Now that Ironman Lake Placid is over and I survived a 27 week training program, a dislocated shoulder suffered on 6/1/11, and missed countless adult beverages, I have had some time to sit back and reflect on my entire experience.
First of all, I would have never made it to race day without the support of my wife Cathy. I hope she realizes how much I needed her support. She knew after the Disney Marathon in January 2011 that I would soon be shifting to Ironman mode. Neither one of us had ever gone through an Ironman season before, so we had no idea what to expect. We knew there would be sacrifices, but agreed it would not be done at the expense of our children. I also tried to make sure I would be home everyday no later than 5pm. During the winter there was the occasional time I needed to ride the trainer at night, but I tried to do it once home work, showers, and family time was over.
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| Needing rest at a BBQ! |
I would not have traded the past 7+ months for anything. The entire experience of training for an Ironman is life changing. You sacrifice so much in getting ready for the day. When it is freezing outside and you have to go for a run, you learn a lot about your dedication. There were many mornings that I wanted to roll over and sleep in, but I always thought about having my name called and that usually motivated me out of bed. I spent numerous Sunday mornings in a cold shed, watching some of my favorite movies riding the trainer and thinking about my life. It was rewarding, crazy, and difficult all at the same time. Riding a trainer for 4 hours in my basement watching NCAA Basketball games built my mental stamina and focus in so many ways. I developed a love/hate relationship with the trainer!
My yearly training program was written well in advance of August 2010. Almost as soon as I registered for IMLP I began planning my year. The races I chose all had one purpose, get me ready for Lake Placid. Being a USA Triathlon Level I Coach has its perks. I had access to some great resources from USAT that would assist me in preparing for IMLP. Having 16 years experience in Health and Fitness, I have written thousands of exercise/running/triathlon programs, but never one this detailed for myself. I also read numerous triathlon specific books, blogs, and web sites specific for Iron distance training, so I felt pretty good that what was on paper would get me to the start healthy and ready.
Reviewing my total training volume I need to be completely honest with how it went. Not just during one block of training, but the entire year because the total training is what makes the plan work, not just one section. I realistically missed 50 sessions of training. Most of those sessions are considered optional or recovery sessions, but I still missed them. In reviewing the last 84 days of training, the most important time, I missed the most amount of sessions. Most of that was because of the separated shoulder, cracked ribs, and generally sore neck I suffered in the bike accident on June 1, 2011. Over three weeks I missed 34 sessions of training, got slower on the run due to the lack of mobility on my right side, got weaker in my legs, and did virtually no swimming until July 5, 2011. Would those sessions have made a significant difference, I believe so. Would they have lead to a 10.5 hour IM, I highly doubt it.
241 Total Sessions
Swim Sessions: 47
Bike Sessions: 77
Run Sessions: 93
Weight Training Sessions: 24
Total Distances in Miles:
Swim Sessions: 64.4
Bike Sessions: 2,819.56
Run Sessions: 768.46
Weekly Averages in Miles:
Swim: 2.8
Bike: 122.6
Run: 33.4
Session Averages in Miles:
Swim Sessions: 1.37
Bike Sessions: 36.62
Run Sessions: 8.26
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