Ironman Training Log

As I boarded the plane to Austin, TX, I couldn’t help but worry that missing two days of training was going to throw off my plan.

But, it was for a close friend’s wedding, so there was no way I was going to miss it.

After a weekend of eating whatever I wanted, staying up late, and traveling across time zones, do you know what happened?

Absolutely nothing.

I hit the pool the following Monday and everything was fine. Maybe even better because I had given my body a break from the training.

There are a few things that made this possible.

Number one, and most importantly, I quit drinking two years ago. The old me would have had way too much to drink. The old me needed that liquid courage to chop up the dance floor.

Older, wiser me, realizes I could never chop up the dance floor and I was equally bad at dancing drinking or not.

The second thing that allowed me to jump back into my training was the buffer day. After we got home, I took one more day to readjust to the time zone and recuperate.

Moral of the story? A few days to celebrate a wedding aren’t going to completely derail your training. You just have to be smart enough not to over do it during a break.

Strength

I did two strength workouts this week. These works look very similar to the previous week. The only difference was I added a rep to the last set.

This strategy has worked well for me in building my strength. Once I hit five reps on the big lifts (presses, squats, deadlifts, etc.) I drop the rep scheme back down and increase the weight.

Then, I rinse and repeat.

At this stage in my Ironman journey, this high intensity/low volume approach has proved effective. I’m slowly increase strength without accumulating too much fatigue/soreness.

If you missed Week 1 you can read it here.

Loved Week 1, but missed Week 2? Check it out here.

Strength 1 (Foundational Strength)

• Warm Up
• Back Squat: 2×4, 1×5
• Bent Over Row: 2×4, 1×5
• Sled Push/Pull: 2 min on/3 min off

Strength 2 (Foundational Strength)

• Warm Up
• Bench Press: 2×4, 1×5
• Shoulder Press: 2×4, 1×5
• Deadlift: 2×4, 1×5
• Farmers Carry: 2×2 min on/3min off

Endurance

Instead of doing three workouts per activity, I did two of each. The decrease in volume worked as a deload week for my endurance work. This worked out well with the wedding and gave me a chance to recover from the first two weeks of increasing intensity.

Swim

Swimming is really difficult to learn as an adult. Trying to remember all the things that need to happen to move through the water leave a lot of room for overthinking. As a kid, I picked up swimming fast. Growing up in San Diego, I was always in the water. But as an adult, I am over complicating it every step of the way.

The good thing about learning something challenging as an adult, however, is understanding what needs to go into it. And that is practice, hard work, a willingness to learn from others, and a growth mindset.

As long as I keep showing up with an open mind, I will make progress.

Bike

It rained all week, so no outdoor rides for me. I wouldn’t mind the rain so much, except that my tires are old and worn so slipping and falling is a risk. After the holidays, I’ll look into new tires. Until then, the trainer and spin bike will have to do.

If I’m being honest, these are the workouts I look forward too the least. When I bike outside, I feel like a kid – exploring new places, seeing varied scenery, feeling the wind on my face. Indoor biking has none of that.

If I’m being positive, the mind numbing tediousness of spending two hours on the trainer is fortifying my mind against boredom. I do believe it is making me mentally stronger forcing myself to stay present in the workout.

Run

The runs of this training program have been some of my favorite. I am running with a run club three days a week. There are about four or five other runners who are faster than me. They aren’t so much faster that I can’t keep up. They are just fast enough that I have to work really hard to maintain their pace.

This has forced me to tap into my competitive side. A side I really haven’t seen as an adult who mainly trains alone. And I’m loving it. I am improving at a much faster rate than I ever have in the past.

Mental

I slipped this week on my mental practice. I didn’t record any entries in my mindset training log. I recognize I didn’t put in the work on this aspect of my training and that I will have to refocus in the coming week to get back on track.

Endurance Workouts

Swim 1

1. Warm-up + Drills: 15 min
2. Active: 35 min
3. Recovery: 5 min

Swim 2

1. Warm-up + Drills: 15 min
2. Active: 40 min
3. Recovery: 5 min

Cycle 1

1. Warm-up: 5 min @ 110 bpm
2. Active: 50 min @ 137 bpm
3. Cool Down: 5 min @ 110 bpm

Cycle 2

1. Warm-up: 10 min @ 110 bpm
2. Active: 10 min @ 124 bpm
3. Active: Repeat 4 times
   1. 3 min @ 110 bpm
   2. 6 min @ 155 bpm
4. Active: 30 min @ 124 bpm
5. Cool Down: 5 min @ 110 bpm

Run 1

1. Warm up: 10 min @ 110 bpm
2. Active: 40 min @ 130-145 bpm
3. Cool Down: 10 min @ 110 bpm

Run 2

1. Warm up: 10 min @ 110 bpm
2. Active: 50 min @ 130-145 bpm
3. Cool Down: 10 min @ 110 bpm

Ironman Training Log Week 3 Conclusion

It can be mentally challenging to take time off, even if its only a few days. The important thing is to rest, recover, and come back swinging the following week.

Any time I force myself to take a little break, I feel better when I come back. I have to remind myself, as do a lot of us hard chargers, that growth happens when you’re not training. You have to give your body a chance to produce adaptions from the work.

Three weeks down, lots more to go. Let’s finish out the year strong!

Until next time!

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