The Method sets up a training plan for your ability level and provides a framework for your consistent improvement over time. The program’s structure and specific order means athletes improve aerobic conditioning quickly while also training more specifically for the demands of triathlon — which are different than swimming, cycling and running as individual sports. Here’s a little insight into what an athlete is telling me, and why his improvement demonstrates exactly why The Method is so effective:
• Sustainable training over time
• Framework for monitoring response to changes in life circumstances (sleep, work, travel, etc.)
• Realistic comparisons of efforts over short and long term mean it’s easy to track progress
• Focus on the current workout only lightens “thinking” overhead and reduces stress
• Framework that enables monitoring of increases in training load — no random changes to the schedule, no random “new workout” — just gradual additions, slight changes, shifts in emphasis between the Five Systems as training phase demands.
From an email:
Swim: Generally going well, on Monday I improved my 40x100m time again – 1:09:01, didn’t swim on Tues as had to travel. On Wednesday I did only three long efforts in the pool and was feeling really tired during the third one (probably travel and lack of sleep). Yesterday I was good again swimming with the club and during 8x 100m set on 2min I was swimming comfortably around 1:31-33, on last rep we were supposed to push harder and I did 1:19 and it didn’t feel that hard. I couldn’t even break 1:30 last year!!
Bike: Long ride in again windy East London – first 2 laps felt hard despite I was going easy but than it was OK, last 2 laps (hard) I was going quite fast and on the last one I improved my pb by some 20sec. Run off the bike was feeling at the beginning (first 2km or so) hard on legs but not lungs/heart but than it was much better and last 3 km I run between 4:20 and 4:30. Didn’t do the Monday session as had to go to the airport but yesterday’s session was feeling comfortable.
Run: The hard rep session on the treadmill – you should like it – completed again but faster, at 13.2 kmph. I started with longer warm-up – 30 min and continued running at this pace for another 10 min after completing 8% 2 min rep – including warm down I spent 2 hours on the treadmill and run 25.3km – I was v happy when I finished this set. I did the intervals in Como and ran each one between X and Y time – started a bit too fast at X but then settled for comfortable Y – HR around XX and YY. On Wednesday did the descending split session and run at 13.5/14.0/15.5kmph – was feeling much easier than last week. Also did some weights but not too much.
* * * SELECTED PORTIONS OF RESPONSE * * *
NICE WORK on that long treadmill session!!! 🙂 That is what we like to see — listening to the body, pushing it as you can and coming out of it with a best-ever effort. A great week, all in all. Note how the work is getting harder – but you are still getting faster.
What are we learning here?
Answer: That motor skills overcome aerobic fatigue.
And on race day, what will you be experiencing?
Correct – a lot of aerobic fatigue late in the race. And what’s going to carry you through then?
Correct – motor skills!
Summary: You will be very aerobically tired late in an Ironman REGARDLESS of your training – everyone is. The winner is he or she who slows down least. But if you enter the race ill prepared having fixated only on aerobic conditioning, you will not have the motor skills late in the race to translate that conditioning into improved results. Instead of training yourself in one dimension only, you can train using The Method to train multiple dimensions of fitness simultaneously.
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