So Saturday was a big day in my Ironman training program, as it was the day to test my fitness level 8 weeks into the program. The way that I went about constructing the training program for my upcoming Ironman distance event was to use a Half-Ironman training program outlined in The Time Crunched Athlete by Chris Carmichael for the first 8 of the 20 weeks I am preparing for the full Ironman. I figured since I reached the end of the 8 week program designed to ready me for a Half-Iron Triathlon, I might as well go ahead and see what happens. The Time Crunched program is all about Intensity over Frequency, meaning that the workouts are fewer and shorter, but much more intense and full of interval training. I decided to do an indoor 70.3 workout in which I’d complete at the gym I train at. I also wanted to try out a nutrition plan in a real life long-course event, given that during my last half-iron race, I bonked during the run and ended up walking the majority of the final 6 miles. So Friday after work I sat down to figure out a way to consume approximately 200-300 calories per hour for the duration of the workout. I decided I would go with PowerBar gels, Hammer Nutrition HEED sports drink, and peanut butter and honey sandwiches for calories and to hydrate along the way with water.
So Saturday morning, I began my 1.2 mile pool swim at 4:45 am. The water felt great and I even put on my swim cap to make it feel all official like! I decided to just give it a nice steady effort and not overdo it, so I tried to maintain a 2:00 100 meter pace and finished the swim in slightly over 41 minutes. After the swim, it was out of my swim gear and into my indoor cycling outfit. I also decided to allow myself to take bathroom breaks as needed, so during the 56 mile bike leg, there were several “pause for the cause” potty breaks. I was able to take in a good deal of calories during the bike leg without experiencing the nausea that I was a little concerned about. I felt really strong going into the 13.1 mile treadmill run. The thing that I was most concerned about was the mental challenge that a 13.1 mile treadmill run presents. I have a really hard time spending an hour on the treadmill, so I am not going to lie, I was a little worried about how this was going to go, or where my mind was going to go during the run segment. I stayed positive and ended up finishing the run in 1 hour and 48 minutes, which was a pretty decent time for me! I put the incline on 1%, to make it a little closer to road running conditions (I’ve read somewhere that a 1% grade on a treadmill is close to accurate for a “flat” road course). Overall finish time with bathroom breaks and transitions was 5 hours and 16 minutes, not bad considering I was shooting for 6 hours.
More than anything I have to say that the training programs outlined in the Time Crunched Athlete are the real deal. They are intense, but they will give you the fitness needed to not just finish a triathlon but to be competitive. The last Half-Iron race I completed I finished in 6 hours and 12 minutes (of course the race was called the Beast of the East for good reason....man it was a tough one). I know that there certainly is a difference between doing an open water lake swim and a pool swim, riding a spinning bike and riding on a hilly bike route outdoors, and running on a treadmill and running outside, but nonetheless, an hour decrease in time is an illustration of a substantial increase in fitness in my opinion. After I finish the Ironman in May, I want to focus on short course racing, which I feel is my strong suit. In this book there are Sprint and Olympic distance training programs that work off of as little as 4 sport specific workouts per week, again all super intense, high quality workouts. I really think that this type of training will put me in the shape I need to be in to potentially win the Crystal Beach Triathlon this summer (I finished 2nd last year).
Another little tip that I tried during this 70.3 workout, I learned from a really great triathlon blog that I follow called Half Tri’ing. Kevin, the blogger, said that taking a small bag of antacids in the event of nausea is a good idea and that they’ve helped him to calm some pretty nasty stomach issues while training and racing. Just as a preventative, since I tend to get a bit of indigestion while running if I have eaten anything in a couple of hours leading up to a run, I ate 2 Tums prior to starting the run leg. I have to say that the indigestion I experienced even right after taking in gels and HEED during the run was minimal. So, it’s certainly worth considering this little tip if you experience any GI issues while biking or running.
So after a few days off to recover, I will begin the 12 week Ironman portion of my training program that hopefully will have me in shape to conquer the “Daddy of all Triathlons,” even though the “Ironman” I’ll be doing is a local solo effort I affectionately call the Do-It Yourself 140.6. This phase of my training program will be a little less intense, but a lot higher on the frequency spectrum. Having completed the Do-It Yourself Indoor Half-Ironman, I have more confidence in my nutrition plan, as well as, the confidence to endure a long distance event by myself. That certainly was my biggest concern going into this….. no spectators to impress and no fellow competitors to pass on the bike only to have pass me on the run J
As always……. Stay Focused and Happy Training Y’all!!!!!!
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