Would be appreciated if you can
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iāll 3rd that!
Stretch cords - Strength.pdf (70.2 KB)
This should do it, managed to cut and paste into a PDF. This is a 4 week strength phase, self explanatory in the main. Front catch is essentially bent over row position, arms out in front and rotate/hinge the arms via the elbow only into high elbow catch position, upper arms donāt move. full stroke is the double motion, catch and pull/push, double arm is as full stroke but both arms together, catch up is do one arm, return out front do other arm. rowing is stood up straight doing a seated row motion, press is the opposite.
I do also like a thing I see Andy Potts do on youtube where you do the recovery with resistance, so is strengthening the opposite to normal, pulling away from the ādoorā . Thatās not included here but could add that into a full stroke part (similar reps/recovery)
normal Caveats apply, use at your own risk , donāt rush into it, build , if it hurts stop, if you are weak get lower resistance cords, and if you die, thatās your fault.
ETA:- you can add resistance to a stretch cord just by adding more tension to it before you start, so start further from wall etc. Donāt really need multiple resistance cords
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Iāve been doing that for a few weeks nowā¦ you can really feel it in your triceps!
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thank you
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Another good week for me last week. 19h with a TSS of 1232
Felt much easier than the provious week. Started to focus more on indoor rowing and S&C and managed to get to the pool 4 times.
Running 60km, coming back slowly, did one indoor HM distance and one outdoor HM distance, both times HR was below 135 bpm, both around 1h40m. Very pleased that it felt so easy
Cycling, 400km. A couple of races and I pushed hard on Tour de Zwift, but lots of slow miles. Managed one outdoor ride, in the snow. Its too cold really to do any effective training outdoors
Swimming 4 swims, 8500m. Swim is improving, definately helps getting into the water more often. Biggest challenge is swim squad is at the end of the day, when I am already pretty tired
Weight, down 0.5kg, thats 1kg since the start of the year
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Thanks. Taken chance to read, think, reread, think, reply. Agree with everything you say, and would ideally soften what I said.
Suppose this is still the approach where Iām coming at it from, and more what I was thinking when I typed it.
Yep. I wouldnāt have ever expected to do well swimming without that higher degree of planning and taper to A meets.
Think this is more what I was trying to say, rather than us average peeps worrying about the difference between terminologies of base/build 1/build 2, or meso cycles etc. I think of it more in terms of consistency, progression, overload and increasing specificity (which kinda covers the periodisation idea) rather than getting hung up on neat charts of progressive weekly TSS/volume etc.
Eg recovery āweekā might be Saturday to wednesday, so any chart of weekly totals look moderate and mixed for me.
This is my main thing, and hence why I feel Iām losing structure, so cling to a hope that just doing something will be enough.
Eg Iām 12hr nights this week M-Thur
Then have amazing 14 days for training where I only work 2 days and 3 evenings.
But then I do 7 night shifts.
15 good days (working 8 days/evenings)
10 day annual leave holiday - lots of walking, maybe some running, zero bike/swim.
10 days normal life (6 days at work)
3 night shifts
21 days normal life (13d work)
4x nights
11 days (5 days work)
4x nights
For me it makes sense to use the night shifts as a natural break in training, although I can train through them when I want to. But then where do you neatly package that into same length meso cycles to compare meso 1 to meso 2 to meso 3?
This is definitely the best shift pattern Iāve had/will have maybe ever, hence why Iām keen to give it a go now even if itās not optimal for such a stretch goal.
Just my thoughts. Iāve definitely taken some reflection from the replies on here, and thinking how to make the hard weeks count with recovery blocks, instead of just training same sustainable level every week to be able to get that overload and recovery in.
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I should have looked more at the course before I shouted my mouth about times out in public. Chose event first based on popularity/timing, felt I could go 4hrs swim-run, and then round number appeal of <9 kicked in instead of likely realism of <9:15.
Looking at results for last 5 years M30-34 has never been <9hrs probably tells me what a stretch itāll be, but doesnāt put me off attempting. In this more for the challenge of the next 20 weeks than the actual race result.
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Looking at that Iād make mesos 3/6 weeks, with the nights largely easy, except swim which is great to add that 10% of harder work, especially with your background.
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Following with interest @Matthew_Spooner. Are there any benchmarks sessions you are targeting along the way to know how are tracking eg 20x100m on 1.40, 3h bike at 280w, 1.20 HM etc? I guess my question is - I know the times required- what are the benchmarks required for being a chance in each of the disciplines for your target times?
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Cracking Q for a first post (welcome, assume a long term lurker? 
). Iāve been thinking about this as well the last week or so
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I will pay to see that 
Whilst never aiming at sub-9, my swimming was where Mattās should ideally be (59/60 mins) and 20x100 off 1:45 was a staple session for me.
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Welcome to posting on TT @Bosco64 
Like @jorgan - those 20 x 100m should be done off 1:45. When I was swimming ~1hr that was also a staple session. Iām building back up to it now.
My peak bike has been 228W for 180mins.
Which is my 70.3 power. If I can do that fresh, then I know Iāll be able to run off the back of it.
Iāve ran a <1:21 half marathon, but just canāt hold it together over the full distance.
I reckon for full distance you need to be doing longer and more aerobic sets than those.
But Iāve never gone under 10hrs, so 
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holding sub 1:30 aerobically should be off 1:40 IMO, maybe thatās why @Poet and @Jorgan always blew on the run 
you need to ideally be doing 40 x 100 all sub 1:30 at 7 / 10 so able to go off 1:40, to be thru transition under an hour which is key.
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Ahem, 3:30 isnāt blowing-up. I was swimming those reps in around 1:30/1 with the 1:45 send-off.
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@jorgan did 10:00:13 or something ?
It was me who always imploded on the run.
This is another set to do for sub-1hr:
4 x 400m 30s RI
4 x 300m 20s RI
4 x 200m 10s RI
4 x 50m 5s RI
200m CD
Whatās all this ā7 / 10ā about?
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No, the bike was my āweakā link tbh. Defintely a swim/runner; which is not very MAMIL is it!
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RPEā¦A lot of the time these times being hit in the pool arent comfortable throughout. If that is then replicated race day you could spend the first 30minutes ārecoveringā on the bike, unable to get nutrition in and the problem escalates from there with the old classic āI biked too hardā.
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FTFY
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Right. Gotcha.
Iād say 7/10 is a proper effort!
Iād wanna be doing my IM swim at 5-6/10.
Also, I always struggle on the bike for the first 20 minutes.
Massive bloating and gas.
WindEase and Rennie has helped in the past.
I get it swimming in the pool, too.
Both ends afterwards 
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