Good advice and encouragment has come my way in the last 48 hours, from Harris and Turgeon in particular. Two guys who are good to have on your side; two guys I’d like to literally follow up hill. So here’s the deal.

I’m juggling major goals in two sports through the end of May beginning of June, which opens up the biggest question: to what extent will specific aspects of fitness succesfully cross-pollinate? For example, will power-intensity work both afoot and on the bike in the rest of this month end up enhancing each other, or tearing each other down.

The main running goal is the 100k towards the end of March. Major cycling goal is the KTR, pegged for May 17 for planning purposes. Secondary major goal is the KMC on the 14th of June.

My first training assumption is that my running and cycling bases are pretty good to really good right now. Running lags a bit behind cycling in this respect, but as a whole I don’t anticipate reaching my running goals until next year at the shortest (read: 100 milers). General idea will be to start with lots of power efforts for the rest of this month, both on and off the bike, with longer runs on the weekends to get systems dialed and make sure my feet and the rest of me will be ready for the massive descents at Coyote Two Moons. The beginning of February will see a continuation of cycling intensity work, this with the added virtue of max benefit for little time. I’ll move to running threshold at the same time, with a mini-taper for the Red Hot 50k in the middle of the month. This will also act as a springboard for big running temp blocks through the middle of March, with cycling intensity transitioning to threshold at the beginning of March. The latter half of March will be given over to tapering, racing, and resting, then cycling work begins in earnest. Tempo work will get driven by some big races through April, with a nice taper and sharpening period at the beginning of May. Then I just want to hang on as much as possible before vacation in June and a good period of rest.

The Schedule (tentativeish, and open to feedback)

Jan 15-30: running and cycling intensity, running threshold on weekends
Feb 1-15: running threshold (small taper for 2/16), cycling intensity
Feb 15-29: running tempo, cycling intensity
March 1-15: running tempo, cycling threshold
March 15-30: taper, race (22-3), rest
April 1-15: cycling threshold, tempo weekends
April 15-30: cycling tempo! (Sedona BFL, Whiskey 25)
May 1-15: cycling taper (Whiskey “fun run”)
May 17: KTR!
May 24: Coconino Dirt Century
June 14: Kaibab Monstercross (rest between, try to not get destroyed)
June 15-30: REST

This is based on Harris’ system progression of Transition-Endurance-Top end (intensity)-Threshold-Tempo-taper/sharpen/race.

It’s an experiment for sure. I think the main virtue will be more structured work holding me accountable on a weekly basis. Last April it was too easy to let one missed day become five, the result being a flat progression over the month and a lack of snap when I wanted it.

No longer.