My apologies for being radio silent over the last 7 weeks or so. This lack of communication should not be interpreted as a lack of progress on the fitness front--in fact, quite the contrary! I'm going to step back a bit and review the YTD, and then talk about the 7 remaining weeks till IMAZ. Sorry for the length of this, but this is intended to be a fairly comprehensive update about my training efforts and initial thoughts about IMAZ prospects. Here we go:
The YTD: Overview
To put 2019 training in context, please look at this first chart of my weekly training time (in hours/week) this year so far:
A number of observations:
1. There are several distinct phases or training blocks during this year's training. Firstly, the first 4+ months of the year were principally devoted to getting ready to climb in Bolivia in the 2nd half of May. For each of the three sports, this meant something different during this phase and I'll get into each of them below. But the main point is that the first part of the year I was focused on getting ready for a successful mountaineering expedition to Bolivia with Anders, which we did achieve, ultimately culminating in summiting Huaya Potosi (19,974 feet) together at the end of May.
2. Upon returning from Bolivia, just after Memorial Day weekend, I began my build for IM Barcelona, which was our "A" race on 10/6/19. The principal part of this early IM build phase was what we labelled, "Bike Monster". I'll get into that in more detail in the Bike section below.
3. In the middle of July I suffered a mild, Grade I shoulder separation in a bike crash and just 11 days later, Anders (my racing partner for this IM) fractured his collarbone at IM70.3 Santa Rosa. This significantly impacted both his and my training.
4. We shifted our "A" race, after Anders' crash, to IMAZ (11/24). This was 8 weeks later than IM Barcelona. This was a great call and I think we will both be ready to have a great race, but it meant a significant adjustment in training plans for both of us. For me, I've found through the years (and 14 IM races) that I can handle about 14-16 weeks of serious hard-core IM training before I begin to break-down. Now I had 8 more unplanned weeks on top of 8 I had in front of me--this on top of the 8 I had in the bank. I wasn't quite sure how to react to this but my body intervened and I experienced some over-training symptoms in August. As a result, I backed off a lot over two separate 3 and 6 day periods and rebounded to a good equilibrium.
5. Over the last 5-6 weeks I've once again entered a serious, progressive IM build--this time focused on IMAZ. The nature of this build differs by sport which I will detail below, but I seem to be building well for my big race 7 weeks from now.
6. Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn't point out that this chart clearly shows the HUGE commitment I've made to training this year. I've rarely been below 20 hours/week--that's a lot for anyone and its especially a lot for a 62 YO has-been with a bad knee! The week before last was my highest time commitment post Bolivia, which means it was my biggest Tri-specific week this year.
The Swim
The chart below shows my swim yards/week for the year to date:
Observations for the swim:
1. Pre-Bolivia, I was just "going through the motions". That is, I was in the pool enough to get my feel for the water, but wasn't focused on building IM swim fitness. I wanted to save that until post our climbing exhibition in Bolivia in May.
2. Post Bolivia, I began my (first) IM swim build, which was going great (got up to 10,000+/week) until my shoulder separation. I had to take about 9 days off from swimming as a result.
3. Ironically, Anders' injury got me going again as I went to Santa Monica for 10 days to help him and given time constraints, focused on swimming (love the SMCC pool!) and running.
4. Since then I've been in a very solid second IM swim build block. Couple of highlights:
-in late August I swam over 6,000 yards across our Lake in Minnesota at about a 72 minute IM pace. This is nearly 50% further than an IM swim and clearly demonstrated that I had fully recovered from my bike crash:
-Recently, on 10/1, I had a breakthrough (of sorts) swim TT, where I hit 1:30/100 yards (63 minute IM pace) for 2,400 yards:
5. The week before last I did 14,000+ yards and I hit 44,000+ yards for October--both high-water marks for the last three years. I feel very good about the status of my swim with 7 weeks to go!
6. Lastly, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that like both of the above two swims, the majority of my post Bolivia swims have been in the open water. I think this will serve me well come race day. Indeed, this week I'm in SH swimming and the water temp is now about 62 degrees--which is a bit tough but is about what I'll see on race morning....
The Bike
Here is what the same chart looks like for my bike:
Observations:
1. The pre-Bolivia period up through mid-May, my bike took second seat to my hiking/climbing/running as I focused on getting ready for Bolivia. Most of this riding was indoors and frequently on Zwift.
2. In Bolivia, Anders first proposed the idea of a "Bike Monster" (primary focus on the bike--big miles) for my prime training strategy. I agreed and during this period I primarily focused on biking and once I came up to speed during June was routinely averaging over 50 miles/day. I was also frequently putting in over 20 hours/week on the bike. Essentially all of this riding was out-doors and almost exclusively on my TT bike. As a result, I feel very comfortable on the TT bike and am about as "aero-adapted" as I'm likely to ever be. This is a major development for me as I haven't really been able to stay aero for the great majority of an IM since 2011--I think I can do so in Arizona come November.
3. In mid-July I had my bike crash (see in post below) and then 11 days later Anders had his far worse crash. The net result was a big pullback while I was in Santa Monica. In retrospect, this was very helpful as I was able to accelerate my swim recovery and I began pushing my run more.
4. I bounced around a bit for 6 weeks or so trying to refocus on IMAZ. Over the past month or so, I've been finding a nice medium where I can maintain my bike fitness and increaser my emphasis on the swim and run..
5. During this time I've done 8 rides of at least 100 miles. In September I was finally able to go sub 5 hours for a century ride:
6. Going forward I have 5 more hardcore weeks. I'd like to do around 280-300 miles/week. I'd like to do 2-3 more centuries. I'm also trying to introduce more intensity, albeit over shorter distances. I'd like to average 20mph (5:36 bike split) at IMAZ and I feel like I've (at least so far) given myself a good chance to do that.
The Run (and walk, hike, trek and climb)
1. You can see the huge volume leading up to and including Bolivia. The 5 smaller spikes are trips to Shenandoah and the Great Saunter. The volume for the Bolivia climbs is considerably exaggerated as I credit high altitude climbing at the rate of 4 miles/hour.
2. Upon returning from Bolivia most of what you see is running, although I mix in some walking/hiking every now and then.
3. Since my overtraining bout, I've been building my run pretty well. Last week I ran 24 miles and walked 6. I had two runs of 10 and 11 miles. This week I hope to run 12 and 13 miles for these two "long runs". I'm practicing the Galloway method and running for 8:30 and then walking 1:30 for each 10 minute cycle. I'm slow, but I can at least go sub 12--up to 11 miles anyways.
4. My run will be a challenge but if I can get off the bike with enough in the tank then I think I have a good chance of hitting my 14 min/mile goal (6:06 marathon).
Looking ahead 7 weeks
If I can achieve the above then I'd turn in a low 13 hour IM--which I'd be very satisfied with (well, thrilled to be honest) and in the XC world might very well punch my ticket to Kona.
The next 5 weeks are my focus now. If I can hit my training plans and arrive on 11/10, 2 weeks before the race healthy and ready to go then I will achieve my objective for this period. To that end, I've got a week in the middle (starting 10/18) where I take it easy for 6-7 days just to be cautious.
I'm optimistic and feel very fit. I like where I'm at and the plan forward. With any luck, we might be able to pull this one off!
