Week 8 of Ironman Prep Training Phase - 08/09/2010 (4 WEEKS TO GO!)

This is going to be a short post since there really wasn't much to report this week. It was just another week of knocking out the daily training sessions and recovering as sufficiently as possible to stay healthy in this critical time when the body can break down at any point.

I have 4 weeks to go and, of course, I feel like I need more training under my belt to accomplish my goals. However, things are really feeling like they're clicking...I feel strong and comfortable on the bike and a 100 mile ride is just another ride, I'm feeling light on my feet while running and consistently hitting my interval paces and my stroke is feeling efficient and smooth while swimming. Mentally I feel like I'm in a good place, too, with continued enthusiasm and excitement for every workout. My biggest fear this year was reaching this point in the training and feeling both physically and mentally burned out. I came close to that point a couple weeks ago but it was overcome with some slight changes to my schedule and a focused effort on proper recovery after hard sessions (more sleep, stretching, massage).

This week marks the last week of long, hard Ironman training. Next week will be a test/race rehearsal week with a little less volume, then the taper will begin. It's bittersweet as I know my body is ready for a break in the rigors of this training but I'm going to miss these epic training sessions.

Here's the day-by-day view of the training I did for the week followed by a summary of the week's data:

Monday: My swim is back! 3,400 yards with strong 100, 200, 300 yard intervals. Stroke feeling smooth and comfortable again, just needed a little break.

Tuesday: My best interval ride in a long time: 85' at .9 IF. FTP sets as 8' at 1.03, 12' at 1.02, 20' at .993, then a solid 15' at .8. Then a 20' easy brick run.

Wednesday: Long run a success: 2:10, 18 miles, nailed my paces...9 miles at long run pace (7:45), 9 miles at marathon pace (6:36) despite 74 degree dew point. Easy 2000 yard recovery swim at lunch with some drillwork.

Thursday: Nothing better than a swim in an outdoor pool on a perfect blue sky morning. 3,500 meters all just below Ironman pace. Then did an easy 40' recovery run in the evening to keep the legs loose - man it's hot!

Friday: 1.2 mile open water swim done early. Then another great ride with Matt Ancona: 4:30, 94 miles, 292 TSS, .802 IF. 265 TSS & .83 IF excluding 40' of warmup/cool down. Transitioned to a 30' steady brick run. Felt great all day despite the 100+ heat index.

Saturday: Easy 4 mile recovery run with the dog out front, Drew in jogging stroller and me as caboose. Looking forward to massage later!

Sunday: Matt Ancona and Matt Sullivan brought pain to my dead legs. 2 hours in my brain had enough and told my legs "F.U. - you will push FTP watts until you explode!". Brain won! Ride stats: 3:06, 64 miles, .83 IF, 210 TSS. Exclude 20' WU: .86 IF & 192 TSS. Rallied in final hour to hit peak 60' watts.

Totals for the week:
Training duration: 16:32
Time spent at or above FTP on the bike: 102' (new all time high!!)
Time spent at or below lactate threshold pace on the run: 26'
Avg bike intensity factor (% of FTP): .817 (best this year!!)
Mileage: 227 miles (Swim: 10.1K, Bike: 186 miles, Run: 34 miles)
Training Stress Score (TSS): 1170
Chronic Training Load (CTL): 146.0 (all time high)
Training Stress Balance (TSB): -24.5
Weight: 169.0
Functional Threshold Power (FTP): 293 watts
Vdot: 55.3 (but training at 56)

Performance Management Chart through week 8 of Ironman Prep Training: