Hanson HM plan + triathlon training?
docsallen
Posts: 159 Member
Hi All. I am a runner who has branched out to (sprint) triathlons. For the last few years, I have completed 1-2 sprint triathlons/year. This summer, I would like to try an olympic triathlon (either August or September). I am not a natural swimmer and will start training for this component in January (2X per week). At the same time, I will be training for a half-marathon in April. I would like to use a modified version of Hanson's HM training plan. The Hanson plan includes running 6 days/week and is pretty intense (for me) so I know I can't just add tri training on top of it. Has anyone created or used a modified Hanson HM training plan that allowed you to start tri training? If so, what did it look like? I am thinking adding 2 days/week of swimming and replacing 1 of my runs with a bike ride until after the HM. Mentally, and physically, I feel like I need 1 day off/week.
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I"m making the assumption that the April HM is your "A" race.
While I"m not familiar with Hanson's HM training plans, I believe that 5 runs/week while incorporating some swim/bike work, should still allow you to do an effective HM build.
If you want to fit all eight sessions into 6 days, the swims could be done on recovery run days and still leave you fresh for your long run. And I would keep the bike work fairly light, since you have quite a bit of time to shift into triathlon mode between April and August and the Oly distance bike segment is not too daunting for most.
If you are a newish swimmer, then my suggestion would be to get in as much swim volume as you can after the HM. Moving from a .5 to .9 mile swim is a sizable jump for those who aren't as experienced in open water swimming.
Good Luck!
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Thank you! Yes - the HM would be my "A" race. I know my abilities and my goal for the Oly tri is to do it - get through the swim and keep my pace for the bike and run similar to my "usual" pace. For the next few months, I added the swims to the 2 days/week I work from home. I will try to add another after the HM.
For the HM training, the intensity won't be as high as the Hanson plan (I think), but I think that replacing a run with a spin class and swim will benefit me overall.0 -
I was in a similar position a year or so ago. Late 2018 decided I wanted to do another marathon (late April) and my first Triathlon (IM70.3, early June).
I didn't know how to swim properly and I'd only just bought my first bike, so signed up for 6 weeks of swim lessons and the instructor was actually a triathlon coach with multiple IM and marathons behind her. So I engaged her to plan my workouts and I went from running 5 days a week to a multi-sport programme.
Looking now at the reports on Garmin Connect, I can see that I was doing on average:
- 10 runs per month
- 8 rides per month (typically 1 long outdoor and 1 hard interval session on the turbo)
- 5 swims per month
Surprisingly, I took 30 mins off my Marathon PB, despite running a lot less. I put this down to having a programme where every run was meaningful (no junk miles, I recall that every run other than the long run had hard repeats involved) and the overall fitness benefits of doing the other sports.
So you might consider not just trying to add the bike/swim work to the HM plan, but looking critically at the run workouts and substituting one or even two a week.1 -
SteveTries wrote: »I was in a similar position a year or so ago. Late 2018 decided I wanted to do another marathon (late April) and my first Triathlon (IM70.3, early June).
I didn't know how to swim properly and I'd only just bought my first bike, so signed up for 6 weeks of swim lessons and the instructor was actually a triathlon coach with multiple IM and marathons behind her. So I engaged her to plan my workouts and I went from running 5 days a week to a multi-sport programme.
Looking now at the reports on Garmin Connect, I can see that I was doing on average:
- 10 runs per month
- 8 rides per month (typically 1 long outdoor and 1 hard interval session on the turbo)
- 5 swims per month
Surprisingly, I took 30 mins off my Marathon PB, despite running a lot less. I put this down to having a programme where every run was meaningful (no junk miles, I recall that every run other than the long run had hard repeats involved) and the overall fitness benefits of doing the other sports.
So you might consider not just trying to add the bike/swim work to the HM plan, but looking critically at the run workouts and substituting one or even two a week.
Agree with this. We have several in our group with a dual triathlon/marathon focus, and this approach seems to support their marathon goals.0 -
Thank you Steve and Djproulx! Although I agree that biking and swimming would benefit my training, I find it difficult to exchange too many of my running workouts. Probably part mental/breaking out of my comfort zone, part the weather (can't ride outdoors for the most part), ... I decided to focus on a 10 mile run as my goal race (early May) and then switch gears after. When I switch gears, I will be more prescriptive with my runs - each one with a purpose.0
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Totally understand. It's really difficult to move away from an approach that has worked for you. It feels like an enormous risk.0
