Training April 28-May 04 - aka: Putting Some Muscle Into It

Week 10 of 36 (Week 4 of Iron Fit Training Plan). Twenty-seven weeks until the race.

What this week's scheduled training looked like (April 28-May 04):

Total hours scheduled: 7:00

Total hours logged: 7:05

Total running miles this week/total: 14.5 /137.5

Total biking miles this week/total: 35.5 / 376.5

Total swimming yards this week/total: 5000 / 55,000

Weight: forgot to check and am too lazy to run upstairs. Let's just call it no change from last week (148; down 2 lbs overall)

Level of IM enthusiasm: 8/10. We hit the SIX MONTH OUT mark this week. It was invigorating! I know how quickly six months goes, so I am ready to start putting some serious hours in.

Nutrition elements: Still waiting for my Hammer products to arrive. One mark against them is that they are very pretty slow in delivery, it seems. It took them over 48 hours to even acknowledge my order. I'm on day #10 right now waiting for the stuff. Luckily last week was very light in terms of nutritional needs. Hurry up, Hammer!

Someone suggested E-gels which look interesting (although I am a little wary of a company called CRANK sports -- that seems like a heart attack waiting to happen, doesn't it?). E-gels seem to be both carbs and electrolytes so you don't need anything else. Intriguing, but one of my big concerns is that they suggest you drink 16-32 oz water between gels in order for it to work properly. That seems like a lot of water in your system, especially on a run.  But I'll still look into it after Hammer if I feel I need to try something else.

Other: This week I worked on adding functional strength training into my routine. Between the four kids, deadlines for two novels coming up, teaching my college classes and all my IM training, I just have not been able to find time to take another 1-2 hours and go to the gym for strength training.

So, I decided to try a new system. I looked up some of the best strength exercises for triathletes (there are some in the Iron Fit book too) that can be done at home then separated them out to arms/shoulders, back/core and legs. Then I picked a group to work on each day.

I set my phone to go off once an hour, then got up from my computer and did one of the exercises for whatever muscle group I was on that day. Took 2-3 minutes once an hour, for a total of about 20-30 strength training for the day.

I know this is not the most effective way to do strength training. But right now it's my only way to do any strength training, so I'll take it.  And I felt sore from different muscle groups every day, so I must be doing something right!

Training April 21-27 - aka: Stop. Hammer Time

Training Week 9 of 36. (Week 3 of Iron Fit) Twenty-eight weeks until the race.

What this week's scheduled training looked like (April 21-27):

Total hours scheduled: 8:00

Total hours logged: 7:45

Total running miles this week/total: 15.4 / 122.91

Total biking miles this week/total: 49.3 / 340.98

Total swimming yards this week/total: 5000 / 50,000

Weight: 148 (no change from last week; down 2 lbs overall)

Level of IM enthusiasm: 7.5/10 - still feel pretty good.

Nutrition elements: I'm done with UCan. I know I said I would give it another 3-4 weeks, but I just couldn't do it. IM training is hard enough (mentally and physically) without doing it feeling like you're starving. I followed all the UCan instructions and in two "long" workouts this week (1:45 bike and a 1 hour swim followed by 45min run) and in both I was just miserable. I decided I'm not willing to give it any more time, and sold what I had left.

I really want to find what works for me. At the Sprintfield Sprint Tri they handed out some Hammer products in our race bags and I got a raspberry gel. Low and behold, when I tried the gel a few days later during a ride, I actually liked it (I am not a big gel person. The consistency usually creeps me out).

I really like the Hammer website and that they seem to understand what an IM athlete will want/need. Plus a lot of their stuff is non-GMO, organic, gluten free. Moreover, many of my friends (mostly runners) swear by their products. I ordered about $100 worth of different products and samples, so I'm hoping I'll find some combinations that work for me.


Other: Took part in the Richmond Tri Club Sprint Triathlon this weekend. I realized I've got to find some hills to train on before my Augusta Half IM in September. And transitions.... I have no idea why my brain just seems to shut off during transitions.

