Hello all and welcome back to my blog.
Today I will tell you a little bit about my Ironman Augusta 70.3 training. Last Saturday, June 30th, marked the end of the first month of training.
The first month has being a period of broken distance and time speed records. Let's break it down into parts:
The 18-week training schedule taken from the book Beginner Triathlete and it has been my guide along this journey. The book is a little old but very useful. So far, from what I can tell, the program is preparing me to endure the swim and finish it with tons of energy; and to excel on the bike and run. This training seems to follow the saying "you can't win a triathlon in the swim, but you can sure lose it in the swim".
As far as nutrition goes, I have figured out several things about by body, what to eat, how it feels, and what to avoid. Breakfast is down to a science: 1 serving of Instant Quaker Oatmeal (with cream) and 1 full scoop of CytoCarb. This concoction can be consumed up to 30 minutes before exercise to avoid an upset stomach. For hydration, I used Accelerade during the first two weeks and Ironman Perform for the last two weeks. Ironman Perform is my preference because it feels better in my body, has less sugar, and faster absorption. The classic PowerBar has been the only solid food I have been eating during bike rides with no side effects. As for gels, I have tried them ALL. Most of them have the same energy rush, but with a strong after taste that requires a lot of precious water to wash down. The only gel that stood out was the Honey Stinger Gold; it just felt right within me, the taste of honey is more bearable (and it washes down faster) than, let's say, vanilla (or berries). So, I started thinking this gel is mostly honey and we have honey at home; can I make it myself? And YES, yes I can. Last Friday I followed the recipe provided in Active.com and was able to test it out on a 43 mile ride on Saturday morning. All I can say is that the results were fascinating. I will provide the recipe for all to test it:
· 7 and 1/3 tablespoons of honey
· 3/4 teaspoons of blackstrap molasses
· 1/10 teaspoons (just shy of 1/8 tsp) of table salt
Be sure to mix everything together well. It should make enough to fill a five-serving flask. Make you own energy gel (Active.com). The article also provides a recipe for a gel that follows the 4:1 (Carb:Protein) ratio.
Swimming
My weekly swimming distance has tripled from last year. Currently I am swimming 4000 meters weekly and increasing as the time passes. For now my focus is only endurance. Drills//quality/speed will be the focus on the later weeks of the training program. The swimming is mostly done at the pool in Shenandoah Park. It is a very clean pool, outdoors, and has low chlorine levels. I try to squeeze in an open water swim once a week in addition to what is stated in the training program. Sometimes, during open water swims, you can see some cool stuff in the water; 2 weeks ago I spotted a baby manatee no more than 3 feet underneath me.
Biking
Again, this is an area that keeps pushing my limits of endurance. I have never biked so far and so fast. The way my personal bests are measured on the bike is through 10-mile marks. The goal at the beginning of the training was to make each 10 miles in 30 minutes. Last weekend I completed 44.73 miles with each 10 mile mark consistently less than 29 minutes each, while also improving my personal best average speed. The bike is my strongest discipline of all three, but it still needs a little bit of work. My goal is to get to the 56 miles in 2hours and 30mins and still have legs for the half marathon run. Saturday bike rides, the longest of the week, are done alongside my Dad which is always great.
Running
Running is the most painful of all three. At the beginning of training, I was still dealing with some of the Iliotibial Band Syndrome (IBS). Just last week I was able to complete a run with no pain during or after, making me believe I am in the clear for IBS. If anyone has this condition, please look at this video that I used to help me recover. As far as the run goes, I am nowhere near ready. After completing the ING Miami Half Marathon, I stopped running completely in order to recover from the shin splints and the IBS; this ruined my conditioning for running and I am just getting back up to speed and endurance to my previous running standards. To get my speed up quicker I am trying to fit in a running session with my friend Alejandro (he is training for the Chicago Marathon).
Hopefully I have not bored you to death and you will be back for part two at the beginning of August. Stay tuned for my future posts. Follow me on twitter and check out my indiegogo pledge page.
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