Anyway you like, your post was just fine. 
. You’re getting in a lot of hours 
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I had a season where I planned and early half, then another and finally an Ironman with the idea of progressing from one to the next.
Turned out the early season race was my best! 
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That’s a good way to think about the early races. I’ve got a friend who is also signed up for that St George race, so maybe I should see if she wants to plan on doing a homemade race on our own if St George gets cancelled so we still have something to work towards.
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Cheers @JoeX
Been a consistent January for me and just coming to the end of trad base as wanted to keep the intensity low whilst I added the running back in. MAF runs progressing nicely if not setting the world on fire (and fending off ‘slow boy’ comments from the ultra competitive other half). Have also been consistent with strength work and feeling (and seeing) some gains there. Dropped 3.5kg since Christmas too.
Starting up on Oly Base MV next week. Albeit it no swimming and so will sub for strength and some flexibility/Pilates stuff. Looking forward to getting some intensity back in. Last couple of weeks of trad base have introduced sweet spot work and it feels nice. FTP hasn’t budged at all though, which I guess is no surprise given the lack of intensity.
Still half hoping Copenhagen is deferred another year though, just can’t face it this year. 
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Sorry for the late reply! Still on my quest to get faster in short distances!
I completed sprint specialty MV but due to lack of time I wasn’t able to perform a simulation race 
I’m now back onto the base phase and since swimming pools are still closed in the UK I’ve embarked onto sprint base HV 
I’m on the third week so far. I’ll see if I maintain HV or not during build and speciality.
On a side note, I might be one of the few to have picked this plan as some of the sessions were incorrect but the support folks were speedy in readjusting them!
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Interesting–like when you loaded the plan into the calendar some of the workouts were wrong? I think I’ve gone through it once before, but before the calendar days
Yes the notes were correct but in the calendar it wasn’t the same. Like the runs from the Wednesday’s were missing so it was 3runs instead of 4. That’s how I noticed it.
Can I ask what you thought about the Base, build, specialty in HV for sprint?
I haven’t done part or all of that plan in quite a while so I can’t really say one way or the other. As with most TR plans there’s a lot of intensity, but that’s kinda needed for Sprints so not necessarily a bad thing here. Sounds like you made it through the MV plan already so I’m sure you’ll be well prepped for another go at HV.
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Oh yeah, of course there’s a 2021 thread!
I’m booked in for the entire Outlaw series in the UK:
Outlaw Half Nottingham (May 16)
Outlaw Half Holkham (July 4)
Outlaw Nottingham (July 25)
Outlaw Half Bowood (September 12)
Outlaw X (Half) Thoresby Park (September 26)
Started mid volume long distance via Plan Builder in mid November. Had a couple of “fun” breaks from the routine; run 100 miles in a week then Festive 500. I’ve been mostly unable to swim at all due to closed pools and it being too cold in the sea. Going to be hard work rehabilitating my swimming in time for May, but Outlaw are offering a reduced distance you can opt into.
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2021 is off to a good start on the training front. I managed to hold on to the training momentum and consistency I had over the holidays without the whole work thing getting in the way, and continued WFH, covid social restrictions and a fairly flexible job means it’s really just a matter of motivation to get my workouts in.
January Totals:
The swim is the least of my concerns given that’s my background and strength. I’ve been following a modified traditional base MV/HV, basically just a lot of Z2 for the past four weeks. Bike is my weakness by a substantial amount, so I’m focusing on time in the saddle after finishing sweet spot base last year. For the run I’m following the 80/20 level 2 marathon plan for the time being and have been feeling great, especially after injuring myself in week 1 of the TR full distance base HV plan last year, sidelining me from running for 4+ months.
I’m planning on starting the 80/20 ironman plan with some modifications 23 weeks out from Copenhagen (mid-March), but do worry about motivation if covid is still cancelling races left and right. Carrying on as if everything is normal for now
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The past four weeks of training via Low Volume Half Distance were okay. Although I found my heart rate during sweet spot intervals was substantially higher than previous times I’ve done those rides. I’m not sure whether it’s because I’ve been trying to drop a few holiday pounds or I’m less heat adapted or what. Going forward, Plan Build initially had me jumping into LV Half Build, because I tried saying I was “advanced” at interval training. But jumping straight to 3-min V02 Max intervals scared me, so I redid the plan as “intermediate” so I could stick in Base.
I’m only swimming two times a week, but I am making progress. I picked up the Tower 26 book, and really like it. For me, it’s been much more actionable than the Swim Smooth book I read through last year. I’ve been stuck doing the same drills for a while somewhat mindlessly, so switching up to the progression Tower 26 recommends to improve tautness has been a nice change. And I think I’m already seeing a couple seconds off my 100 yd time.
