2005 Ironman USA - I'm In! (Page 2)

I was on vacation last week.  (Until today.  It sucks to be back in the real world...) While there, I read a couple of books on Ironman-ing:  Going Long by Friel and Byrne and Training Plans for Multisport Athletes by Bernhardt (Gale not Sandra).  I enjoyed the theory and the approach that Going Long talks about, but thought that I would prefer a touch more guidance as far as creating a plan than what they give, so TPfMA worked out perfectly.  There is also a great section on nutrition in TPfMA.  Just in case you were considering buying any books to facilitate your new goal. 

Also, I am going to (pretty much) follow the 26-week Ironman plan in Bernhardt's book.  My 26 weeks starts on 11-Oct!

Ellen, just to give you a preview (and since I have the book at my desk) here is the first week:

M: Strength 1:15

T: Swim 1:00/Run 0:30

W: Strength 1:15

T: Swim 1:00/Run 0:30

F: Bike 1:00

S: Swim 1:00/Run 1:00

S: Bike 1:00

Total Time week 1 - 9:30.  She says you should look at that and say, "that looks easy".  The plan builds from there to a 6 hour ride and a 3 hour run.  Largest volume is 18:15 in the week you do your 6 hour ride and 3 hour run.

Nothing to it, right Max?

There is not a day that goes by that I do not think about it.  I have a white board in my office and I wrote IMAZ - 9-APR-05 36 WEEKS.  Every Monday, I come in and change the number of weeks left. 

The IM Program:  She has all the long stuff on the weekends.  Friel and Byrne didn't like this, but I live in the real world, where the biggest chunks of time that I have are on the weekends.  Typically, there is nothing longer than 1:30 in any discipline during the week, and the 2-a-days almost always include a swim as one of the two.

Half IM:  After having completed my Olympic last Sunday, I was on vacation all last week, so I used that time as a "recharger" week.  I either ran or rode each morning, but didn't go extremely long.  I have seven weeks til the half, and I am going after it again this week.  My body feels great, so I am looking forward to three great weeks of training! 

Tom, what training plan (or have you decided) are you going to follow for IMAZ?

does it give distances or just times?  I spent 42 minutes in the pool this morning and I think an hour would just push me over the edge.  It's just so damn boring.

And what about rest days?  I see there are none in the first week.  Please tell me I'd eventually get to rest!

hopefully you will join us in the whole IM thang! Tom

well, it's on my list of things to do    I need to finish school first.  3 more semesters and that's all folks.  So I am planning on the Great Floridian in October '06.  That will give me late spring, all of summer, and early fall for training.  Perfect for me in my new life as a teacher.  Now to just finish those 3 semesters and get a job.......

oh, and I suppose I should find out what's wrong with my left knee.  The synvisc did not help (although it worked wonders for the right one) and right now I could not do the running required to train for an IM.  I'm kind of scared to find out what's wrong, but will have to go see the orthopod soon.

far flung future plans.....

I had originally thought I'd do 2 years of Olys, then 2 years of 1/2 IMs.  My son would then be out of high school, off to college and I'd train for an IM. 

Well, I was watching the live feed from Lake Placid on my computer the other day, and I was overwhelmed by the number of people that crossed the line holding the hands of their small children.  Some even had newborn babies in their arms.

So I asked my son (who is now 14, 6' tall, and about 200 pounds) if he would hold my hand and cross the finish line with me.  "You bet I would!" was his reply.  He even had a gleam in his eye    So I started thinking that maybe I should do an IM before he's out of high school?  Who knows, crazier things have happened.

I haven't done either a marathon or a century or, for that matter, a 2.4 mile swim.  In point of fact, the longest continuous swim I have done is 1500 meters in open water as part of an Olympic triathlon and 1600 meters in the pool; the longest run I have done is 13.5 mile and the longest bike I have done is 56 miles.  You could say I might be getting into more than I should handle, but my three closest triathlon friends are all signed up, so I'm going, too. 

The why is a lot easier than the how.  I am doing it because I can't think of a more impressive athletic accomplishment for the non-professional athlete than an Ironman Triathlon.  I enjoy the training and I enjoy being fit and able to do things that I once thought were impossible.  And I want to be a part of the Ironman experience.  How is what I hope to figure out along the way.

it's so much easier to train when the kids are older.  My oldes is moving out next month and I may finally be able to get a decent night's rest, instead of waiting up for her all the time.

What is your wife going to teach?  I am going to do elementary grades.  I also want to move to NH and be a ski instructor on the weekends.  All that after Matt graduates from high school, he does not want to move to NH.  Go figure.

hmmm....I've done several marathons, many 50+ rides, and regularly swim over a mile.  BUT NEVER IN THE SAME FREAKIN' DAY!!!

My friend who beats the pants of me in sprints was 16:21:-- for LP.  I just don't know if I want to spend 17 hours doing something that may never be fun again after that kind of experience.  I need to speak with her about it and then think about it some more.

Of course the idea of just being able to say I did it by far outweighs all the negatives.

The plan calls for a 6 hour ride, which should be roughly the race distance, if not a little more - depending on my proficiency on the bike by then.  3 hour run, although Friel and Byrne do not recommend exceeding 2.5 hours, which should be 20+ miles for me.  So I might just cap it at 20 miles.  And on the swim I am going to do at least a couple 4000 meter swims (2.4 miles = 3862 meters) in the pool and maybe try to find somewhere to do a long open water swim.

Bernhardt's and Friel/Byrne's book are very congruent.  (She often refers to Triathlete Training Bible.)  The key difference is that she builds the plan for you day by day, where you are left to do that yourself by Friel/Byrne.