Training Plan thoughts for 2007 season

Update June 2008: I have found a new book that is far superior, click here: Training Plan

A couple of weeks ago, I decided I really ought to start following some sort of training plan to prepare for the White Lake Sprint race. So, I leafed through Gale Bernhardt’s Training Plans for Multisport Athletes, and selected the “Faster Sprint Distance Performance” plan on pages 118-119. I jumped in at week 6, skipping base phase because – 1) I’m out of time; and 2) I already can ride, run, and swim longer than the times listed.

This plan does not satisfy my need for endorphins and calorie burning, so I am bumping up times to get in at least 1 hour of workouts a day. And, I’m keeping my long bike rides as long as I want them, simply because I want to ride my bicycle! I am, however, sticking with the workout codes outlined in the plan. I’m also checking off workouts as I complete them – I find that immensely satisfying.

The past two years I have followed plans from this book – using only the bike and swim components, while using “harder” running plans found elsewhere. The running workouts in the book seem too ambiguous and have too many easy paced runs. This time I am going to try to follow the running part of this plan and see how it goes.

Not sure what I’ll do after White Lake. I really like 24 week Olympic Plan on page 124 of the book , which is what I’ve followed the past couple of years. I may do that, leading up to Pinehurst in October. That will make Pinehurst my “A” race, and Lake Norman a “B” race at week 18 of the plan. But I think I’m more likely to place at Lake Norman, so that should be my “A” race. And, the thought of trying to “place” in a race stresses me out…so what to do…?

Here’s a scan of the plan I’m following: (click to enlarge)