I've also started a 5-week swim technique class with a triathlon swim coach. I took a similar one last November, and learned so much. I'm a firm believer that technique makes you a much faster swimmer than just attempting to power through. And hopefully the class will keep me from feeling how I so often feel about swimming:

Training April 14-20 - aka: Yeah, that's my weight, don't wear it out

Training week 8 of 36.  (Week 2 of Iron Fit) Twenty-nine weeks until the race.

What this week's scheduled training looked like  (April 14-20):

Total hours scheduled: 7:00

Total hours logged: 7:00

Total running miles this week/total: 14.62 / 107.51

Total biking miles this week/total: 43.5 / 291.68

Total swimming yards this week/total:  5000 / 45,000

In a tri-suit; not skinny but not fat

Weight: X-2 or,  weight for it, (see what I did there?)... 148 pounds. There it is: my actual weight out there for everyone to see rather than the infamous "X" I've been using for the past eight weeks. (In case math isn't your strong suit, I weighed 150 pounds when I started training.) I'm 5'9, so 148 pounds is not terrible, although still 20 pounds heavier than when I got married 17 years ago.

Just want to clarify (since last week I got a lot of comments on FB about not using training as a method of weight loss): I am not trying to use my IM training to lose weight. I have no actual weight goals when it comes to IM. Although if I'm gaining weight while exercising 10-20 hours week, I seriously have to be doing something wrong.

What I would like to do is make these seven months of training as easy as possible on myself. If I could shed 5-10 pounds, OR just get myself more lean with muscle rather than fat, I would be closer to an idea racing weight. That is optimally where I'd like to be. Of course, if I dropped 30 lbs doing that, I'm certainly not going to cry. But if I drop zero pounds, I'm not going to cry either.

But no more "X". I weigh what I weigh. Moving on...

Level of IM enthusiasm: 7/10. Just another week. Kids were on spring break, so everything was more difficult to fit in, but I did it.

Nutrition elements: Ordered more UCan. Got lemonade-crap and blue-razz-crap flavors and some of the protein. We'll see. I don't know that I can do every long workout always feeling like my tank is mostly empty. But maybe it's just a mental thing and my brain will switch over and it'll be okay.

But Lordy that stuff is god-awful tasting. Completely chilled helps a little, but not much.

Other: Starting a five-week swim technique class this week with a local Tri coach. I took one back in November and it helped me tremendously. Unlike biking and running, I believe the only way to become truly faster at swimming is to improve your technique rather than power through.

Also have another Sprint Tri next Saturday. 400m pool swim (in a 50m pool, so that's a little different), 13 mile bike and 5k run.  Then nothing on the race calendar until July.

Week 7 Training (April 7-13) - aka: Welcome to the Grind

Week 7 of 36. Thirty weeks until the race.

What this week's scheduled training looked like (April 7-13):

Total hours scheduled: 7:00

Total hours logged: 7:00

Total running miles this week/total: 12.79 / 92.89

Total biking miles this week/total:  43.50 /248.18

Total swimming yards this week/total: 5000 / 40,000

Weight: x-1 (same. always the same) A friend suggest that I might want to measure inches lost instead of weight lost. Might think about that.

Level of IM enthusiasm:  9/10. This is "real" week #1, baby! (see "other" section below)

Nutrition elements: Used UCan again before my 1:45 bike ride. I want to like this stuff (because if I can do a 2+ hour workout using only one 100ish calorie packet that contains no sugar than I AM IN!), but still am not convinced that it really works.  If you're used to working with gels/shot bloks -- you know that feeling you get just as your system is starting to tell you it's time for another one? That first moment of weakness/hunger/whatever you want to call it? That feeling where you know if you don't get another gel/blok inside you soon things will be pretty ugly a mile or so from now?

It's not ugly yet, but you can glimpse it.  ...That feeling?

