Thanks @Prof @Marjaana and @SimpleEnduranceCoach for answering all of my questions on the recent Athlete’s Compass Podcast! It was super helpful, and has me thinking of my marathon training plan and how I’m going to handle the volume with a lot of the training happening over the winter. Going to go with the flow depending on the weather/conditions (be flexible), substitute some HIIT running sessions with some bike sessions (which I will already be doing) and/or HIIT xcountry skiing (Masters program ski intervals start next week!). Will try to avoid a lot of HIIT type work on the treadmill to avoid injury, and use the incline instead. Will try not to obsess over the ‘numbers’ - i.e. km’s ran each week, knowing that my swims, xcountry skiis, sauna’s and bike sessions will all be adding to the training load and will be helpful for the marathon. And I will use the upcoming holidays to take a ‘break’ from structured training so that I will be ready for my marathon training plan which starts in the New Year - can’t wait!
One of the things I learned in that episode is that aerobic activities all stimulate cardio adaptations. So skiing is a great activity for winter training!
Wrapping up my first trial phase next week and feel comfortable with Athletica and the platform’s technical features. From December 22, I’ll switch to “Go unscheduled” (thanks, @Prof ) before targeting my A-race starting February 10.
Lucky to spend the next weeks in Asia—hoping for some hotel pool swims or gym sessions, (and rice field outings 
) here and there. A bit of rest with light training should do me good!
[starts typing an answer then remembers that no one wants to hear about the weather-related challenges a Californian faces when training in the winter…]
More seriously, I do like to shift back to rowing, which I neglect during the tri season. Dark, early winter mornings on the chilly water offer a chance to reflect (mentally) and build (physically) in a manner well different than the other disciplines.
Hello, I’m planning to do something different this off-season. Trying to develop or hit some other systems that may not always be touched by typical triathlon training. For this year (24/25) off-season (Dec-March) I’m planning to do as follow (I’m still trying to figure out using beta platform how to structure that better through athletica):
#1 Priority: Strength: 3x/week (Heavy weight + Core functional movements + Plyometrics)
#2 Priority: Bike: 2x/week (45-60 Vo2 session + Z2 90-120min)
#3 Priority: Hyrox (1K run, 1K skier, 1K run, 1K row…) 1x/week (50min) to target anerobic capacity. Actually, I’ve done this session 2x already and I’m impressed how challenging it was (it is hitting right into anerobic development)
#4 Priority: Swim 2-3x/week (mostly short 20-30min – sprints and strength) - combined with strength sessions
#5 Priority: Run: 3x/week (short 15-30min). Short Hills/Sprints/Brick - combined with strength sessions and bike for Brick
With that type of training, I’m planning to do couple indoor triathlons (Feb/March) to see how different the race goes compared to last year when I had typical triathlon base training at that time. My main goal for 2025 is Nationals Olympic distance. Pawel
Is that an Argentina jersey in the background?
sure is… from my visit 