Discussion: speed work

now you have to do speed work if you want to get faster

Ha, I know I'd have to do speed work to get faster bro but, I don't think going faster over the IRONMAN distance is wise. Tim would tell me otherwise... Slow and steady finishes the race. That's pretty much my goal - steady not necessary sloooooowwww (try not to have walk too much).

What's all this talk of walking?

Well, I don't want to walk at all!!!

Tim, since you're chiming in, should I even think of speed work? My bro thinks I guess... I'm kinda thinking not.

Argh... I just spend ages writing a long long answer then lost it.

Lets try again...at this stage I'd prioritize Endurance, then Threshold, then speed/power, then VO2Max. Generally, as you get closer to the event you want to prioritize stuff that most similar to the race that you're doing.

Endurance is:
Cycle: 4-6 hours. Run 90+, Swim 400-800s+, 10-20 sec rest

Threshold:
Cycle/Run: 10-30 mins efforts, 1-3min rest, or prog session

Speed/Power
Cycle: 1 min big gear, 1-2mins rest, Run 30-60 secs, 30-60 rest, Swim: 25s, 1:1ish rest.

VO2Mx
Cycle/Run 3-5mins, same rest. Swim: 100s, 1:1 rest.

Endurance-wise you're probably ahead of the game, so if you have the time I'd add threshold sessions, or start including threshold pieces in your longer sessions.


The reason I put speed ahead of VO2 is that as I've defined it, is that can be easier to recover from than VO2...

Gotta go... no battery, and plane to catch

That's great. Never thought of doing Thresholds during a long ride or run... will try that for sure - Thanks Tim!