Since my races this year are all from deferrals, I have room in my triathlon budget, so I’m thinking about technology. I’m pretty frugal, so it’s a bit confusing what’s the best investment.
I have a smart trainer, but no on-bike power, so that should probably be a priority. But the options are somewhat bewildering. Power pedals seem like a good solution, but pretty expensive, and I’d have to move away from Speedplay, which would require adjustment. I’d probably want to start one-sided, but that has obvious downsides. A power chainring may be somewhat cheaper for full power, but compatibility is confusing.
I’ve also thought about getting a real multisport watch. Right now I just run with a Garmin Forerunner 35, which works well for me. And I ride (outdoors) with a cheapo Chinese bike computer. And for swimming I just use a finger-mounted timer with no data saved. So I guess I’d gain some simplicity with a watch upgrade, although clicking my finger timer seems way easier than using a wrist watch while swimming. I’m looking at the Coro Pace 2, which seems like great bang for the buck, but I haven’t convinced my frugal self to pull the trigger.
If any one has opinions on how to best invest my triathlon dollars, I’m happy to hear them!
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@JustinDoesTriathlon and @BenSwimsBikesRuns. Do you have a sense about accommodations for St. George? I’m wondering whether I should look for (cancelable) housing this far out. Depending on vaccine rollout, I may end up spending a week nearby with my kids and their grandparents, so I’d be looking at a pretty big AirBnB.
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I reserved a cancellable AirBNB back in September. It was pretty easy to find, but that may (or may not, really) have changed since then. Some of them are cancellable right up until like 48hrs; that might even be enough time for IM to make a decision. 
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100% when the pools open I will be using this!!! thank you
I am amazed at some of the times you people are putting in for training. I am doing FD-LV, and just at the start, but I do struggle to get all the workouts in. I don’t think its from exhaustion but more from lack of routine maybe. I work from home and I have been really bad at just letting work life bleed into personal life. Not to mention I think like a lot of peoples mental health has been pretty low so finding motivation is also hard. I find I end up just sitting around wasting time doing nothing for hours.
Oh well, hopefully I can get into a routine soon. Maybe thinking IMMT most likely won’t happen, I can’t imagine them allowing 2000+ gathers this summer is sucking some motivation from me
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Getting into a routine/habit would definitely help. Unlike 90% of my office, I’ve actually been working at the office throughout the whole pandemic so while I’m jealous of the people that get to work at home and don’t have to commute and whatnot, I can see it being a benefit at times to get that real break between work and home time. Some people will thrive and others will struggle in this current scenario. Stay healthy (physically and mentally)!
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I think the mental health bit is much more difficult these days. Covid fatigue, never ending negative news cycle fatigue, etc., beats a man/woman down when it’s been going on for over a year now. That said, getting that daily exercise helps a lot!
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@JoeX, thanks for the roll-call!
Good to read all the stories! Thanks for sharing!
I’ve been doing pretty good really. Started the HIM MV plan and been pretty consistent (also for the run). Added some extra Z2 rides last week, but might just stick to the additional 15 min Z2 warm down instead of adding full rides. Love the polarized aspect of the running workouts and combine that with some core and plyometrics work. I feel I’m getting stronger (my fitness (TRIMP-based) is already quite similar to last year’s peak), hope it won’t overload later on.
Swimming will be focused on surviving the 2k haha, rather than speed once the water warms up here in April.
Mentally it’s a bit of a shift for me, as I was used to doing a lot of Z2 riding with maybe 2-3 interval sessions a week, so it takes some adjusting and keeping the mindset positive and keep looking forward to the workouts. I am adjusting thankfully: sweetspot/tempo rides are becoming easier with the week
As for races, I’m hoping to do a local 70.3 end of Spring, but I’m counting on having to do it self-supported. And maaaybe a full then in September, but I’ll have to see.
Good luck everyone! Keep it up!
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Maybe pick up an old Forerunner 920/935/Fenix 3 secondhand with a (new) HR strap (Wahoo or Garmin) and (for the Forerunners) a Quick Release Kit. They shouldn’t be too expensive and you can link a power meter and do routes. Bit smaller than a bike computer but has all the functions you need in one device (also swim and run). More recent features are not that much of an addition. Did hear Garmin is developing Sleep Analytics, but not sure if that’s on their newest line yet.
The tautness tip helped me as well.
If you haven’t yet, start listening to the Tower26 podcast. Start at the beginning, don’t worry about being “up to date” on it…lots of excellent information, tips and drills in it.
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