After using UCan I constantly have that feeling, like I need more in my tank or I'll be in trouble soon. But then it never gets any worse, and the trouble never actually comes (in these 2 hour workouts).  So it's kind of annoying the whole time, but never becomes any more critical.  I don't know if the UCan is working and that I'm so used to a sugar high & crash from gels that I need to adjust to a more even release of carbs, or if it's all just hype and I'm tricking my own brain.

If it was just these issues, I would probably give it a couple month run and see how it plays out. But the stuff tastes like flavored chalk. No kidding. I have the new Orange-crap flavor and the Pomegranate/blueberry-crap. The Orange-crap is almost drinkable but the Pomegranate-crap is beyond gross. 

Overall consensus after writing this: I will give it a couple more weeks and also order a couple more different flavors to try. After that, if I'm still not convinced, I'm moving on.

Other: After of two weeks of my debut novel release shenanigans and vacation where training was pushed in wherever I could find time, I was ready to get back to the IM grind. And perfect timing because we are 30 weeks out. This is where the training plan I am using (Don Finks' Iron Fit) actually starts. The last six weeks were just extra (that I wish I had used doing something other than running, biking and swimming. Like crossfit or Zumba. Hindsight 20/20...)

So this is it. I will be, as much as possible, following this plan down to the letter (see the Training Calendar above it you want to know what this involves each week). I am choosing to believe if I put all the hours into the training involved in this plan, it will pay off with a successful Ironman Florida race come November.

Of course, I'm leaving myself room for changes that will have to be made because of life (family, travel, illness). But otherwise this training will be happening almost every day of every week for the next 30 weeks. 7 1/2 months.

Sweat is for those who know that winning is a choice, not an accident. Welcome to the grind.

Week 6 Training (Mar 31-Apr 6) - aka: Wetsuit for the first Time

Week 6 of 36. Thirty-one weeks until the race.

What this week's scheduled training looked like (March 31-April 6):

Total hours scheduled: 7:00

Total hours logged: 6:51

Total running miles this week/total: 15.4 / 80.1


Total biking miles this week/total: 29.45 / 204.68


Total swimming yards this week/total: 5000 (ahem, bs!) / 30000


Weight: seriously, I've given up on this.

Level of IM enthusiasm: 4/10 -- vacation and book release week. So IM training took a back seat. Way, way back.

Nutrition elements: Eating everything possible while on vacation? Is that a nutrition plan?

Other: My training was pretty much crap this week, so let's just talk about the swimming, the only thing significant.  I didn't do either of my scheduled 2500 yard swims. But I did do three important swimming events this week which allow me to cut myself a little slack:

1) I did my first open water swim while on vacation in Ft. Myers, FL. I don't know how far my swim was (I just kept going out to a buoy and back, that I think was probably around 100-150 yards away), but I did it. The water was cold just in my bathing suit, but I felt okay.

Struggling with my arms

2) I did my first open water swim with my wetsuit. That was scary. I'm pretty claustrophobic, so I bought a used DeSoto two piece wetsuit off Ebay a few weeks ago, having read the two-piece nature of it would help a little. This was my first time using it.

The good news is, I didn't freak out. I got both pieces (the bib, long-john type piece that goes on the legs and torso and the jacket which covers the torso and arms). And I made it into the water and began swimming.

I'll be honest: I didn't like it, although I must fully admit that was because of ME not because of the suit. My shoulders felt constricted, I couldn't get into my grove swimming. It was all just yucky-feeling. It didn't help that all my friends were on shore watching, worrying that I might have some panic attack and flip out  (but, of course, they all had their phones handy so they could record it all and put it on YouTube if that happened -- as friends should).

Trying it in just the Bib

I swam probably 200-300 yards then decided to try it without the top jacket part and swam in just the bib. Having freedom in my arms felt MUCH BETTER, although the DeSoto bib is not meant to be used alone -- it created drag. I might look into purchasing the DeSoto Speedvest to go over the bib that would leave my arms free.

