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by Coach Patrick
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff this Fall...

It's that time of year when folks are in transition. Some are living in the past, enamored with their exploits in 2005. Others are already into heavy training for their A race -- in September 2006. And others are stuck in neutral, just eating a lot or doing their default training (i.e. whatever they like and is easiest).
Don't be like any of these folks...do the right thing and take a few minutes (max of 30!) to outline a basic week. Your basic early winter week should be pretty short (irondistance athlete=10 hrs; half ironman athlete=8 hrs; olympic&sprint athlete=6 hrs) and should be heavy on the stretching, core and strength. And you should have a day off! Here is a sample week for an Irondistance athlete, with a focus on swim, moderate on the run, lite on the bike.

This week has three swims, three runs, three core/flex and two spins. Eleven workouts; the longest workout is on Sunday. It's a very easy schedule to manage, especially considering the core/flex stuff can be done at home (instead of making you go to the gym again! If you need core or flex ideas, visit out Training Tips section [link] where we have free routines available for downloading!

Remember, a basic week is simple: it's a set schedule that you can implement over and over again. You are establishing a routine that you can implement through the New Year, when you'll start to fire things up again for 2006. All you have to do now is get out there and do it.

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