Speaking of goals...I put it out to the masses this week. My goal for IMWI is to qualify for the Ironman World Championships on Kailua-Kona, Hawaii!!! I've had it in the back of my mind since this training season began but with the running injury early in the year I didn't know if I could achieve the fitness it would take to contend for a qualifying spot in Madison. Well, with recent race results and where I feel I am with my training and mental fu right now I know I can give it a go. I'll write more about what it's going to take and how I plan to execute in subsequent posts but, for now, just know that training has taken on a whole new meaning.
Besides this week marking the start of higher volume Ironman prep training I also threw in a local sprint triathlon race for fun. My race report is here. Since I did a Half Ironman race on Saturday preceding this week my plan was to do a mini-transition into this intense period of training, ideally a light week of doing whatever workouts I wanted. But after the race my body was feeling great - very little fatigue and my mind was clear (not burned out by the previous 24 weeks of training/racing). I did take 2 days completely off after the race, then spent the next 2 days just doing light stuff (easy runs, easy spins, easy swims). By Wednesday I was hitting the Ironman training plan workouts and nailed the long run on Thursday.
Anyway, here are the highlights from this first week of a new, very important phase of training:
The Swim
Stuck to the prescribed swim workouts for the most part. No matter what I do in the pool it's just a nice, therapeutic feeling to be off the legs and let the body stretch out, especially in the few days following a race. My stroke was feeling a little "off" all week, though, which I just chalked up to a little fatigue and lack of focus.
The Bike
Didn't get back on the bike until Tuesday (very short, easy spin) but really it was Wednesday that I got serious and hit my first hard interval session of the week. It felt great to do my first long, "Endurance Nation/Ironman training" ride of the season on Friday.
The Run
The run was the last thing I threw into to my training schedule after the race. I stayed out of the shoes until Wednesday where I did just a very easy 30' jog but ended up nailing my long run on Thursday. That's when I knew I was ready to go with resuming the serious training.
Body Composition
Maintaining 169-170 lbs which is just a pound or so above where I think I'll be for race day. After the Half Ironman I took a couple days of eating anything I craved, but I found my body was eager to get back to my healthy nutrition it has become accustomed to.
Here are the day-to-day highlights for the week:
Monday: Gave the body a nice stretching out with 30' of yoga first thing in the morning. Hit the pool at lunch with a bunch of 100m intervals followed by 2 x 300m hard. Total of 2,700m for the session.
Tuesday: Did a very short, easy spin on the trainer before swimming 3,000m in the outdoor pool with some longer sets than yesterday (endurance-flavor swim). Tough set but swimming in the sunshine helped make it enjoyable.
Wednesday: 90' reunion with the trainer due to t-storms with 55' at 97% of FTP. Total ride was 86% of FTP and 120 TSS. Easy run at lunch.
Thursday: Long run done: 100', 14 miles including 6 miles at marathon pace or faster. Then hit the ice bath...ahhhh!!
Friday: Great day of training in the books: 1.6 mile open water swim during a beautiful sunrise. 85 miles/4 hour ride in afternoon at .79 IF & 247 TSS followed by 30'/4.25mi brick run. Refueled with Mexican food with Drew and Andrea in the evening!!
Saturday: No training today. Focus on the family: big breakfast, shopping, bike parade, picnic lunch, swimming, ice cream cones, USA soccer...I LOVE IT!
Sunday: Twin Lakes Sprint Triathlon: total crap swim, okay bike, decent run. Lucky to get 5th overall and 1st in age group. Props to friend and fellow ENer Matt Ancona for the overall win! Got in 1 hour of "always be pushing" ride after the race until thunderstorms forced me to call it quits.
Data for week 1 of Ironman prep phase:
Time spent training: 12:53
Time spent at or above FTP on bike: 59'
Time spent at or below LTHR pace on run: 36'
Avg bike Intensity Factor (% of FTP) = .789
Mileage: 175 (Swim: 8.4K, Bike: 143 miles, 26 miles)
Training Stress Score (TSS): 916
Chronic Training Load (CTL): 112.1 TSS/d
Training Stress Balance (TSB): -11.9
Weight: 170.0 lbs
Functional Threshold Power (FTP): 293 watts
Vdot: 54.3
Performance Management Chart (PMC) through 25 weeks of training:
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