Fink for Outlaw 2012

thanks FF - the only reason i took on Finks plan really is because its tried and tested, like you say im not really time poor but another way of looking at it is if i can make the most of my time, I can fit in even more training     as with you, i want to get in all the key sessions, but i need some sort of guide for building my fitness. i need to train smarter and cut the junk workouts.

Postie - ill send you a pm tommorow - and look on the bright side - its warmer this year atm, might be doing rutland in shorts              but i doubt it

DK
If you are feeling fresh and capable, just continue ticking over with your current week until fink catches up. It's stupid throwing fitness away/ letting it degrade if you have the time and inclination to maintain it. I think that's ESP true of biking/ swimming.

However, if your current schedule/ volume is really tough then drop back to fink levels so you don't get bored / CBA by april/may. That's when you should be really hitting the volume, not in January

I just had a 4 weeks off, then my program for the last 2 weeks was about 15-18hrs, all about getting my training bike/ run commuting going again, but also throwing big bikes in straight away at the weekend- ie maintaining the fitness I had over the summer....

wohoo Fink is in da house

Fink rocks!!!!!

Bburn - realised before the roses tickets went on sale that it was same weekend as outlaw, absolutely gutted, but committed to outlaw.

Saffers what do you think of THE BOOK? Took me two reads to get my head around it!

I know TJ1004, I think because it was June, it didn't register with me that it was the same weekend!

I've managed to loose my picture!

I thought Fink was all a bit OTT....

but it has a plan, and for the first timer, thats pretty damn important.

As an alternative you can use 'going long' as a basis,  or beginner triathlete have somebasic plans, or you can pay a little money for something a bit better.

Joe friel has another book out with a bit more detail/plans as well.

The important thing about any of them is they make you get out there!

DK - FF makes a good point about finding other plans that might suit you better. My thought was that you could look at all the diff sessions you do (three a day etc) and have a think about the purpose of each work out is. With any prog - marathon or IM or anything - every single work out should have a purpose. It's not helpful necessarily to just go out 'for a run' in the middle of the day becau you've an hour to spare. You need to know that it's a recovery run or a threshold run to boost speed endurance or a long slow run to build running economy etc. Sounds like you may have some junk miles in there that aren't necessarily doing anything or giving you any real training benefit.

Also, when you're IM training, that lunchtime slot might be really important as a rest period so you have enough juice in the tank for whatever you've got to do that night. Rest and recovery are really important 'sessions'.

So it sounds like you need to train smarter. You might end up doing fewer hours at first, but if you're putting structured quality in, less is more sometimes.

But as OC says, if you're fitter that the programme is on the bike, say, I think you could make your long bikes longer than the prog says - as long as you still leave room for gradual increases in volume. And if you've already got a good base fitness, you might get to the stage where you can do 100 miles easily, in which case, again, instead of banging out 100 miles every weekend, you could do that once a month, knock it right back to 50 the following week, then do a couple of weeks where you're doing good quality 70 or 80 milers. Friel's Going Long has lots of interesting ways to work hard on a long bike ride that will keep you from getting bored!

Blimey, I do go on a bit.

For me, using Fink as a base guide to structure and volume, I actually ended up working out what i wanted my long run, long bike and long swim to be that week, and whether or not I wanted to put in a tough-ish brick too and put those all in with enough rest between. Then slotted other sessions in around that skeleton, primarily making sure I had max poss rest between 'leg sessions'. I'm an alright swimmer so swim sessions aren't knackering and provided a good way to get in some quality between big leg days giving legs a time to recover.

hennie - you should be a mentor....

Hi Guys,

quick question , I am thinking about using the plan on 'beginnertriathlete.com' but its a 20 week program.

Can someone tell me what the long sessions are on Fink for week 10 (20 to go...), BT seems to have the long sessions as about 90mins for the run and 2 hours for the bike.

May try and follow you guys on fink until Feb and then may change to BT as I've used them before.

On a training note I ran 4 miles today
(havent swam properly since oct 2010 and cycled a toal of 20 miles so far this year lol )

Cheers

right read the book...the plan really does look good.I'm in for a penny in for a pound, so am opting for the 'competitive'plan (as im only doing the bike leg of Outlaw, the rest of it is for my benefit only). Although i'm going to change the days around so the OH can fit in his Outlaw training as well. I will now need a regular kick up the backside to make sure I fit the training in.

