I'm 14 weeks away from Raleigh 70.3 and 31 weeks away from Beach2Battleship race week! To be exact, as I'm writing this, there are 239 days, 17 hours, 39 minutes and 11 seconds to the start of B2B! I'm on the edge of my first few weeks of prep races. Last week I spent over 12 hours training - including foam rolling, yoga, TRX and pilates (on top of the swimming, biking and running)!
My running buddies joke and muse and try to figure out on nearly every run what has broken in our brain to make us want to do this. Right now, I feel like I'm only half crazy - my focus is on the Raleigh 70.3 (get it? half iron= half crazy) on June 2. I can't imagine what's in store in July, August and September when the bulk of my training for 140.6 miles ramps up.
Here is what we must look like to normal people like you. [Warning: This contains adult-content.]
Ask any iron athlete and they'll do one of two things: deny they're as extreme as the guy above or they'll try to one-up him. Mostly, I deny the fact that I spend so much time training, thinking about training, racing, thinking about racing, eating to train, or thinking about eating. But, after I wrote the schedule below, I faced up to some crazy. For starters: my alarm is set for 4:40am. I usually hit the snooze once and I'm up and dressed and in the kitchen and letting the dog out by 4:58. In short, here's what a typical week of workouts looks like right now:
Monday
YDubTri Cycle
Spin Class
Spin Class
Yoga or Pilates
Tuesday
Swim
Spin Class
Wednesday
Run: Speed
Spin Class
Yoga
Thursday
Swim
Bike
Friday
Run: Tempo/Social
Saturday
Long Bike
Transition Run
Sunday
Run Long
Spin Class
For those of you who want details:
Monday: CrossTrain
Tuesday: Swim + CrossTrain
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I swim with the YDubTriClub. We are a sprint triathlon-focused club, so we work on short-distance speed and techniques. We tackle 2500 - 3500 yards every Tuesday and Thursday. My crosstrain event is another coached spinning class and I'm usually on the bike - using it as a recovery spin with a high cadence
Wednesday: Run (Speed) + Crosstrain
I usually do a track workout that is three-to-five miles. I work on form and high cadence and my repetitions are short intervals. I teach another Spin class at the fit center and then take a basic yoga class.
Thursday: Swim + Bike
Another 5:30am swim with the tri club. This morning, we did 3000 yards. I add a optional trainer ride in the afternoon.
Friday: Run (EZ, Hills or Tempo)
Fridays are my favorite. I usually do an easy social run with friends and mix in hills or tempo runs every few weeks. This week we watched the fog roll with the Cape Fear River and the sun rise over the buildings of downtown Wilmington as we crested hill after hill - and climbed the parking deck at PPD. Tempo runs are mid-distance speed workouts. You work on race pace for miles at a time and sandwich it in between easier efforts.
Saturday: Bike
Right now, I'm biking indoors. Last weekend, I stared down a two hour on my trainer. For the past few weeks, three or four other riders have set up in the classroom of a teacher at a local school. She has a projection screen and we've watched Ocean's 11, Bridesmaids, The Long Run and last Saturday, I annoyed everyone by quoting every line in So I Married an Axe Murderer.
Sunday: Run (Long) + CrossTrain
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| Harkin's watch isn't bee-beeping at him. |
DAY OFF ---- Once a week I take a day off. I try to take it easy. No spin, maybe yoga, maybe a massage. This week, I tried to sleep in. I woke at 5:15 instead of 4:50. I ate, did some chores and took a nap from 6:30 - 7:30a. By then, I was wide awake and ready for coffee - and something else to eat. I like working out - I like seeing my friends. I have also learned that I like to feel rested and take some time off. More on that to come!