So far the training has been going well. I've slowly built up my weekly work, getting up to 9 hours last week. This week I'm feeling a little run down so I don't know how much I'll do. The 12-week schedule I have says this is supposed to be a recovery week, so I might take it as that, but I also don't want to lose the momentum I've been gaining. I'll probably try to maintain the same hours, but with less intensity. So far, here's what I've done:
week two
swim: 50 minutes (2500m)
bike: 4.5 hours
run: 1.5 hours(15.5km)
strength training: 1 hour
week three
swim: 60 minutes (3000m)
bike: 4.25 hours
run: 2 hours (22.5km)
strength training: 2 hours
Monday, January 23, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Ironman Mont Tremblant Goal Times
As of right now, and hopefully they will change, these are my goal times for Ironman Mont Tremblant:
Swim - 1:20
T1 - 0:10
Bike - 5:50
T2 - 0:10
Run - 4:30
Total - 12:00
My transition times are long, and probably won't be like that in the race (especially T1), but I want to give myself time to calm my heart rate, and get myself ready for the race. I don't know what I'm going to wear yet (wholesale change, or the same outfit all day), and that will affect my transition times.
I figure as training continues, I'll be faster in each discipline...especially the bike. At Centurion Canada I rode a 5:50 race for 170km. Although Ironman is longer, I don't think the hills are going to be as difficult. Plus, I will actually be training for that distance, unlike Collingwood where I just showed up and rode without ever training for that distance.
Swim - 1:20
T1 - 0:10
Bike - 5:50
T2 - 0:10
Run - 4:30
Total - 12:00
My transition times are long, and probably won't be like that in the race (especially T1), but I want to give myself time to calm my heart rate, and get myself ready for the race. I don't know what I'm going to wear yet (wholesale change, or the same outfit all day), and that will affect my transition times.
I figure as training continues, I'll be faster in each discipline...especially the bike. At Centurion Canada I rode a 5:50 race for 170km. Although Ironman is longer, I don't think the hills are going to be as difficult. Plus, I will actually be training for that distance, unlike Collingwood where I just showed up and rode without ever training for that distance.
Motivate Me!
you can tell how fast I'm going by the spray of water! Almost ran sub 20:00 for 5km in this pic. Can I do that this year? Hope so! By the end of August I was able to do 4:05/km pace in speed work, and 3:50/km quality. That helped lead me to 2 personal records in two local (and tough) half marathons, and potentially to a sub 3:25 in the Goodlife Toronto Marathon. Looking for sub 4:30 at Tremblant for the run.
week one is done!
There are 32 weeks left until Ironman Mont Tremblant, and the building has started. Last week I did 6 light workouts to get my body used to training again.
Monday: 11.1km run in a snowsquall at 40km/h+ wind gusts
Tuesday: 1000m swim in a very crowded pool
Wednesday: weights
Thursday: 1000m pull buoy swim, 90min bike ride (finished Kona '96, and did CTS climbing)
Friday: rest
Saturday: Mind to Muscle session
Sunday: 13.3km run
so far, so good! I've got 8.5hrs planned this week. Typically when I do close to 9hrs, I have trouble keeping the momentum until next week, but hopefully I'll be able to keep it up! Going to have to...I'm going to be an Ironman!
Monday: 11.1km run in a snowsquall at 40km/h+ wind gusts
Tuesday: 1000m swim in a very crowded pool
Wednesday: weights
Thursday: 1000m pull buoy swim, 90min bike ride (finished Kona '96, and did CTS climbing)
Friday: rest
Saturday: Mind to Muscle session
Sunday: 13.3km run
so far, so good! I've got 8.5hrs planned this week. Typically when I do close to 9hrs, I have trouble keeping the momentum until next week, but hopefully I'll be able to keep it up! Going to have to...I'm going to be an Ironman!
Thursday, December 1, 2011
My Racing Bucket List
Everyone has goals, in fact, this blog was started on a goal that will (hopefully) be achieved this summer in Mont Tremblant. So here is my bucket list moving forward:
Ironman Mont Tremblant - haven't done it yet, but it is the soonest, so it seems appropriate to put it first
Qualify for Boston by the time I'm 40
Race Challenge Roth - its been voted one of the best races in the world, so seems like it'll be a fun time
Race REV3 - they seem like a fun event, and I like fun. Costa Rica? Wish I could get the time off of work.
Destination Race - maybe Brazil? Brazil seems like a good time. Fun country, and I do like fun
Qualify for Duathlon Canadian and/or World Championships - haven't talked about duathlons much, but that's where my competitive future will lead me. My swimming improvement is going to be marginal, and although I can ride and run myself into contention, why not stay on land and become a race favorite from the start instead of playing catch up?
