by Kevin Coady

It didn’t feel good to get my butt kicked at Oceanside. But despite my 15th place finish in my AG, I was happy because I was emerging from winter healthy, strong and keen. I felt like a raging bull about to be uncaged and I couldn’t wait to do my big IM training. And 12 weeks later I had my best race ever, finishing 2nd in my AG at IM Coeur D’Alene (up from 3rd in 2010).

I did it by following Gordo's oft repeated but rarely followed recommendation. I kept my training physically and mentally sustainable in the winter, to keep my powder dry to train huge and to hit it big in the last few blocks of training leading up to IMCdA, when it counts the most. Here are some specific things I did differently:

Physically and Mentally Sustainable Winter Training

• Fewer Sessions. From a mental standpoint I did myself a huge favor by decreasing the number of training sessions I did per week. I ran and swam Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I biked Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday (maybe with a short transition run). I took Sundays off to focus on work. That’s it -- three bikes, three runs (plus transition runs), three swims. Every single workout was solid and had a specific purpose. Compared to past years I had drastically fewer failed sessions, the average workout was of much higher quality, and I was finding myself looking forward to each session (except for the swims maybe...).
  
  
• Group Training. I’ve never been a fan of the typical triathlon group training. But rather than resigning myself to a lifetime of training solo, I created my own dream training team and we all followed the same training structure. In the past I’d spend my winter training alternating between mania (five hour indoor rides) and depression (sitting on the couch eating McDonalds). Training with the group helped smooth out the highs and lows (they don’t want to ride five hours indoors and get pretty upset if you skip team practices to stay home and eat McDonalds). Plus it’s much more fun.
  
  
• Fewer Mega Sessions. With only a few exceptions, I capped my longer rides at around three hours and my long runs at less than 90 minutes. Instead of constantly pushing my rides to be longer, I gradually added more tempo and climbing at threshold. In past years I didn’t feel “secure” until I knew I could ride five hours steady nonstop. But during my Kona prep last year I was never strong enough to go much past three-and-a-half hours of focused steady riding during my preparation... and I had my best bike leg ever. So I knew three hours of solid riding is enough for the winter time.
  
  
• Hitting All Intensities on the Bike. As I mentioned above, in past years I focused primarily on building my steady endurance until I could do about five hours steady nonstop (indoors) and feel good afterwards. Once I could do that then I’d start adding intensity to my rides. But I’d sometimes suspect that I was fittest earlier in the year after all of that endurance work. So this year I saved the big endurance work for last (after all, it’s the most specific training to ironman), and spent the winter hitting all intensity levels in a balanced way. I was still doing plenty of steady riding, but I was also doing much more tempo and threshold riding than I’d ever done in the past.

Hitting it Big In the Last Blocks of Training with Training Camps
To be honest, I was always skeptical of the idea of mega training camps for age groupers. But I’d seen some of the results of the “campers” among the EC crew and I trust results more than theory, so I thought I’d give it a try. I did two big volume camps including one trip to the Pyrenees where I did 28 hours of training in six days.

The result: once I’d absorbed the training I was able to sustain almost 240 watts for five hours as opposed to almost 230 watts for three hours at a similar heart rate and perceived exertion. I was also running at lifetime best pace compared to heart rate. Let’s just say I’ve reconsidered my position on high volume training camps.

What Does this Mean for You?
My approach isn’t a sure fire path to success for everyone so don’t think you can do what I did and be guaranteed a slot in Kona. Remember, I’ve done the big rides in years past and have a large aerobic background to draw on. But if you find yourself stalling out with the same approach year in and year out, it may be time to switch things up.

Kevin is a multiple-time Kona qualifier and age-group coach. You can learn more about Kevin at Team TriForce.