After a lighter two weeks, it's back to the scheduled training regimen. In one way it's good that I don't have to be creative with my training. I just have to check the schedule and go. On the other hand, being able to see everything in front of me can get a little scary. Two weeks ago I started the final 12 weeks of training. The last two weeks of this session will be a taper which is just reduced volume that gives my body a chance to rest & recover heading into the race.
That time line puts me two weeks into an intense 10 week period that will give me the mileage needed to make it to the finish line. I knew that it would be tough to stay on track, but I am pretty happy so far. I haven't deviated too much from the prescribed program, which is good because that'll happen sooner or later. In the meantime, I have to stick to the plan as much as possible. The swim sessions, runs and bike rides have all gotten longer. Here's what I've put in over the last two weeks:
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| Monday - Friday Training Schedule with Weekly Totals |
The hardest part of training like this is the logistics. The schedule is mostly two sessions a day, six days a week. Sometimes, though, other commitments don't allow that to happen. I often end up moving things around, skipping a rest day or selectively skipping certain workouts. I don't like to do that, but sometimes it's unavoidable. I don't know if it is because I am so close to my race or if I am intimidated by the distance, but I am really trying to adhere to this schedule better than I did with the first 20 weeks getting ready for Ironman Mooseman 70.3. I don't want to leave anything to chance.
Getting in so many workouts can be a juggling act, and it's forced me to get creative some days. This past Monday, I opted to sleep instead of getting up early to swim. I like to refer to this as strategic sleeping. Considering that I am up almost every day at 4:30 to start working out, I don't feel bad about trying to catch a few extra hours here or there. Doing that always has some consequences though. On Monday, it forced both my swim and run workouts into the afternoon. To make it the most efficient workout possible I ran to the gym, swam and ran home. Tuesday was easy since I was able to get both workouts done at the gym before work. That freed the evening up to spend with my family.
Likewise, I knew that my Thursday morning run was going to require me to either run a bit before meeting up with the group or stay late to get all the prescribed mileage in. Luckily, Marita needed to run two hours as well, so that worked out well. As the group started we didn't even try to keep up knowing we had longer to go. We caught up with everyone back at the parking lot before going out for another 50 minutes or so. By the time I made it to work I already had a half marathon under my belt. The focus of Friday was a long swim equivalent to the distance I'll cover in the race.
Yesterday was another big day as I put in my longest ride to date. Although the planned only called for a little over an hour, I knew a group of friends on T3 Triathlon were heading out for a 100-miler in their final preparation for Ironman Lake Placid. Marita needed a long ride too, so we decided to head out with the team and cut the mileage a bit short. I had ridden a similar route the weekend before, so I was somewhat familiar with the area. Things were a bit slow as were on city streets and not too familiar with the beginning of the route. The ride eventually took us through Evansburg State Park and Chester Springs. It ended up being just short of 80 miles in just under five and a half hours.
Ten weeks to go with the heavy volume, and then it's race time.
