Training in the Outseason

Outseason Training Plan

What are you supposed to do in the outseason?  Do you log long slow miles?  Or is volume not very important?  Should you stay in aerobic zones and build an endurance base?  How about some speedwork to raise your pace?  But you don’t want to peak right now so is speedwork a waste of time at this stage of the year?  Do you spend time recovering from the previous season? 

There is so much information out there about training plans that take you from January to race day, but I could find very little on what to do between October and January.  When I did find something, there was little detail and often conflicting with other peoples views. 

A Coach?

I am not at the level where I would consider a coach to provide these answers.  My schedule for next year is such that a coach would probably tell me to scale back.  Whilst I want to do well in races, and improve on my current level, the experience of triathlon and the training involved is what I enjoy most at the moment.  Sacrificing the LEJOG trip might help my performance in Ironman UK, but I would miss out on an amazing experience.  Ironman Wales six weeks after Ironman UK is a bad idea, a coach would tell me.  I need to determine a training plan that allows me to fit all these things in.  When I'm ready to make sacrifices and focus on single races, then a coach might be the answer.

Training Plans

Last year my training philosophy was based on aerobic training.  Slow miles.  Staying at or below Zone 2.  However, now I have a bit of an endurance base, I want to increase my speed.  Having a higher top end speed will surely mean that my definition of slow actually increases.  For running, staying in aerobic zone (zone 2) meant that I was running 5.20k pace.  At the moment, following a conscious effort to increase my speed, I am running at below 5.00 pace for the same heart rate.  I want my slow aerobic pace to be closer to 4.45 pace.

My training philosophy for this year is to build on the endurance gains made in the year and add some speed.

I did a little research at the various coaches and training plans out there to see if there was something that fit with my current thinking and would help me get to the early part of next year in good shape and ready to train for Ironman.

I came across Endurance Nation – a US based coaching company.  Their philosophy is build speed now and increase the distance later (build fast, then far).  Their philosophy is not based on aerobic training, but is more focussed on training at a specific pace.  You train slow, you race slow.  They also argue that traditional models of training, increasing both the mileage and the intensity the closer you get to race day, is a high risk strategy.  Having had running injuries in the build up to both Switzerland and Lake Placid, I would tend to agree with them! 

They have produced an outseason training plan, which has a greater focus on intensity and speed for both running and cycling.  Higher speed and less volume in the outseason.  The plan makes more use of interval sets than I am currently used to – either as a complete short, sharp session or as a smaller part of a longer session.  The plan is not particularly exciting and is based on similar sessions each week.  Consistency.  I have purchased this plan and am broadly following it, being flexible enough to let life interfere.

The ‘No Swim’ Plan

My outseason plan does not include any swimming.  For me, the biggest gains are to be made on the bike and on the run.  This plan fits with my own thinking – I would have to work incredibly hard to drop my swim time from 55 minutes to 50 minutes.  Swimming is also very time consuming.  When you factor in all of the travelling time, a weekday masters swim session takes up the best part of 3 hours.  For the additional hours that I would spend in the pool trying to achieve that five minute gain, I would be better concentrating on the run and improving my 4.14 marathon at Lake Placid to something closer to 3.45.  Swimming will start again, probably in late January or early February. 

Early Results

Although it is early days, the signs are encouraging.  I can feel my run speed improving.  My October 10k saw me hit 39 minutes for the run – a massive PB.  I have increased the frequency of cycling and am getting to know my turbo trainer again.

Time will tell whether this approach will work – but I’m excited about giving it a go!