to a place where I can sustain the form I have for 75m, I will be much faster. The way I see it, itâs like standing up on a bike: initially you can stand and pedal for 1m, then your legs are buring and you have to sit back down, but eventually you have the strenghth and fitness to stand for more than an hour
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oh dear god, thatâs the "TriathlonBox ⢠" of swimming. Hope it helps though.
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I am doing real swimming 4 times a week as well. Just hoping it helps build some strength
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Youâre in Switzerland. Shouldnât you be chopping wood bare chested or somethign?
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Pretty sure the Swiss get people in from Sector 12 to do that
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Yes as said, if it helps. Personally Id invest in a swiss ball and any old cheap stretch cords. Swiss ball can be used for multiple things (ever seen the kicking drill whilst in âpress upâ position) . Iâve got some fantastic stretch cord routines. They are on my TP. Iâm sure I can find a way to share them.
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Well heâs not going to have much difficulty finding a Swiss ball, thatâs true.
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I hate to break it to you Matt, but the swim is 3800m.
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Some stretch cord routines would be great