My goals and program.

My major goals for the 2013-2014 triathlon season are as follows:-

Ø  To finish the Shepparton Ironman 70.3 in 4 hours 30 minutes or better.

Ø  To finish on the podium (top 3) in my 25-29 years age group, in at least one of the 5 Gatorade Triathlon series races.

Ø  Finish in the overall top 5 of my age group for the entire series.

Three major goals/races are plenty to focus on and I wouldn’t want to have any more than that because it can easily crowd my mind and hinder my focus by overwhelming me with expectation. That’s why it is important to have several smaller goals/races as well, which, when added together should see the major goals achieved as a result.

My smaller, minor goals are as follows:-

Ø  At the Shepparton Ironman 70.3 – Swim (1.9km) in 30 minutes or better,

Ø  Ride (90km) in 2 hours 25 minutes or better, and;

Ø  Run (21.1km) in 1 hour 25 minutes or better.

Ø  In the Gatorade series races – Average 40km/h or better when riding and 3:40mins/km or better when running.

Ø  Finish the Gatorade series Olympic Distance race in 2 hours 10 minutes or better.

Therefore, I can tailor my training to achieve all of the minor goals which provide the stepping stones to reaching the major ones.

Below is the next four weeks of my training. It begins on Monday 12 August and has an initial 3 weeks of building the volume before the fourth week is scaled back to provide some extra recovery. It is still a part of my ‘build’ phase so this four week period will see the greatest total volume between now and the Shepparton race. Future four week blocks may have similar volume, but not more, as they will have more race specific and power/speed related objectives.

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Swim 4km Strength Spin/Ride 60mins	Ride 2hrs (6 x 10min big gear) Yoga	Swim 2500m (with 10 x 200 free) Run 45mins with drills and run throughs/core	Spin/Ride 60mins All body weights	Swim 3km mix (extra kicking) Run 45mins steady Core	Ride 110km with hills	Ride 30mins. Run 15km with 5 x 1km at 3.45/km.
Swim 4km Strength Spin/Ride 60mins	Ride 2hrs (6 x 10min big gear) Yoga	Swim 2500m (with 10 x 200 free) Run 45mins with drills and run throughs/core	Spin/Ride 60mins All body weights	Swim 3km mix (extra kicking) Run 45mins steady Core	Ride 110km with hills	Ride 30mins. Run 15km with 6 x 1km at 3.45/km.
Swim 5km strength Spin/Ride 60mins	Ride 2hrs (6 x 12min big gear) Yoga	Swim 3km (with 12 x 200 free) Run 45mins with drills and run throughs/core	Spin/Ride 60mins All body weights	Swim 3km mix (extra kicking) Run 45mins steady Core	Ride 120km with hills	Ride 30mins. Run 18km with 7 x 1km at 3.45/km.
Yoga Core	Swim 4km strength Spin/Ride 60mins	Run 45mins with drills and run throughs All body weights	Spin/Ride 60mins Core	Swim 3km mix Run 45mins steady	Ride 60km	Spin/Ride 45mins Run 12km steady

Important things to note are, swim and bike strength is significant during this phase. This is through the two major bike sessions on Tuesdays and Saturdays with big gear and hill efforts. I have added a third swim, where in previous weeks there was only two. Monday’s swim will contain longer strength based intervals. Wednesday will be a shorter session with higher paced intervals and Friday will be for honing my technique and doing drills.

Running will also be focusing on technique with some strength work done on hills but I am cautious of not overdoing the running at this point by not exceeding about 75 minutes for my longest run on Sundays. This is in order to preserve my knees, hips and ankles as I continue to work on my pelvic imbalances. However, I will be looking to complete 3 core sessions each week, along with a singular all over body weights session, which will target many of the muscles related to the pelvis/hip region in order to assist my running strength and technique.

This program has room for flexibility. It contains the desired amount of work I wish to complete but I will always view some sessions as potential for elimination to make way for recovery, if needed. I must listen to my body constantly to ensure I can continue moving forward.

An example of being flexible in favour of recovery would be skipping either of my shorter rides or runs. Even shortening my long run or bike session on the weekend. Perhaps lowering the intensity of a swim set. They may not be desired outcomes but they are very simple alternatives to choose when it could mean preventing an injury or illness.

‘Spin/Ride’ means it can be done on the road or on the indoor trainer. ‘Drills’ in my mid-week run means range of movement activities incorporating butt-kicks, high knees, side-steps/’karaoke’, hip rotations, etc. These are terrific for freeing up the joints before beginning specific run through sets which I like to do over the length of a football oval. This provides a nice 150 metre stretch of soft grass for my higher intensity work. A ‘Steady’ run session means a moderate, yet consistent, speed to concentrate on technique.

Feel free to leave any comments or ask questions about my program. Happy to help.