Winter: The dark months included a 16-week training block during which I focused almost all effort on cycling and running speed and power. This was a low volume, high intensity period. I averaged about seven hours of training each week. The 16-weeks were interrupted for two weeks by a nasty lower GI bug, so I didn’t come out of the winter as strong as I had hoped.
Transition: I dedicated the month of April to introducing some training volume to my cycling and running. I also began working out twice each week in the pool, focusing almost entirely on swimming form. My average training volume was 11-hours per week during this period.
Build Period: On April 30 I kicked off what most would consider the real Ironman training cycle, the gradual build-up of volume with a focus on break-through workouts of increasing difficulty. This period lasted nine weeks and my average training volume was slightly more than 13-hours per week.
After hearing of 20- and 30-hour weeks from other Ironman athletes, some are surprised at the relatively low training volume of my build period. While it’s pretty cool to tell tales of 20+ hour training weeks, my experience is that they leave me too tired to function as a husband, father, and employee. My primary goal is to enjoy the challenge of the endurance multisport lifestyle, not to qualify for the World Championships in Kona. So my training focus is on maintaining consistency, showing up ready to crush my key workouts, and then allowing myself to recover properly. That said I had very few "base miles" style workouts. Almost every session had some form of speed interval thrown in there. I think it all worked out pretty well this time around.
During the build period my average weekly volume broke down into 6,500 meters of swimming, 130 miles in the saddle and 23 miles of running. My peak swimming week was slightly more than 10 kilometers, my peak cycling week was 205 miles, and my peak running week was 39 miles. That contrasts pretty sharply with my previous training, which was cycling dominant. For instance I rode 380 miles during a 26-hour training week in 2007, but my peak running week didn’t quite make it to 30-miles. More balance – perspective – sanity this year!
After the nine week build I entered a two-week peaking cycle followed by my pending one-week taper. The peak cycle had me gradually reducing volume while maintaining intensity. The goals of the two-week peak are to gradually eliminate residual fatigue and focus on race-specific training. Feeling sharp after the peak period, I think the real goal of the taper is to rest and avoid gaining weight. My longest workout between now and race day will be about 45-minutes.
OK, that was a good exercise and has me feeling pretty confident. Now to avoid gaining weight…
