If you've been following along for a few weeks, you know that I've been ramping up my swim and bike training as part of my triathlon season, specifically my ironman training. So how am I training for Hospital Hill at the same time? Well, let's find out.
A few years ago I did my first half ironman race. I followed my half ironman plan almost to a "T" from June to the end of August. The only days I skipped were for races that I had scheduled. My training plan was similar to my ironman plan in the fact that it is heart rate based. As you know I'm a huge fan of heart rate based training. As I continued my training of swim and bike, I saw some improvements in my running. That August I ran in the Head For The Cure 5k and amazed myself with a 20:02 5k time. I was stunned with the time but a little mad at myself for not click off those extra 3 seconds to go sub-20.
With that I had understood why heart rate based training and cross training is so great. You get to see benefits in one sport without having to devote 100% of your time on that sport.
Basically what this comes down to is I'm concentrating my training on my ironman training plan but I will likely forgo the heart rate based training for some hill workouts but trying to stick to the timeframes.
The Current Plan
Here is a breakdown of my training week:
Monday: Strength Training
This is actually the rest day but I do strength training two days a week, so Monday is one of those days. Until I really start wearing down for want of a full rest day, I'm going to keep this scheduled on Mondays.
Tuesday AM: Swim
Swim workouts will range from 2,500 yards to 3,500 yards throughout the 30 weeks. These aren't just straight swims but have drills/intervals planned.
Tuesday PM: Run
These are Zone 2 (Aerobic) workouts but will eventually turn into fartlek-style runs with some Z4 (anaerobic) runs near the end.
Wednesday AM: Bike/Run Brick
These are brick workouts where I start out on my bike and then immediately transition into a run. I plan to do these before work but in the heaviest volume weeks this is a 1.5 hour workout. I've gotten up at 3:00am to get a 30 mile bike ride in before work, so this is still manageable!
Wednesday PM: Getting rid of the girly man.... Strength Training!
Thursday AM: Swim
Back to the pool.
Thursday PM: Bike
Not a straight cycle session. I will probably do these on the trainer because they usually require some level of consistent cycling. Currently I'm doing 100+ RPM Spins but they will soon transition to intervals.
Friday: Run
Eventually this will also include a swim but leading up to Hospital Hill, this will just be a run.
Saturday: Long Bike
Z2 long bike ride. Right now these are under two hours but during the peak of this training plan this will be a 6 hour training ride!! THEN FOLLOWED BY A 1 HOUR RUN! ACK.
Sunday: Long Run
Adjustments for Hospital Hill
I'm still debating on this but I will likely be adjusting my run workouts. I will probably leave my Friday run as a straight aerobic workout but my Tuesday run will probably become technical in nature. It will either be the hill work or intervals. I also like to get runs in at race pace and I've already been doing that with my Wednesday run that follows the bike session.
Thanks for reading!
Feel free to stop by and ask questions in the comments or hop over to Twitter to chat me there! You can find me as @ScottyTris.
Where does the extra scoop of ice cream fit in?
ReplyDeleteNo one is surprised that you're online writing about Ironman. But we're all surprised you're not talking about the third installment of the Marvel movie franchise.
ReplyDelete@Ryan -- During six hour training rides... it'll be in my bento box
ReplyDelete@Shane -- Since they can't spell "Ironman" correctly, I chose to ignore it.