I am basically treating each weekend as a mini-camp, balancing work, family, and home commitments all around completing these difficult sessions to be fit as possible leading to race day. Since Muncie, I raced one time at the PT Plus Louisville Landsharks Triathlon, placing 3rd in my age group. I had a crazy idea to race the day after a 5 hour plus day in the saddle. My coach put in several hard pool sessions that week and it really helped me deliver my best Olympic Distance swim yet of 24:19 (timing mat was near transition, so my swim was actually 23:45) and I exited no more than a minute back of the eventual winner...
Thank goodness my swim was fast because my bike was slow- 1:16 and change. Of course, tired legs will do that to you. The crazy thing is that I biked this same course last year on fresh legs with a 1:16, so I am just that much fitter than last year, about 10lbs lighter, and able to push more watts on the bike.
Hammering on the run
Nearing the halfway point on the run
Finish 2:29 3rd AG, 11th OA
7th fastest swim of 67
Fast forward to now and I am pushing each workout to nail down specific numbers, recover well, and eat right. Rest and recovery are vital to being able to go into the hard sessions as fresh as can be so the body and mind can adapt. I have also become somewhat of a date junkie studying my CTL (Chronic Training Load) which is a measure of fitness ATL (how much fatigue you are carrying at the moment) and TSB (training stress balance) which is also a measure of form.
The idea is to raise your CTL over the course of a 5-8 month build, while recovering from the sessions, and then taper down to race day, reducing the ATL or fatigue with shorter but maybe harder sessions leading into race week. Typical Kona qualifiers will have 140 plus CTL's building this number over the course of 2-3 years doing 20 plus hours of training in their peak weeks leading into an Ironman. My heaviest weeks have been right at 20 hours, but averaging 16-18 hours per week, with recovery weeks built in. I firmly believe that my coach is spot on with the design of my plan, but also it is my consistency in completing daily workouts which benefit me the most.
The other vital component in my training is the use of a power meter. I use a SRAM Quarq ELSA slapped on a SRAM Red Aero TT ring in 53-39 with an 11-28 cassette. I really like this set up compared to the 50-34 setup I had in the past. In using the power meter, I am able to dial in my efforts on the bike and maintain certain numbers to leave my legs fresh for runs. Combined with heart rate, and I have two data points that will tell me how well I am pacing the bike. The race doesn't start until mile 80 of the bike.We only have so many matches over the course of 112 miles and especially like a course such as Louisville, you have to be careful. Its always rolling, you are often out of the saddle, and its never flat during the looped portions of the course.
Training itself has been great. I had to travel to Napa, California for work-which was a really cool experience. I was able to knock out a few runs in the vineyards and taste a lot of incredible wines!
Far Niente Vineyards by Nickel & Nickel
A fun run through Andretti Winery
I have one more race in the build to Ironman Louisville in St. Louis, Mo. on September 12. I am racing the Tri-Club Nationals in the quarter max distance- which is a .6 mile swim, 27 mile bike, and 6.6 mile run. Sort of Olympic distance, hoping for a solid result and to carry the fitness into Ironman Louisville. Also, the next few weeks will be used to shed the last few pounds to get down to race weight and to dial in my nutrition plan for the race.
Its hard not to think about scenarios and finish times and while I have an idea, I am mainly focused on being consistent in my training, recovering well, and only then will I have an idea. My coach Kim and I will develop a race plan probably two-three weeks out from race day to get me to the finish line- leaving everything out there.
Thanks to my partners this season
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