I have thought about morning training and had a light bulb moment. The clocks change this weekend, so we gain an extra hour in bed until April. As my body clock is already used to getting up at stupid o'clock, I may as well stick to this and use the extra hour in the morning for my runs and get myself a quiet turbo trainer(if there is such a thing)

AH and OC - firstly - big thanks guys - you are right on and in a thread some ago I did say that i thought friel was more to my liking but so many people steered me towards FInk that i felt compelled to go with people that knew more than me - but looking back I didnt tell the people that I was training as much as I am - i just expressed interest as a first timer. Friel seems a much more adaptable approach with the athlete requiring more techincal knowlegde. I like science

I do know that i am putting in some sh1tty miles but on the upside i have always thought that when training gets more intense i will obviously drop the junk for more focused sessions, this way i wont be required to find the time - just make better use of it. ATM my junk miles keeps my weight in check but i do a long run and a tempo run sp do try to make most sessions count

I am able to swim 4k now without too much stress and with knowing that i can now reduce the amount of long swims. although my bike wasnt too bad at the vit i do need to get on with some long rides, i have only ever done the vit course - once for practice, once for real and that amounts to my long rides to date.

I would be inclined to drop back a bit DK, go to around 7 or 8 hours a week and wait for the plan to catch up, come all the long bike rides and runs you dont know quite how that will affect you and you dont want to go stale and overtrained
I think once the winter draws in you may find it less easy anyway

TJ1004 wrote (see)

Saffers what do you think of THE BOOK? Took me two reads to get my head around it!

Liking the book so far but only on Chapter 5, trying to tune out to my noisy kids isn't always easy but it is written in a simple way that even I am understanding, although I haven't got to the plans as yet!

Ran today, 10m  on the plan as I am racing The Great South on Sunday.  Ran the same last week and it was a really good run..... but how different can two runs be.  Calf felt tight at two miles and by 5 me and my training buddy decided to take a shorter route home as stretching the calf wasn't making it feel any easier.  I walked the hills as running them made it worse. Did 8.5m but felt disappointed with myself but know there is no point damaging myself. Got home and stretched loads, skins are on and will be massaging.  Not sure what the trouble is as not quite cramping but just tightening.  Hoping it is nothing and I am worrying for nowt! I am a born worrier unfortunately......must keep my positive head on.  The only difference to the training this week was a turbo and a spin class and not sure if this could be the reasoning.......also went off a tad faster than usual and hit a 17% hill at mile 2 so maybe just not warmed up enough....... right that's enough waffle from me.

meldy - i see your reasoning there, i got rutland mara in 2 weeks and i will take a couple of easy/easier weeks then but if i drop down to 7 or 8 hours ill put on weight - i just eat so much and no,  i cant stop eating - lets just say its a personality trait  

Just dont get to April/May time next year and ask why you are so tired et,c, et,c

Put some of that mental attitude towards a healthy diet and a healthy amount of training so that you can achieve that goal next year

and yes thay may have been a bit of a nag 

Aunty meldy speaks sense.......

The aim is to hit Feb/March all guns blazing... The weather gets better and out you go for your long rides.

In my first year, I did the Vit, had a week off, then cracked on with training for my first IM.... My mentor suggested that I calm down ablt.... (perhaps brick sessions in October before work were a bit over the top, and 20 hr weeks in Nov were not maintainable).  Gom was right....

The long runs trucked on over the winter with no issues
I struggled to get out for more than 2-3 hours over winter on the bike. My feet just froze.

Things then picked up in March onwards.....   built up to some 6 hr rides...
Even so I felt CBA by May - did the Swashbuckler,a couple of sportives, but apart from that did not hit anything massive in June, ie a big taper.

So the moral of the story is building endurance up for the first time, (and subsequent times) is hard, and takes comitment.  You need all your  *oomph* from March onwards,

don't use it all up know...

However I like my junk miles on the bike....I commute by bike as it saves me money. People say they are junk miles, but on the otherhand something has made me a strong biker...... 

(now I've got the endurance my coach is pushing me out for long rides now, but then I'll be tapering from the end of April, and will miss / cut short rides in Jan/Feb)

I have been wondering the same with regard to my running. Did my first marathon yesterday, and wanted to keep the running fitness up over the winter to get a good HM time, and put a dent in Fink.

However I think it will be a trial to do so, and I know I can cut back on the running to develop the cycling, and put some time aside for R&R and family.

I've certainly had enough of long runs for the moment. The XC season starts next weekend, so an hour at race pace every 2 weeks will be a great change. And there is the small matter of the Ballbuster.

Like DK though I am concerned about putting a load of weight back on. I struggled to do so last week whilst carb loading, but I'm sure it will begin to creep up..