The Vision: To develop and execute a plan that will reasonably prepare me to complete an Iron distance triathlon and which will not adversely affect my role as a father, husband, and breadwinner.

The Plan: A 20-week, no frills, no fluff, schedule that generally prescribes one training session of one discipline each day. Weekly training volume steadily builds over the 20-weeks with a “step-back” every fourth week and a taper the last 2-weeks. Training sessions vary in length each day - the average session for the 140-day schedule is 90-minutes…

The Rules:
1.) Morning workouts only – Complete daily sessions early and spend the balance of the day focused on family and work.
2.) Involve the family – Try and share this special experience in both words and actions – anyone up for a run?
3.) Document the journey – There is only one first time. Pictures, thoughts, feelings – 20-years from now I am going to want to remember it all.
4.) Monitor weight/energy daily – Listen to my body and respond – More food? More rest? Total stud?
5.) Snack between meals – Eat Santa, eat. More frequent and smaller meals are the key.
6.) Master workout nutrition – Get it figured out during training. Nobody wants another Poopman.
7.) Missed workouts are missed workouts – At some point in the 140-day schedule, a workout will get missed. Let it go. Don’t even try to make it up. Move on.
8.) Maintain strength – Shoulders, chest, and lats… let us not be strangers. My swim will thank me.
9.) Train with heart rate – Dare to slow down. Burn the right energy source. Enduring depends on it.
10.) Train with joy. Race with joy – This is really the whole point. This adventure is supposed to be fun. Don’t get so bogged down in the details that the fun is lost!



Monday, September 1, 2014

*Iron Training - Week 12*

Week 12 is officially in the books - oh, and happy Labor Day!  A recap of what proved to be a very tiring week for me...

Monday I biked for 90-minutes on the trainer - my usual short ride.  Later in the day, I went to the Y and swam a continuous 2600-yards.  It took me several hundred yards to find my rhythm, but once I did I was pretty comfortable and enjoyed myself.

Tuesday I got jammed up with life and did nothing.

Wednesday I biked for 90-minutes on the trainer in the morning and swam a continuous 3000-yards at night.  The swim was a weird one.  From the start, my breathing was kind of off and I was having trouble relaxing into my pace.  I felt like I was having to work harder than normal as well.  I had planned to swim 3000-yards but when I hit 2000, I considered calling it a day.  Then I slapped myself up the side of my head, called myself a few choice names, and continued on to finish the planned distance.  Good.  The funny thing was, despite being kind of tired, that last 1000-yards was probably the easiest of the set.

Thursday I ran 9-miles at about 8:30 pace.  It was really humid (all week) and I definitely sweated a bucket, but I was comfortable and the run went well.

Friday I woke up at 3:15 am and rode 4-hours on the trainer.  Mind numbing.  Butt numbing.  That is a long trainer ride.  I supplemented my usual nutrition with two cut up peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  This was okay but they started tasting too sweet at some point.  Next time I'll try more PB and less J.  When I finished the ride I was tired and a little beat up - definitely ready to get off.  I also felt a little mentally down, although I'm not sure why.

Saturday I ran 9-miles outside around town.  My pace was right where it was supposed to be but my legs were feeling a little achy from the day before and my energy level was a little low from the start.

Sunday I woke up feeling pretty hammered - tired and achy and a little blue.  I needed to run my weekly long run (which I normally look forward to), but I just didn't feel like I had the energy and wasn't thrilled to start the run on achy legs.  I pushed it off as long as I could, hoping I would perk up (and I did a little), but at about 8:00 pm I couldn't wait any longer and went out and ran 14.2-miles.  The good thing about starting that lase was that the sun was down.  It was a clear night and the stars and moon were out.  I do like night runs and haven't run one in a while, so it was nice enough.  I did two loops of 7.1-miles so that I could swing by my mailbox and pick up a replacement water bottle.  It was really humid and I was going through my drink a little faster than normal and probably should have broken the run into three loops.  By mile-10, I was definitely feeling the effects of my achy legs and started slowing down a bit.  But then... I imagined that I was finishing my Ironman marathon and needed to pick up my pace for the last 4-miles in order to break XX-hours... and so I did.  And, those last 4-miles turned out to be the fastest four of my entire run :)

Today I am still feeling beat-up.  Fortunately, today starts a step-back week (perfect timing).  My run and bike distances are considerably less this week and I will focus on getting good sleep, eating lots, and drinking much water.  I expect that by the week's end I'll be feeling fresh and ready to go.
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