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Sunday, November 23, 2008

2009 Training - Ready, Set... GO!

Next week is the last week of the "Transition" phase of my training, then I officially dive into 2009.

The 2009 Plan

I've decided on the following periods, following the approach in Joe Friel "Triathlete's Training Bible". I've tweaked it a bit from my original plan so my "A" race is earlier, giving me more time between it and Ironman.
  • Preparation - 5 weeks - Starts Dec 1
  • Base 1 - 4 weeks - Jan 5
  • Base 2 - 4 weeks - Feb 2
  • Base 3 - 4 weeks - March 3
  • Build 1 - 4 weeks - March 30
  • Build 2 - 4 weeks - April 27
  • Peak - 2 weeks - May 25
  • Race - 1 week - June 8 (Muskoka Long Course Tri)
  • Transition - 1 week - June 15
  • Base 2 - 3 weeks - June 22
  • Base 3 - 4 weeks - July 13
  • Peak - 2 weeks - Aug 10
  • Race - 1 week - Aug 24 (Ironman Canada)
  • Transition - several weeks... - Aug 31
It's a 38-week plan, which gives me a long time to ramp up to the distance. The Base/Build periods have rest weeks every 4th week, where volume and intensity are brought down to recover.

Perod 1: Preparation
(Dec 1 - Jan 5)

This period is about developing/maintaining basic endurance, speed skills (technique), and getting used to a more structured training program.

Swimming - My primary concern and focus is on swimming skills, as that's my biggest weakness. I'm less concerned with distance right now, more concerned with becoming a better swimmer. I've been taking classes, and am going through a lot of drills to improve my technique. The goal is 3-4 pool sessions per week, which should be pretty easy to find time for.

Running - I'll be maintaining a 15K long run, which I'll do every second week. I did a 16k today, my longest since the marathon, that went well.

Biking - My main priority is going to be to get comfortable with the aero bars. I need to get a different seat, possibly a forward seat post, and do some work on adjusting my position. Hopefully I get that sorted out on the trainer, then I'll be ready to go once the weather cooperates!

I'm ready and eager to get started!

2 comments:

Shane Kelly said...

Hey...I'm from Brooklin. Glad to find a blog from a local tri-er.

I'm just getting into triathlons, i did the guelph lake sprint II last year...and thinking about doing some more races in 2009.

i see you're taking some of Paul's courses...how are you finding them...would like to hear more about your training

cheers

Shane Kelly

Jon P said...

Hey Shane,

I took Paul's tri swimming (twice) and am now in the advanced class. They're great... took me from having a hard time blowing bubbles in January to my first Sprint in August!

The only caveat is because they're group lessons, you don't get much one-on-one time or feedback... he makes time in the beginner class to do some one-on-one stuff, but not a lot. But he's very good at explaining to the group, and he has a helper (Christine) in the water to demonstrate the drills.

(and you can't beat the price - $90 for a dozen lessons!)

I also signed up for his "Monster" cycling training in Oshawa in January... I'm doing Ironman so need to get in serious miles early on, but the trainer is too boring. Hopefully the class helps with that.

Oh, and he also runs the Durham Tri club, which does things like outdoor lake swim workouts... I didn't do them last year, but I think that'll be great experience this year.

Good luck! :)

Jon