Plan for 2007

Well, like many folks, I'm busy trying to figure out which events to plan for. Right now, I've got two that I'm about to register for. The first is a sprint triathlon in central Illinois in May (May Madness) followed by the Cutting Edge Half Iron triathlon in June (same link). I have my eyes on some cycling camps and a possible fall 1/2IM as well. But, those will be a challenge once boating season resumes.

So, to plan my season, I plug in the dates and ask myself the most obvious question. Can I taper for both races? To the right is my projected PMC. Notice the nice high spikes in TSB. We're seeing that the best performances come from a TSB near +30.

The next question is "can I actually handle the volume required to get there?". Well, I think so. Obviously, the chart is drawn as a best case scenario. But, the underlying idea is pretty simple. I've created a manageable schedule to lead me through the winter. During that time, my long run will grow in duration but I won't be having those wild TSB mood swings. I'm hoping this will enable me to enjoy the training and see some respectable results. The real challenge will arrive in the spring when I begin my build period. This is where I will accelerate the driving up of my CTL and along with that comes the wild swings.

The reason for driving up my CTL is simple. First, I need to have enough fitness to survive each race without compromising the workouts leading to the next. Second, I need to have enough headroom in my CTL to allow for a taper (rising TSB) without losing all of that hard earned CTL fitness. After all, I want to feel fresh and frisky for both of these races. So, basically, I need a plan that can absorb the training of each race so that I end up with a TSB (after the race) that is above my own personal -30 limit.

In my next post, I'll layout my weekly schedule.