Week 11 of Ironman Prep Training Phase - 08/30/2010 (TAPER WEEK 2!!)

This week was the second week of my 3-week taper.  Things really started dialing down this week in terms of volume (time spent training).  The intensity of most of the sessions is still there, though.  I continued to put a ton of time into the organization that goes into Ironman race week and race day.  It's overwhelming just how many things need to come together to ensure you have everything you need for a successful Ironman!

The checklists are done.  The packing has begun.  Last minute shopping is complete.  Now it's time to put it on cruise control and execute the plan, which begins with the Monday of race week.  I have a detailed schedule and checklist of everything I need to do and things to bring which makes life so much easier - no thinking, no questions, just check it off the list and put the thinking into how I'm going to deal with the impending pain and suffering that I will be putting my body through come Mile 18 of the run!

With the reduction in volume this week I also spent a significant amount of time doing extra light stretching and massage just to ensure things are as loose as possible.  I'm feeling good, both physically and mentally!!

In talking with some training partners/friends over a couple beers I came to an epiphany in terms of my mindset going into the race.  As I announced earlier this summer, my #1 goal for this race is to qualify for the 2011 Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.  This is a major undertaking taking most athletes many years and numerous attempts at the Ironman distance to achieve, especially in my age group (35-39) which has the most athletes and is therefore the most competitive.  This will be my first try at giving it a go.

So the realization I had was that even though I am committed to achieving this goal I do no have the EXPECTATION that I will accomplish it.  These are two very different things and realizing this has helped free my mind of the pressure that I typically put on myself to perform in these events.

But as for the training, 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: 2,600 yard swim with plenty of hard speed work.  This hit a great 45' run with 2 x 1 mile at 6:00 pace.

Tuesday: 60' bike with 3 x 6' intervals at FTP.  My power meter seems to finally be fixed!  Then did a 30 HARD brick run averaging 6:30/mile pace.

Wednesday: 1.6 mile open water swim done in a new PR of 38:29 (1:40 faster than my previous PR set last week!).

Thursday: 70' very comfortable run with no problem hitting target paces.  Taper is feeling good and so did the massage later in the day!

Friday: 2,800 yard endurance swim with 4 x 600 yard intervals at just under Ironman pace/effort.  Then did a 40' easy run with some strides to keep things loose.

Saturday: 2.5 hour ride with full race setup (everything from the wheels to the aero helmet).  Legs felt great.  Then did a very hard, high intensity 4 mile brick run averaging just under 6:30/mile pace.

Sunday: Day of rest, recovery, relaxation and family time before the chaos of race week kicks in tomorrow.

Totals for the week:

Training duration: 9:22

Time spent at or above FTP on the bike: 16'
Time spent at or below lactate threshold pace on the run: 47'
Avg bike intensity factor (% of FTP): .733
Mileage: 104 miles (Swim: 9K, Bike: 68 miles, Run: 30 miles)
Training Stress Score (TSS): ~645
Chronic Training Load (CTL): 136.4 (down from my season-high of 149.4)
Training Stress Balance (TSB): -27.6 (up ~30 TSS pts from last week - big increase!!)Weight: 168.0
Functional Threshold Power (FTP): 295
Vdot: 56

Performance Management Chart through week 11 of Ironman Prep Training: