So - based on a bit of anxious feed-back from basically all team members, I think you are all now getting in the mode of "Fuck - it´s only this or that many days/months away". Time flies and what before was "oooh - some time next year" is now right in your face.
Fear not - of course there´s a cure... that´s the good news! The bad news is that the cure is called "Hard work, pain, cold weather, sore butt and many hours in the gym and the saddle - but also joyful trainings with your buddies and the feeling of endorphin butterflies in every cell of your body"
Another way to get around this anxiety is of course planning well - building a strong training schedule or program on a weekly basis to support your trainings. Some like a fixed program or plan - and some don´t. I´d say, the less experience you have - the more you need a plan.
On a rule-of-thumb-basis, a beginner´s Ironman program should:
1. Be ambitious enough to enable your goals and make it to the line on race day, but also realistic enough with respect to the the other parts (which?) of life, family, work, etc.
2. Have a time distribution in swim, bike, run close to 15%, 55%, 30% respectively
3. Hold 11-14 hours of trainings per week at this time of year, moving into 16-20 hours in peak period (1-2 months before race day), distributed on 10-12 sessions per week.
From here it all gets a bit more complicated on periodization, specific weeks and much, much more - I recommend reading "Going Long" on this. For now, I suggest you all feed-back a bit (as comments here) on where you are on programming and mapping your trainings? Cheers T
Okay! I'm certainly one of the peeps in this team where butterflies already have found their nice little habitat in my stomach.
ReplyDeleteI'm equally nervous and exited though, and this combo is quite good for my motivation, so I've learned.
Now, where am I in my programming and mapping?
Good question. Dreamed about it last night - does that count?!!
But no - I do not have a set program for the next 263 days.
This is actually really one of my weak sides. I suck at planning. I have, however, read a bunch about this stuff and is slowly beginning to get a grip on it. A bit confusing, though, with all the different "best ways".
For now I'm trying to find my own "best way" for the next two months - until my shoulder is really fit again and the roads dry up. After that I will put together a regular "race"-program in association with competent people from tri4 leading up to my race in Oct.
I don't have a completely set weekly program. Yet, the amount I train is relatively set, and the training "types" are quite set too.
The month of January looks as follows:
Swimming:
Still not allowed to or capable of swimming. Doing dry land exercises, getting a much stronger core and hoping I can get in the water at the end of the month, the latest.
Bike:
I'm trying to get as much cycling done as possible (spinning, that is). For the rest of the month I will join 28 classes of spinning; 9x2hrs, 3x3hrs, and 1x4hrs. Boring as hell, but have good company and it works. Simple is that.
Running:
Before xmas I followed a marathon program which I was recommended by an IM-friend. This did not really work out that good for me, because my shoulder got fucked and I want to work on my technique, among other things.
Instead I do one long run every weekend for 1,5hrs.
I run 3x45min a week on the treadmill to work on my technique and here I do intervals and alike too. Mostly after spinning.
Every Friday I run after spinning with a coach.
Besides this I take some yoga/stretching/strengthening classes - to get stronger and avoid injuries. And because it's fun.
My total amount of training per week might be a bit too high, some "clever" people have told me. But I'm quite used to training a lot hour wise, and as long as my body dosen't complain I think it's okay, right?!! I like it and.. well... I don't know.
That's it, that's all for me for now.
I'm aware that I will have to make a real program, but I'm also very aware that I'm a newbie and needs all the help I can get in this process. That's why I won't make a done-deal program until I am ready to use it and until I have the right people to help me make it.
Really want to hear about the rest of you guys' plans too - so ... tell, tell :)
I don't really know yet where I am with my trainings and schedule. Bit difficult to say yet to be honest but when comparing my shape for Garmin and now, there is wast difference. First of all I have been able to follow diet from hell and drop few kgs of weight. I think there is still possibility to drop maybe 4kgs more but after that I have not much fat left. This means of course that I can run faster and longer, I can bike faster and longer but I can't change bicycle tires fast enough. Remember to practice that too!
ReplyDeleteSwimming: Lately I have been only swimming in pool (50m Olympic pool) and I can swim easy 2km in 38minutes with traffic. I haven't gone longer because I always get so bored in water. Last time I started to do little drills which makes it more interesting. I have also on Fridays private class with teacher but I haven't been able to go to swim with him for past 5 weeks. I think my swim is on right track if I would aim for something like 1h15min but remembering Garmin again, anything can happen in race. Honestly I don't want to put very fast goal here because in the end we are just talking about few minutes on very long day. I will try to learn very good technique and just swim with long strokes and chill. Longer swim practice will be possible soon once we are heading to beach. Its still bit too cold for changing clothes at beach but maybe this weekend if weather forecast is keeping its shot (19c) we can go and try that too.
Bike: Lanzarote training camp was fucking good stuff! Very different trip compared to normal Canary Islands vacation. I was unfortunately sick for first 3 days and just did easy swims on morning and tried bike once but that was just too painful so I figured resting would be wise thing to do.
We did with Thomas few very good 90km rides with very hilly highways and very annoying headwind! It was basically all the time headwind and once you though you are riding around 40km/h your actual speed was just 25km/h. One of the days last week I did the 180km Ironman route which was very tough day and luckily there was not much wind on that day but I burned out after 90km, I was totally dehydrated and so hungry that I had to eat like champion and continue again. In the end it took 8h to do the loop with many drink/food stops and a flat tire, another flat... Anyways, once I got back to apartment after that loop, I wasn't ready to run a full marathon but instead I went to supermarket and bought a six-pack of Tropical and rolled a good spliff. :-) I will keep pushing with bike on weekends until day is bit longer so I can take my bike to work as well. I would like to think that I'm on right track with bicycle as well but it is again hard to say. I hate changing flat tires but I need to start practicing that, as per Sensei's iPhone it took half an hour to change it. Can't really lose that much time on stupid thing like that.
Run: Difficult to say, I have been doing brick trainings on weekends which is just fine for easy 10km runs, need to start pushing here as well and try to get bit longer run done after Sunday's bicycling. I tried to learn better run technique in order to save my knees which has worked out quite ok. I can run half marathon without problems with knees but running longer hurts always so I won't be doing much longer run practice than friendly mitja. Last weekend of January there is Half Marathon of Barcelona which I'll tend to do as fast as I can. My personal best is 1:46 from 2009 (with 13kg more) so hopefully I can get somewhere closer to 1:35 unless Sensei decides that we need to do long bike ride on saturday and run with bricks.
I train now approx 8 times a week.
Mon Swim
Tue Run
Wed Swim
Thu Run
Fri Swim
Sat Bike
Sun Bike + Run
I can add easy 10k run for Friday afternoon and bicycle for Wednesday midday for now.
Once day is bit longer, there will be more bicycle involved.
Kisses & huggies