Cross the finish line of an Ironman with Tanya - even if SHE has to wait for me at the last aid station (wink) it'll be cool to cross with the love of my life
Have fun in every race I enter - worst time racing was Orillia this year where I was angry the whole time. That sucked. I do this sport cuz it's fun and positive.
Obviously that's not the final list of my athletic life. But, it's a cool, and reasonably relevant, start.
Ironman Mont Tremblant - haven't done it yet, but it is the soonest, so it seems appropriate to put it first
Qualify for Boston by the time I'm 40
Race Challenge Roth - its been voted one of the best races in the world, so seems like it'll be a fun time
Race REV3 - they seem like a fun event, and I like fun. Costa Rica? Wish I could get the time off of work.
Destination Race - maybe Brazil? Brazil seems like a good time. Fun country, and I do like fun
Qualify for Duathlon Canadian and/or World Championships - haven't talked about duathlons much, but that's where my competitive future will lead me. My swimming improvement is going to be marginal, and although I can ride and run myself into contention, why not stay on land and become a race favorite from the start instead of playing catch up?
Cross the finish line of an Ironman with Tanya - even if SHE has to wait for me at the last aid station (wink) it'll be cool to cross with the love of my life
Have fun in every race I enter - worst time racing was Orillia this year where I was angry the whole time. That sucked. I do this sport cuz it's fun and positive.
Obviously that's not the final list of my athletic life. But, it's a cool, and reasonably relevant, start.
Friday, November 25, 2011
today's athlete is bigger, stronger, faster...but is he/she better?
I've always wondered about how today's athletes compare to yester-years. Sidney Crosby versus Wayne Gretzky, Peyton Manning versus Johnny Unitas, Craig Alexander versus Mark Allen/Dave Scott, the comparisons are endless. If you were to strip down both athletes while in their prime, today's athlete would be "ripped". If you had them do simple athletic tests, today's athlete would probably win. But if you were to put today's athlete in the situations that past athletes competed in, I feel that today's athlete would fail. From equipment, to nutrition, to "off-season", today's athlete is at such an immense advantage...but are they performing any better?
Today's athletes receive amazing feedback from video training, scientific testing, the latest/greatest/lightest equipment, training facilities, and proper nutrition. Imagine Gretzky with a composite stick, or the latest/lightest skates.Imagine Mark Allen on the Shiv with specialized on course nutrition fine tuned to his body's performance?
I've been thinking about all these factors for awhile, especially when I hear about an athlete today being questioned as "the best ever". Today's athletes have little to no worries. A professional athlete plays their last game, then goes to the gym to begin prepping for next season. Past athletes finished their last game, then had to go and find a job, or return to take care of their families.
Then, I watched Kona 1991 the other day while on the bike. I admittedly chuckled at the clothing, the equipment, basically their overall 'look'. But then I thought about how Craig Alexander just set the course record this year, and how the separation of times from the last 10 years to 20 years ago is not that different. If today's athlete is bigger, stronger, faster, with more specific engineering and focus for their race day, should they not be incredibly faster?
There's an ingredient missing, and I don't know what it is. I would never question an elite athlete's heart, unless they clearly had given up (see: Albert Haynesworth), but to proclaim any athlete today as "the best ever" is unacceptable, as today's athletic equipment/testing/coaching/nutrition is a rather large factor in why they are good. Past athletes didn't have any of those options...and that's what made them great.
Today's athletes receive amazing feedback from video training, scientific testing, the latest/greatest/lightest equipment, training facilities, and proper nutrition. Imagine Gretzky with a composite stick, or the latest/lightest skates.Imagine Mark Allen on the Shiv with specialized on course nutrition fine tuned to his body's performance?
I've been thinking about all these factors for awhile, especially when I hear about an athlete today being questioned as "the best ever". Today's athletes have little to no worries. A professional athlete plays their last game, then goes to the gym to begin prepping for next season. Past athletes finished their last game, then had to go and find a job, or return to take care of their families.
Then, I watched Kona 1991 the other day while on the bike. I admittedly chuckled at the clothing, the equipment, basically their overall 'look'. But then I thought about how Craig Alexander just set the course record this year, and how the separation of times from the last 10 years to 20 years ago is not that different. If today's athlete is bigger, stronger, faster, with more specific engineering and focus for their race day, should they not be incredibly faster?
There's an ingredient missing, and I don't know what it is. I would never question an elite athlete's heart, unless they clearly had given up (see: Albert Haynesworth), but to proclaim any athlete today as "the best ever" is unacceptable, as today's athletic equipment/testing/coaching/nutrition is a rather large factor in why they are good. Past athletes didn't have any of those options...and that's what made them great.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
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