I would call it a successful first attempt at both open-water swimming and wetsuit usage. I definitely need more practice with both, especially getting past that 300 yard range where swimming becomes much easier and less sucky. The first 300 yards are always the worst, even in a pool -- I need to give myself a chance to get past that in a wetsuit and THEN see how I feel, so I'm comparing apples to apples. I'm excited to do that.

Looked a lot happier than I felt

Finished this week with the Smithfield Sprint Tri -- making me officially a triathlete. Race report is here.

Week 5 Training (March 24-30) - aka: Life Gets In the Way

Week 5 of 36. Thirty-two weeks until the race.

What this week's scheduled training looked like (March 24-30):

Total hours scheduled: 6 (originally 8, but traded with another week)

Total hours logged: 5

Total running miles this week/total: 11.2 / 64.7

Total biking miles this week/total: 15 / 175.23

Total swimming yards this week/total: 5000 / 25000

Weight: x - 1. No change. Still trying to eat more protein. Also need to add in some weight training. 

Level of IM enthusiasm: 8/10. Enthusiasm didn't wane this week, but my available time sure as heck did.

Nutrition elements: None to speak of. Did have more success in use of UCan for a 2 hour run/swim combo. I keep hearing rave reports about it, so I want to keep it using it. Jury's still out.

Other: Tomorrow I leave for Florida for three days for a much-needed break with Capt Awesome. This week was absolutely frantic: both good and bad. Good: my first novel released this week, so that was quite exciting. Bad: I had a huge deadline and tons of stuff to do before my trip.

Plus, the triathlon fates seemed to conspire against me: pool closed one day when I showed up, Shane West had a flat tire when I went to ride during a tight workout window. I tried to get all my workouts in this week, but just couldn't. Such is life; I'm not going to freak out about it.

Next week will probably be a little light also because of the trip. I'll definitely get my runs in, but won't have Shane West available until Thursday. But, I aso plan to get my first open water swim in my wetsuit. Looking forward to that!

Week 4 Training (March 17-23) - aka: Nutrition - ICan, UCan, WeAllCan

Week 4 of 36. Thirty-three weeks until the race.

What this week's scheduled training looked like (March 17-23):

Total hours scheduled: 7:00

Total hours logged: 7:00

Total running miles this week/total: 16.43 / 53.5

Total biking miles this week/total: 38.08 / 160.23

Total swimming yards this week/total: 5000 /20,000

Weight: X-1. Actually lost one pound, after four weeks of working out an hour a day. Sigh. I'm figuring out that as always, weight loss is more about what I eat than what I do. I don't necessary eat a lot, but what I do eat is almost all carbs. I know the changes I need to make. But knowing the changes and making the changes are two different things.

I'm trying to change my diet a little at a time. This week, it was substituting celery and peanut butter for one snack a day. Next week, I'm going to tackle my lunches, see what changes I can make there.

Level of IM enthusiasm: 8/10. Feeling good. Four weeks down, eternity to go.

Nutrition elements: I tried the EFS Liquid Shots I mentioned last week. It's 400 calories per container which is way too much for the shorter workouts I'm doing, then once it's open it's supposed to be used within 24 hours.  But I was doing a 1:45 brick, which would be through lunch, and I hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast so decided to use it for fueling/meal.

This stuff tastes pretty bad, imo. (I should probably preface this by saying that texture is a big thing for me in race nutrition. I don't like gels because they basically remind of really gross pudding.) The EFS Liquid Shot is not quite as thick as gels, so that was a plus. They weren't pleasing to eat (drink? -- I dunno, it's kind of that in-between consistency), but on the flip side, I never lagged for energy and I didn't have any of the gaseous feelings that sometimes comes from eating shot bloks. Somebody mentioned adding half a Shot bottle into a bottle of water. Might try.  Cost is also a factor: $5 each.

I'm also experimenting with Generation UCan. Here's their website, or really, an even better blog about the product is here. I used it once this week, and wasn't impressed. It claims to give you training energy for 2-3 hours without needing gels/fuels (due to some combination of dark magic and corn SuperStarch), but after 45 minutes into a long workout, my energy felt pretty low. I'll keep trying it, make sure I'm using it right before I give a final judgement. It's supposed to be used instead of carbs for pre-workout fueling, so I would like for it to work. Fingers crossed.

