Volume 5, Training Week 4: State of My Training Address #1

"Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint."

Isaiah 40:30-31 (NLT)

    One month down, 11 to go!  Stay tuned for the first "State of My Training Address" as I recap the whole month. But first, here are my weekly stats for Nov 25 - Dec 1.

 

Week 4 Totals:

• Weight: 
• 178.5  
• -0 from last week (pretty sure this was due to Thanksgiving week!)
• -.7 from start
• Swimming: (x1)
• 1.14 miles (2,000 yds.)
• 42:43
• Biking: (x5)
• 47.73 miles
• 3:35:39
• Running (x3)
• 20.37 miles
• 3:10:11
• Strength: (x3)
• 1:53:30
• Yoga: (x1)
• 1:32:10
• TOTALS:
• 69.24 miles
• 10:54:13

     Well, Thanksgiving week was definitely different.  A three-day work week, a 4-day weekend, lots of food, and SNOW!  But I still got in my daily workouts; no rest for the Ironman in training....

    Now, I can't say that I got up each off day at 5AM, but there was a 4:10AM day for an airport run and then a 1-1/2 hour Yoga session and a 1+ hour bike once I got home, so that was a tiring day. Overall, I am really starting to get used to the two workouts a day, I'm getting better sleep, and although I'm still tired, I'm felling better each day. The downside is that my body is waking up each day early, even on days that I don't need to get up super early.  But that is also a plus in the fact that it's easier to get up and get going on my "normal days".  This is something that is directly linked to my lessons learned as I worked through my weekly devotions (see the end of this blog for more on that).  

    As I finish my first month of training, I often think "I still have almost a year to go!". But I have the smaller races and mid-training "check-ins" that I'm working towards as well.  Matthew and Macey get married 6 months from today (WHAT?!) and then the following Sunday I will do the Ironman 70.3 Eagleman in Maryland.  Then I'll only have 5 months to go until November.  And I have the other 5 races sprinkled in each month in 2025 (see last week's blog for a rundown of when and where those races will be). Just like while I'm running long, biking a far distance, or swimming so many laps in a pool, if I break down the sessions, it doesn't seem as long or far away.  I may run to the next stop light, bike to the next crossroad, or swim to the next 100 yard distance.  If I focus on the whole thing, it can get daunting. But training my body and my mental thinking helps in the times that it can seem too big of an undertaking.  So I have to break down my months. 11 months is too long a time to keep up the intensity, but if I focus on January, or the first race in May, or the half Ironman in June, it's not THAT long. 

    This month I was happy with my training.  I felt strong in all my disciplines, and every week it became easier to get the sessions in as my body got more used to the work I was putting on it.  I didn't always feel like I had my best run or swim, but I know that each session is paying off.  I am still just working on building my base, and will start a real plan in January.  I am using pieces of several plans (ones that I've used in my past events, in the 80/20 Triathlon book, and things I've picked up along the way) in my everyday sessions, but knowing I can swim an hour without stopping, bike for that long plus some, and run for over an hour after a bike ride puts me in a good mental space heading into true "training".  

    A couple of things that stood out this month.....now that I think about it, they all were this week and both had to do with the cold. I ran Thanksgiving morning, and the wind-chill was 12 degrees.  When I ran with a bunch of guys several years ago, we had a saying:  "There is no severe weather, only weak men".  I had to bundle up, but I stayed warm and I realized I miss running in that weather.  During that run, there was a neighborhood that was putting on their own Turkey Trot walk.  So I wasn't the only crazy one out there.  There was even a guy with no gloves and shorts.  That wasn't me.  Also, on Saturday, we got our first snow of the year--it started on during my 7th mile on my run.  I love running in the snow, but it didn't really get going until I got home.  But still.  Made me realize winter might be really long as it's only December 1st right now.  

    So, in a nutshell, the State of My Training.....IS STRONG!  I feel good where I am right now in my fitness, and I can't wait to see what the next month feels like. 

First run in the snow of the year.  Hadn't started too hard as I wrapped up my run.  

Month 1 Totals:

Here are my monthly stats.  I plan on putting my monthly totals out on the last blog of each month with Year-To-Date totals as well.  

• Weight: 
• 178.7 avg (I'm still working on my nutrition--getting there!)
• Swimming:
• 8.78 miles
• 5:12:21
• Biking:
• 189.48 miles
• 12:31:51
• Running:
• 73.83 miles
• 11:35:57
• Strength:
• 6:34:49
• Yoga:
• 2:02:18
• TOTALS:
• 272.88 miles
• 38:22:01 (that's almost a full work week!)

Lessons Learned:

    As I worked through my weekly devotions this week, I was caught by the thought that my body is a temple of God.  It doesn't belong to me as it was bought with a high price (I Corinthians 6:19-20). And because of that, I have to honor God with my body. When I'm out running or biking, even if I have a podcast or audio book or music playing (and especially swimming as I don't have anything but my thoughts in my head), I often end up thinking and praying more than I do when I'm out doing normal life.  And I'm often reminded that I am moving.  And the ability to do what I'm doing is only by God allowing it.  That may seem pretty simplistic, but I know of so many that cannot get out and run.  They have bad knees. They can't breath. They have a disease that doesn't allow this type of physical activity.  And I'm thankful.  For the ability.  For the will.  And for the desire.  Along with that, I was reminded of how I train my body for something like triathlon.  

    There will be times that my days and training sessions will not go well.  It will be hard, and I'm sure as I run the marathon portion of the full Ironman, I will wonder what the heck I was ever thinking and a part of me will want to say, "I've done enough"!  But each day I work my body into something stronger than the day before, this will prepare it for the hard days and the times I want to give up.  This is also relevant in my Christian walk.  There will be hard days (and there have been more than plenty even though you may not ever see them outwardly or in public!)  As I build and strengthen my faith daily (through a devotion, my weekly Bible Study, or the days I really dig into a long prayer while on a swim, bike, or run, that will prepare me for the hard days ahead.  And when those days come, my strong faith in who God is will carry me through the course of life and I need to stay on that course.  And I know that on the back side of that day or season, I will finish strong.  I may not PR in life, I may stumble or have to crawl across the finish line sometimes, but I will continue moving forward and I will finish.  Because God has already bought me with a high price. And HE is the course on which I need to stay. 

28,889,671 seconds until Ironman Florida 2025.  Keep fit, stay The Course, and keep moving forward.  See you next week.