Athlete Spotlight - Feb 2015

Josh Heger, 

Age Group: 25-29

Home: Ballwin, MO

(Sorry, best photo I could find thats not copyrighted.)

Accomplishments:

2014 Ironman Chattanooga (1^st IM) - 11:35

2013 Ironman Racine (1^st 70.3) – 6:22

2015 Goals:

            Improve Run threshold pace
Develop swim skills & swim more frequently
 Increase bike FTP
Train more consistently and with clear purpose
 Refine Bike position and set-up
Improve race execution & nutrition

2015 Key Races:

St Louis ½ Marathon

Chattanooga 70.3

Steelhead 70.3

 Ironman Louisville

Improvements since Nov. 2014:

Swim Threshold Pace - 1:41 to 1:31/100scy (1000y TT)

FTP – Increase from 235W to 279W only riding 4 days per week while focusing more on running.

Threshold Run Pace – 7:15 – 6:48.   Even bigger improvement is his endurance on long runs.

Josh has been extremely consistent in following his planned workouts.  The results have been impressive.  He recently signed up for Ironman Louisville in October.  This will be his 2nd Ironman with the ultimate goal of qualifying for Kona in the next 2 seasons.  I'm excited to see how he will perform in upcoming events.  

To better illustrate what happens when you are very consistent at building fitness, below is Josh's Performance Management Chart.  You can see that how each training block builds on the next and average training load steadily progresses with a recovery period between to shed fatigue, test for improvements and make adjustments.  He is finishing his 3rd base period.  This represents the largest gains in fitness during the season.  Following that will be build periods, where fitness grows at a smaller rate but you adjust your training to be more specific for your goal race distance.  Following that is taper where a little fitness is traded for freshness and more energy entering your race.

Looking closer you can see how few day off he has and while there are fewer long rides or "big days".  The overall average intensity of the training is higher.  The volume is only about 50% higher and he's managing it well.