Other: Went on a long ride this week off the trainer and didn't fall, let's call that a win.

This week I've just been concentrating on not breaking the dam. So far, for 4 weeks, I have completed all workouts on my schedule. Sure, I've had to shuffle some around, and even cut a few short (whatcha gonna do when you're racing the school bus home for your elementary aged kids?).

But I haven't missed any workouts just because I didn't want to do them or because I've had deadlines or because I was tired. I KNOW I will end up missing workouts in the course of this madness I call IM training -- sickness, kids, vacation:  life happens, and that's fine. But I feel it's important that I don't miss a workout for no particular reason: that's a slippery slope that leads to more missed workouts.

I'm trusting that if I'm disciplined now, and for the next seven months, it will pay off on November 1.

Race/Training Tip (from others who know): The mental aspect of the race:  Start with a series of objectives in mind and if one is not achievable drop down to the next. But don't worry as the ultimate objective is to finish, and you have heaps of time. Even if you throw up during the marathon as I did, and think you have to drop out, don't. Just sit down for half an hour, eat real food and drink electrolyte and coke until you feel better. (http://www.endurancecorner.com/library/triathlon/strategy/first_ironman)

Week 3 Training (March 10-16) - aka: You Might Want to Unclip That Foot Before Getting Off Your Bike

Week 3 of 36. Thirty-four weeks until the race.

What this week's scheduled training looked like (Mar 10-16):

Total hours scheduled: 8:00

Total hours logged: 7:50

Total running miles this week/total: 16.43 / 37.07

Total biking miles this week/total: 42.7 / 122.15

Total swimming yards this week/total: 5000/ 15000

Weight: X (still. Seriously, no change? I'm eating too much. Will need to really start thinking about my diet soon.)

Level of IM enthusiasm: 6/10. A decidedly harder week for me, mostly because of work deadlines (but I got Book 2 in my series finished -- yay!). 8 hours of workout in a week is making me dread when I'm going to have 15-20 hours training in a week around Aug-Oct. Note to self: get my schedule clear as much as possible for those months. Duh.

Nutrition elements: Still nothing, really. I had one 1:45 bike ride that required some nutrition, but just grabbed my normal pack of shot bloks. I have these Liquid Shot EFS by 1st Endurance that I've heard really good things about, but those bottles have 400 calories. That's equivalent to two packs of shot bloks.

I generally don't do any nutrition for under an hour. After that I try to take in 200 calories an hour. So unless I break up the EFS bottle across a week's worth of workouts (a sip here and a sip there), I probably won't get to try these until close to June.

General notes: Had a couple of important newbie IM Milestones this week! First, I swam 2500 yards without stopping. That's 1.42 miles, or roughly 60% of the overall IM swim. It was in a pool, but still helped boost my confidence that I was able to get that distance completed, this early in the training season. Took 54 minutes, so if I kept that same pace at IMFL I would finish the swim in less than 90 minutes, well short of the 2:20 cut off.

Second milestone was on my bike. I do most of my rides on the trainer because there's nowhere nearby I can ride without fear for my life in all the traffic. But I had a 1:45 ride scheduled this week, so I took Shane West out to a local no-cars-allowed 16-mile bike loop.

But unfortunately, because I'm so used to being on the trainer (where my back wheel is held steady no matter what), as I was stopping I forgot that I was clipped into the pedals, then unclipped the wrong foot. Which all resulted in a pretty hilarious fall to the ground. I was going very slowly and nothing was really hurt but my pride (and a little skinned knee). Fortunately, no one else was around, or they could've heard me yell "Ohhhhh nooooooooooo!" as I fell. (Cue Ke$ha song: It's going down... I'm yelling timber!!)

I reported about my fall in one of my IMFL groups. They quickly asked the important question: was your bike okay?  I'm happy to report Shane West is just fine.

