- Anne
Ironman St. George 70.3 Training Update - Overcoming a Bad Week of Training & Wetsuit Purchase
You can listen to this post on your favorite podcast player by clicking the link below:
Thank you for stopping by to check in on my training for Ironman St. George 70.3. Race day is less than 11 weeks away and I have mixed feelings about my progress in training so far. In some ways I feel like I have come so far; I have bought a bike, learned to clip in and out of pedals, bumped up my training hours significantly. However, in other moments, I feel like I have so much to still figure out in the next 11 weeks. I still need a bike my own size, I need a trisuit, I need to get faster on the bike, how do you go through transitions, etc. Week by week I am making progress in training and in getting together gear and basic knowledge I need to at least survive race day.
I have written before about how frustrated I am with my slow improvement on the bike. I started February with my main goal as getting faster on the bike, but I got off to a rocky start. During the first week of February, every workout I did, I felt “off.” I felt like I was dragging myself through workouts and nothing, not even “easy” paced runs felt easy. I was pretty discouraged. I wondered if I had ramped up training too fast or stretched myself too thin.
The later was probably the main factor in why I did not feel like myself. On top of the normal busyness of life, I had some extra things going on during the last few weeks and I probably should have backed off training a bit until they were behind me. I let myself get to the point of being exhausted and depleted.
After a few days of having those extra life stresses behind me, focusing on getting more sleep, and taking training easy, I started to feel like myself again.
The second week of February I trained cautiously and took sessions pretty easy, but I was able to finish off the week strong. I did not build up my “long bike” workout past 90 minutes like I had planned because of taking a more conservative training approach. However, I was able to get in three 90 minutes rides this week, which I was pleased with. On Wednesday’s and Friday’s rides, I road on a hilly course on my indoor trainer like I will face on race day in St. George. On Thursday, I did a workout focusing on my “zone 5 watts” for some speed training.
In spite of reading many training books and looking over cycling training plans, I have felt lost on how to get faster on the bike. There is so much information out there it is almost a little overwhelming. I also have so much that needs work; I don’t even know where I should start. Patty Pittman, who is a 3x Ironman finisher and USA Triathlon coach was nice enough to reach out to me on Instagram and give me some direction. Patty broke down my training zones for me and gave me a few (but not too many) areas to focus over the next 11 weeks. Patty is a great follow on Instagram too. She juggles, training, coaching, and being a mom like a pro. You can follow her here:
https://www.instagram.com/pittmanfit/
Running continues to be my favorite of the three triathlon disciplines. I am not sure if that will ever change. I went for a few afternoon runs the last two weeks just because I missed running. I still look forward to my long run every week because it is a good workout and so simple. The only gear I need is my watch and my shoes. Yesterday, I met up with a very small group of runners, and ran some trails in Madera, California. The route we took is mostly dirt and had some small hills throughout. It was a nice change of pace and hopefully helped me prepare a little for the hills on race day.
In summary the last two weeks of my training broke down like this:
Week 5 of 16:
Monday – 20 min bike / 45 min swim
Tuesday – 90 min run
Wednesday – 60 min bike / 30 min swim
Thursday – Long Bike: 90 min bike / 15 min afternoon run
Friday – Long Run: 120 min run
Saturday – 60 min run / 35 min swim
Sunday – Brick Workout: 75 min bike / 60 min run
Total Training Hours: 9.3
Week 6 of 16:
Monday – 50 min swim
Tuesday – 75 min run
Wednesday – “Long Bike:” 90 min bike / 30 min afternoon run
Thursday – 90 min bike
Friday – Brick Workout: 90 min bike / 60 min run
Saturday – 45 min run / 50 min swim
Sunday – 120 min run
Total Training Hours: 12
An exciting triathlon development this week was that I bought a wet suit. The company Blue Seventy had their outlet store open for a few days and I was able to buy a slightly used women’s Helix wetsuit at a nice discount. The wetsuit was in good condition and I am thrilled to have snagged such a steal. I could tell it had been worn before, but for the discount is something I can live with. Here are a few pictures of it.
The outlet store is currently closed, but here is a link to the wetsuit available new: https://www.blueseventy.com/products/helix-full-suit-womens
My goals for the coming weeks are to train on the road with my bike. So far, I have done 100% of my bike training on my Tacx Neo 2t trainer. With race day fast approaching I know I need to get over my fear of riding on the road and get comfortable on my bike. I spent some time on Saturday practicing clipping in and out of my pedals on the trainer. I then circled my neighborhood practicing clipping in and out. To my amazement, I did not fall! Clipping in and out was a big anxiety and fear of mine. I feel so much better now that I have faced that fear head on. I have by no means mastered that skill but at least know I CAN do it.
I plan to continue to up my training hours over the two weeks and hopefully get in at least one, if not two, 2 hour rides on the bike. I am considering doing the Ironman VR7 race this weekend as two big training sessions. The VR7 race is a 70.3 distance, so if I go ahead with the it, I will break it into two days. I will do the do the bike on one day and the run on the other, and fit the swim in on the day that works best. Check my Instagram if you want updates on my decision or click the link below if you want to do it yourself:
https://www.ironmanvirtualclub.com
Thanks again for checking in and if you are for something yourself, happy training!
#ironmantri #anywhereispossible #triathlon #triathlontraining #triathlete