Ironman Training Review: Week of August 11 - 17, 2014

Here it is, the dog days of summer. It is hot, humid, and simply brutal here on the East Coast. Training in August is about not just getting the work it, but getting enough fluids and electrolytes back in the body so as not to tip over that nasty edge of dehydration ... oh, wait, not this year.

Unlike every other year maybe ever, we have been having just unbelievably nice training weather. So nice, in fact, that early morning bike rides have made me think about what to wear other than tights and a jersey. On Friday I wore arm warmers, gloves and a vest. It was 56 degrees!!!! This is sooooo nice but has me a bit worried. Training for an Ironman crazy things go through your head like, what if it snows in September and I can't get a long ride in?

Anyway ...

After racing Steelman last week (see here), this week was the first week of focused Ironman specific training. After a few days of easier training I was back at the intervals on the bike as well as on the run. Well, really three days of easier workouts. The original plan was to ride hill repeats on Wednesday after work with Cassie. I called an audible when my legs were still not feeling happy at the end of my work day. Apparently Steelman took something out of my legs ... or I'm just getting older. Either way, it took three days for recovery.

I did get some interval sets in this week. On the run I did some hill repeats on Thursday. On Friday I did  4 x (5 min @ OLY pace + 5 min recovery), throwing in a short t-run to boot.

The weekend is normally dedicated to longer workouts and this week was no different. Friday I got a mind-numbing swim set in after work, Saturday morning I managed my longest run post-surgery, then on Sunday I capped it off with a three hour ride. In between the longer sessions I managed some shorter run and bike workouts.



Workout of the Week - Pre-Race Swim Set: This is the set I did the Friday before racing Steelman on August 10. I have a few go-to workouts that I do in the days before a race. For years I have been doing the same basic set. Last week I decided that change can be good and modified things a bit. After reading an article from Triathlete Magazine featuring swim-stud Sara McLarty's recommendations I modified what I was doing. Previously I was doing a quick warm-up followed by a bunch of 50s as 25 hard / 25 easy. Pacing in everything and the 200s made me feel like I had a better feel for where I wanted to be on race morning. Here's the set:

Warmup:
1 x 200 on 3:20 easy
1 x 200 on 3:30 pull
1 x 100 on 1:40

Main Set:
6 x 50 on 0:55 (25 hard/25 easy)
2 x 200 on 3:00 @mid-race effort
6 x 50 on 0:55 (25 hard / 25 easy)

Cooldown:
200 easy

You can find the article and it's three variations here.

Last, I heard the song "Don't You Forget About Me" by Simple Minds the other day and just can't get it out of my mind. Good tune, but I hate when that happens.

Thanks for reading.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon