So, just what does one do for training between a ¾ ironman and two iron distance triathlons in four weeks?
In a word, recover.
After some very big training weeks leading up to the Thousand Island Triathlon, Soloman, The Canadian 226 and Esprit, there was no more fitness to be gained this year.
It was simply time to race, recover, both physically and mentally, and race again, doing just enough to keep the blood flowing and body feeling good.
I thought I would give people an idea of what worked for me, with a hopeful sense that everyone will get a better idea of how important quality training and quality rest are, and that 20-25hour weeks are not necessary when training for long races.
The totals:
Aug 20-25th,
12hrs including and Olympic Distance Triathlon and a ¾
IM Distance Triathlon.
Swim 2hrs or 8800m (1500m at Thousand Island + 4000m + 3300m in Soloman)
Bike 7hrs or 260k (41k at Thousand Island + 95k + 124k at Soloman)
Run 3hrs 40min or 50k (10k at Thousand Island + 10k + 30k at Soloman)
Aug 26-Sept 1st,
14hrs including The Canadian 226 IM Distance race.
Swim 2hrs or 7800m (4000m + 3800m at Canadian)
Bike 9hrs 30min or 310k (130 + 180k at Canadian)
Run 3hrs 30min or 50k (8k + 42k at Canadian)
Sept 2-8th,
11hrs 15min with no race
Swim 90min or 7000m
Bike 6hrs 30min or 205k
Run 3hrs 15min 46k
Sept 9-16th,
17hrs including Esprit Iron Distance Triathlon
Swim 3hrs or 11300m (7500m + 3800m at Esprit)
Bike 9hrs 30min or 340k (160k + 180k at Esprit)
Run 4hrs 40min or 64k (22k + 42k at Esprit)
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
| August 19th | 20th | 21st | 22nd | 23rd | 24th | 25th |
| Thousand Island Triathlon 1st overall, very good and solid race. |
off | Swim 800-1000m with Leslie Run track with Ryan. Man is he in good shape. I can't drop the bugger. |
Ride 60k--3 loops of the the Soloman course, each one a bit faster. Run 5k on Soloman course Holy crap, this is going to be a very hard day. I hope I can walk after this. |
Swim 800-1000m with Leslie | Swim 2000m, mostly easy Switch to race wheels on bike Ride 30k to make sure everything works right, moderate tempo |
HSBC Soloman, a ¾ IM distance race. Shockingly,
no blisters, no sore legs. |
| 26th | 27th | 28th | 29th | 30th | 31st | Sept 1st |
30k ride, easy and flat along Colonel By Dr on bike day. Fortunately,
no one wanted to race me. |
Mini-vacation Drive to Niagara on the Lake. |
Run 30min off the bike, felt okay. Swim 2000m easy |
Off I think |
Drive home from Niagara Ride 30k on the US side. Felt absolutely weak and useless. It was not a very uplifting experience. Certainly not what I was hoping for. |
Swim 2000m, mostly easy, focus on form. Switch to race wheels on bike Ride 30k to make sure everything works right, moderate tempo |
The Canadian 226. Great mental race but missed fueling on run, but got the electorlytes right this time. |
2nd |
3rd | 4th |
5th |
6th |
7th |
8th |
Ride 15km easy, flat. Legs felt pretty good. |
Off |
Swim 1500m I think (at most), moderately hard to up-tempo effort Run track workout with Ryan Cain, 5k warm-up, 6400m worth of hard stuff. Total 11.4km. felt surprisingly good. |
Ride a loop in the Park with Ryan. Not surprisingly, tired legs. |
Swim 13x50, 3x400m with paddles moderate effort Run 5k with drills at lunch Run 24k easy with McAmaniac and Brent |
Swim 3500m hard, focus on form. Ride 60k easy |
Ride 50k easy Run 5k off the bike |
9th |
10th |
11th |
12th |
13th |
14th |
15th |
| Ride 100k fairly hard with Ryan Grant. If I had any ego going into this ride, it was severely humbled as I was reminded of my humanity. | Swim 2500m at Carleton. 500 easy, 500 drills, 3(200, 100, 200). Second and third set with paddles. | Run track with Ryan, total 12k. 2k, Felt pretty good. |
Ride 30k easy, focus on circles and good spin, high cadence | Swim 3000m with Leslie, focus on form. Run 45min with McAmaniac, Brent and Ryan. Warm-up, 30min moderate tempo, cool-down |
Tentatively Swim 2000m easy wth drills and paddles Ride 30k easy to make sure the bike works properly, focus on circles and good spin. Actual for the day swim 1000m easy switched wheels and rode just enough to make sure the gears worked (1km) |
Esprit Triathlon “We’ll see.” |
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