Ironman Florida training is here! After weeks of training to train, I’ve officially begun my Ironman journey. I’m feeling great and am stoked about getting going. I’ve worked hard to select a training plan that makes sense to me. Training plans are like relationships. You pick one that has similar philosophies, you stay faithful by doing what it says, and hopefully the result is that you are better for it. My schedule is 30 weeks long and I like so many things about it. It includes a long base training period, utilizes zone training, and the workouts are straight forward.
So what does the schedule say? The first couple weeks, the workouts are fairly short with the focus primarily on getting used to double workouts and honing technique. By weeks three and four, though, the workouts are significant in time and effort. Monday is always a day off to recover from long weekend sessions, but since it was my first week I hit the gym. Today, Tuesday, was a run and swim day which is my favorite combination of workouts. I chatted with someone in the next lane at the pool about what races we had planned. For the first time I could legitimately say that I was training for Ironman Florida. He was training for shorter races, so he got to climb out of the pool after 30 minutes whereas I was there for an hour. I’ve been doing longer swim workouts and have gotten used to being in the water for an hour without getting antsy so it was good.
It’s cold again here so I’ll be staying on the bike trainer for the rest of the week. The trainer works well for the types of workouts I’m doing now, so I’m fine with that. I have my first transition workout tomorrow with a short run after the bike workout. I like that the workouts start out short so they seem fun and not intimidating. Once they get more familiar then they get longer.
If having a training plan is like being in a relationship, then I’m undoubtedly in the honeymoon phase. I love my plan and have high hopes that we will have a great 30 weeks together. The first little test will be Liberty Olympic Distance Triathlon on June 7th. It’s just 9 weeks into training so I’ll be using it as a supported training day. Even so, I’m looking forward to having an event early in the season. In the meantime, I’ll do what the schedule says and hope that it loves me back.
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1 hour in the water?! You’ll be in shape to survive if a cruise ship you are on ever goes down. Me? I’m going down with any ship that sinks under me…
I am sure you are following a very good plan. You have plenty of time to prepare the IM at the best. Enjoy the “honeymoon phase” and be ready for the … 2nd phase.
All the best.
Good luck to you with your training, Beth! I can’t imagine what it takes to prepare for an IM race, but I know you are going to rock it!
All the best!
Happy training! It will be interesting to see when you go from the honeymoon phase to the “that bastard always leaves the toilet seat up and never does the dishes phase.”
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