the last post I had made was after ironman st. croix 70.3. if i recall correctly, it was a tough race. but i wouldn't change it for a thing. in typical fashion i signed up for an early season race (usually patriot half iron) but team awesome struck and i ended up on a carribean island. no complaints here. since then i have taken some time to relax, repair my ego and get back to work (or start working).
i'm 10 weeks into a 17 week training plan for ironman maryland (race week is week 17) and i'm doing pretty good. i've had 2 weeks over 20 hours and my shortest week was week 2 at 14.18 hours where i took 2 days off to go climbing. i still have 6 weeks to go but i've learned a lot about myself and what i am capable of if i just dedicate myself to it.
in the past, i kept my ironman training plans to just 12 weeks. i told myself that it was the sweet spot. anything over and i wouldn't be able to keep my attention span. i would also lace the training plan with races, just to keep me motivated. the reality is that i didn't have the right goals, nor the right mindset. this time around my goal was to race sub 10. it would involve a PR of the swim, bike and run. it's no small challenge. in fact, i'm likely not going to succeed, but if the stars align, it's possible.
what i've found over this training plan was that the time is always there and that i just have to better allocate it. instead of not wanting to wake up early for a bike ride because starbucks is not open, i buy my coffee the night prior and put it in the fridge (yes, i like my coffee cold). instead of saying i can't wake up early, i go to bed earlier (did my first 4am alarm for a workout, wtf right?). instead of not being able to cook every night (like i prefer) d/t inability to food shop, i signed up for blue apron once a month during my heavy volume weeks so that i can feel like i'm eating healthy as well as get the enjoyment of cooking at home without the added stress of purchasing and using every single item i buy. to top it all off, i utilized laundry service for the first time in my this past weekend. hot damn, it's amazing. i hope i don't get addicted to it. but it allowed me to go out for a friends birthday, cook lunch for my mom on saturday and utilize that time to get in another swim workout as well as catch up on a few desperately needed zzz's...
i'm truly impressed by all my teammates/friends who are parents and still find the time to train 15-20 hours a week.
a friend asked me a bit about cycling power, watts, aerodynamics etc. i'll answer some of these questions my next blog post!
