One month done. Have I made enough progress?

So I’m thinking for successful Ironman training, you’ve got to be diligent and disciplined – keeping things moving. Yet, you’ve also got to be patient and not rush progress. I don’t know that I’m the best at this balance. (Well, it’s really the patience thing that I’m not good at.)

I’m hoping I’m on track – and have moments of anxiety that I’m not!!

So…let’s assess.

Month 1 progress

Month 2 goals

2xs/week swimming (like it more than I thought I would!) swim skills: turning body can bilateral head turn getting closer understand what’s needed from kick blog set up! volume up over 7 hours/week Have a support team: Coach: Elisabeth Swim instructor: Kirsten Cyclists: Amy (who’s going to go shopping with me for gear!), Betsy Running Moms group Swim/Run friend: Christine And there are Ironman finishers at the gym I can tap into for adhoc coaching Friends to crash with/visit when I’m training in Madison: The Kennedys

strength 2xs/week swim skills: arms, use less energy kick breathing, try every 5 or 7 strokes (what!!?) get cycling gear create a regular routine of stretching and foam rolling keep volume up

I type this out and it looks good. Yet, I can’t help the immediate rise of up anxious energy in me that wants to know, “Is it enough?!”

It’s week 3 and we’re looking to hold steady. Given 2.5 days of travel this week and 2 full days of facilitation, it’s going to be more challenging to get in the cycling.

Here we go…

Sunday – Half hour swim.

Went fine, slowing building confidence. I’m lifting my head up too much. My daughter, McKenzie, says the top of my head isn’t wet enough.

Monday – 20 minute run + T Power Dash class (treadmill sprints on an incline alternated with core and lunge work) + 10 min of strength focusing on arms and glutes = 1.25 hours

Monday night (Tuesday’s workout early) – Half hour strength and half hour on bike = 1 hour

Pushed it hard on the bike, was dripping sweat 5 minutes in and kept it going!

Tuesday – off

Wednesday – Ran 6 miles = about 1 hour

On the treadmill, starting at 5:30am. Woke myself up slowly with the speed set at 5.8; dropped it down to a 9:40 pace. Had cramps – which I usually don’t have! – in the last 1.5 miles. Pushed through, focusing on form. (Gotta keep doing stuff like this to get mentally tougher!)

Thursday – Cycling class + half hour swim = 1.5 hours

Friday – off

Saturday – 2 hours cycling.

Was windy and wild out there. More about that here.

TOTAL = 7. 25 hours

Breakdown by sport:

• S = 1 hour
• B = 3.5 hours
• R = 1.5 hours
• W = 1.25 hours

Week 2

I wanted to jump in the pool 3 times this week. It was a panic-induced desire based on how badly last Wednesday’s short time in the pool went. My Coach backed me off the ledge and encouraged me to take on 2 swim sessions a week and to get another lesson scheduled in the near future. Okay, done and done.

Sunday – Half hour swim. Did this with my 8-year-old daughter in the lap pool. She instructed me on my kicking. I think I’ve got that close to “right” now. The rest…??? How does anyone ever breath and swim at the same time?? = 1/2 hour

Monday – 1 hour on the bike while prepping for the next day’s training facilitation (not ideal, but doing what works!) + 3 mile run = 1.5 hours

Tuesday – Athlete Zone group strength class = 1 hour

Wednesday – Bike ride with a friend! = 2.25 hours

Thursday – Half hour swim. Breakthrough!!!: I swam a length of the pool breathing bi-laterally appropriately! This is a personal miracle. Those side arm swim drill things are paying off!! Even though they still feel majorly awkward… = 1/2 hour

Friday – off

Saturday – Cycling class + 5.5 mile run = nearly 2 hours

TOTAL = 7.5 hours

Breakdown…

• S = 1 hour
• B = 4.25 hours
• R = 1.25 hours
• W = 1 hour

It’s week 1.

I wasn’t sure until this week that I was going to register for Ironman, so I didn’t have a training plan. After registering (and catching my breath), I took to my calendar and immediately started penciling in “my routine.” Strength on Tuesday, cycling class on Wednesday, rest on Thursday, run Friday morning… “Oh my gosh! What am I doing? I don’t know how to swim!! (or at least not like a real swimmer does!) I have got to switch this up and get some pool time. And I have got to increase my volume. I can NOT let a monthly just slip on by. Then I’ll be down to 11 months with nothing to show for it!”

I panicked. So I penciled in swim time on Wednesday morning.

And I planned out 6 hours of workout time. It’s time to steadily increase. I feel like I’ve got to build my volume up to 10-12 hours a week over the winter – so I’m ready to go into those final 6 months of training.

Week 1 –

Sunday – Bucktown 5k (Got a PR! So that was fun); ran there and back = 1.5 hours (Then drove up to Madison, visited with friends, and volunteered for 4 hours at Ironman Wisconsin!)

Monday – Registered for Ironman. That’s enough for today!!

Tuesday – Strength class = 1 hour

Wednesday – Planned a half hour in the pool. It was terrible – more on that here – got out after 15 minutes. Cycling class = 1.25 hours

Thursday – off

Friday – Ran 4 miles = 40 minutes

Saturday – Cycling class + 40 minute run = 1.75 hours (yes I rounded up)

TOTAL = 6 hours

Okay, now I’ll break the hours down by sport because my Coach told me that I don’t want to just willy nilly (she used more technical terms) increase my volume. You want to ideally increase in each sport by 5 to 10% each week. Ah…yes, this makes sense. We’ll see if I have!!

S (swim) = 15 minutes (Ugh, I have GOT to change this!)

B (bike) = 2 hours

R (run) = 2.75

W (weights/some kind of group strength class) = 1 hour