Now (for any newbies who might be reading), as I stop, you can hear me repeating my bike-stopping mantra: Butt off seat, unclip bent-knee leg. Butt off seat, unclip bent-knee leg.  If you don't do both of those, you're going to end up on the ground, looking kinda like this:

Seriously, this is exactly how I looked, but without anyone to laugh at me. And Shane West isn't pink.

Week 1 Training (Feb 24-Mar 2) - aka: Getting Up at What Time?

And away we go!

Training scheduled for this week (Monday, Feb 24-Sunday, Mar 2):

I'll update with what the actual training hours (and miles, because honestly, the plan may talk about training in hours, but in my runner's mind it's still all about miles) at the end of this week. I'll also try to post a few emotional and personal stats each week:

Total hours scheduled: 6:00

Total hours logged: 6:00

Total running miles this week/total: 10.67/10.67

Total biking miles this week/total: 27.95/ 27.95

Total swimming yards this week/total: 4900/4900

Weight: X (okay, I'm a woman in my 40s. I'm not secure enough to put my current weight on a public blog. We'll just keep it X +/- whatever amount, each week)

Level of IM enthusiasm: 8/10 The thought of doing this another seven months is pretty overwhelming, but I was ready to get started on an official training schedule!

Nutrition elements: nothing fascinating, no workout was long enough to need nutrition. I have been concentrating over the last few weeks on eliminating coffee as the very first thing I need in the morning in order to survive. Have been pretty successful in that regard.

General notes: I am a night person. Blame it on being a writer or whatever, but my "natural" awake hours are from 10am - 2am. So adjusting to waking up at 6am-ish to get my workouts in before hubby goes to work has been TOUGH. Hopefully that will get easier.  Next week I'm going to talk about using the HR monitor, because that is flippin' killing me also.

The Post Where I Can't Really Count that High

So training officially begins next week on Monday, February 24 -- 36 weeks out from the race. Everything fitness-wise I've been doing up until now (which honestly, due to life and other responsibilities, hasn't been very much -- mostly core strengthening, swim technique, and basic bike awareness) has just been extra.

This week I finally pinned down my training plan. It's a hybrid born out of the free TriFuel Supercoach triathlon program, some input from a local triathlon coaching team, and Don Fink's IronFit plan (as found in his book Be Iron Fit).

I go into my training fairly confident in my running and swimming abilities. Swimming... well, I grew up in South Florida, where they basically throw you in a pool a couple weeks after you're born, and you never get out again. I've also been a pretty avid scuba diver over the years. So even though I had to work on technique (in my swim clinic), I am not overly-worried about the swim.

The same is true about the run. I've been running for four years. I've completed two marathons (see that write-up here), and multiple Ragnar Relays (200-miles split between a team of 6 or 12 -- my most recent one here). Don't get me wrong: I'm not fast. I'm never going to be fast. But I know how to run.

But cycling. Heaven have mercy. I've never been a big fan of cycling. It's all new to me and it's all a challenge. December was Month O' the Bike for me to just get me accustomed to being on Shane West all the time.

Taking the above factors into account, I've made my IMFL Training Plan. You can see the overall mileage chart (actually really more of a duration chart) in the link near the top "My Mileage Chart".

But here's where I got a wee-bit worried:

 

The totals.  By the time November 1st rolls around in 36 weeks I will have spent over 90 hours swimming, 182 hours biking and 138 hours running. For a total of  410 hours.

(I told Capt Awesome that number and he just walked out of the room shaking his head muttering, "Just wake me when it's over...")

Btw, those numbers don't include the IM race itself, the Half Iron or other triathlon races I have scheduled this spring and summer.

This training plan is in time rather than distance (except for the swim part), which is new to me. I've always trained distance-based, but based on multiple areas of input I'm going to try this. I'll keep you posted.

But HOLY CRAP: 410 hours???? The equivalent of 10 weeks in a full time job.

Just wake ME when it's over.