2015 ATP

There are a few loose ends for events that don't have finalized dates, but the plan looks good to me even if I don't add any more races! Things shaded GREEN are confirmed races/rides/events; things shaded RED are big biking or running weeks; things shaded YELLOW are rest (full or relative) weeks; and things shaded BLUE are for race rehearsals (only doing 1 of these). From 1/5/15 through Ironman Louisville on 10/11/15, this puts me at about 690 training hours. That's A LOT. But I expect that some weeks will turn out to have more training (typically that occurs with biking for me, and that isn't usually an issue) or less (there are a boat load of :20-:30 optional swims in there, and a few optional runs; or if I'm tired I might skip an easy run or brick run) than planned.

So far on the official race docket, I've got 2 sprints, 2 actual Olys, 2 NothingMan Olys, 2 1/2 Ironmans, 1 Ironman and 1 10-mile road race. I might possibly add, depending on actual dates and other variables, 2 supersprints, 1 half marathon, 1 2-mile swim and 1 Oly. My goal was to plan a fun year of mixed distance racing, and I think I've got it!

Since this is a relatively long season, I was more liberal than usual about incorporating full rest days.  There are 12 scheduled across the 45 weeks shown below. There are probably another 5 that are swim-only days. I also reserve the right to decrease the planned workout intensity on any given day.

And I am not retaining a coach until after this festival. The objective of this plan is to prepare myself  to move into Ultraman training the following year. Along the way, I might decide I don't want to pursue Ultraman, or I might find myself burned out, something might come up--I just don't know. However, if I execute this plan well, I will be in a great position to move onto Ultraman training.

Before you look at the numbers and think "she's up to her usual Crackheaded ways again," I remind you that the weekly totals include strength, and many triathletes don't do any of that, but I do it because it makes me able to do the other stuff and manage life in general. If you take those hours away, the cumulative hours for 2015 are about 630 which isn't psycho (not for elite age groupers, and not for what I've done in the past). Considering I will end 2014 at about 660 hours, which is the least amount of annual training hours I've done since 1999, I will have had a good "rest" year, and the increase shouldn't kill me. But we will see.

I continue to do my base training, where I just have volume targets, but no intensity except for in the pool and sometimes when I'm on the bike trainer. I feel really good right now. My foot seems to be cooperating, and I begin getting regular massages again next week. Regular massage is a requirement for me when I am training intensely, even though I still stretch pretty much daily.

I will be getting feedback on this plan from my prospective Ultraman coach, and anyone else is welcome to comment or ask questions. If you want to spend time with me training, this pretty much tells you where I will be on weekends, so feel free to join in on the fun! And I can't stress enough how much FUN this is all going to be!