Vol 16, Week 15: Slow Down!
“Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.”
Psalms 46:10 (NLT)
Run slow to run fast. Doesn't seem to make sense. But this week I started my 17-week official plan for 70.3 Eagleman in June. And let me tell you, going slow was HARD! Here are the week's stats to start:
Weekly Stats:
- Weight: 180.5
- -.1 lb from start
- Swim (x2):
- 2.53 miles (4,450 yards)
- 1:38:27
- Bike (x3):
- 39.63 miles
- 2:40:12
- Run (x3):
- 14.93 miles
- 2:55:12
- Strength (x2):
- 1:41:41
- Yoga (x1):
- 40:05
- Totals:
- 11 workouts
- 57.08 miles
- 9:35:37
First week of the official 80/20 training plan in the books! I will have to say, going slow and keeping my heart rate in low intensity was tough. I think it will take a couple of weeks to get used to running, biking and swimming this slow!
This week I put together my workouts based off the 80/20 Triathlon book using the Half Ironman Level 2 plan. This plan will peak at around 13.25 hours per week towards the end of the plan. I will be doing a 17-week plan, ending on June 8 at the 70.3 Eagleman in Maryland. I currently have the first three weeks mapped out (some changes are going to be made) as I'm slow putting all the pieces in. I'm understanding what I'm supposed to be doing, and am starting to see a pattern in the workouts. I really wanted to understand the plan, so I was doing one day at a time, then adding the workouts into my Garmin account to sync to my watch. so it just took some time! But it's starting to come together, and my plan is to do the majority of the remaining 16 weeks tomorrow with the day off due to Presidents' Day.
For the week, I did 11 workouts, totaling just a little over 9-1/2 hours. The strange thing is I did more time this week, but less miles. This was all because of the going slow part. Still trying to wrap my head around that this will actually work (but I know it will, it's a process). I did two swims this week on my regular after-work times on Monday and Wednesday. On the second swim of the week, I retested for my swim zones. I still swam 1:37/100 yards for both the 400- and 200-yard sets. I didn't go faster, but I didn't feel that I was totally gassed at the end of the workout either. So that's telling me that I can go the same pace at less effort. That's good in my mind. I did 3 bike rides, the last one being my HR zone test on Saturday. That was the only bike that was at a higher intensity. The other two I had to keep my HR low so my speed wasn't as fast. The 3 runs I did were mostly at lower intensity. On the first run on Tuesday, I did 4 intervals at just below all-out sprint pace for 2-1/2 minutes each with low HR recovery zones in between. I did this on the indoor track at Olathe West. The track was pretty dusty so the curves were hard as my shoes were sliding a little bit. I got my two strength workouts in: Shoulders & Arms and Legs & Back. The second one killed my glutes and calves and made it interesting for a couple of days as the soreness was subsiding. I only did one Yoga workout this week-was shooting for 2, but the Friday session just didn't materialize with schedules in the afternoon/evening. Overall, I really had a fun week working through the workouts.
This pic is totally how I felt this week, but in reality, I really did keep it close to where I was supposed to be. My watch will beep when my HR is too low or too high for the zone I'm supposed to stay in for the segment of the workout. And on my sprint intervals run, my watch was beeping all the time. I actually get an "execution score" for each workout with the score going up depending on how I stayed within the parameters of the workout scheduled. On that run, I score 15%. Oops. Some of that was just my HR not coming down immediately on the rest times, or not going right back up to high intensity immediately at the beginning of the sprint. So a lot of the fun these next 8-1/2 months will be getting those scores up!
Training Lessons:
I learned a lot this week as I worked through building my training plan. In my previous 3 Half Ironman events (2016, 2017, and 2021), I just did a simple plan that covered all three sports, and was based off times, not distance. Just reused the same plan each time with some minor adjustments due to schedules. I didn't even know about the low/high intensity side of things, so I'd just go out and swim. Or bike or run. Always trying to just get faster. And I did. I and finished pretty well each time (except for the second race which didn't turn out well due to extreme wind!) But this plan is a ton more strategic. The workouts are "coded", but there are specific aspects to each one. I still put them on my calendar with how much time they're supposed to be for just so I know my time commitment for the day.
The biggest change I'm looking at is when to put my rest day. In my previous plans, I had either Sunday as a rest day (because I had Fridays off from work and could do my long bike rides on Friday) or Mondays after my long bike and run days on Saturday and Sunday. But this year I've been swimming on Monday and Wednesday after work. That's when the pool is wide open and I can swim decently even if I'm a little tired or I didn't totally eat right that day for lunch. I've loved not having to be at the pool at 5:00AM to get a lane and get my swim in. But to take Monday as a rest day, I think I'm going to have to do that at least one day. Currently I swim twice a week, but the plan calls for 3x. Sacrifices, I'll just have to get there first to make sure I get the lane I want! Also, in my previous plans, I really didn't do anything else other than the three main sports. No strength, no yoga. So fitting those in this time around has just added a bit more challenge. But I'm also almost 10 years older than my first long-distance race, and I need those. Being stronger and more flexible will make me faster too. The thing is I have to find the right strength workouts that don't kill me. The legs/back workout this week shot my legs up and made it a challenge for my long bike and run. Again, still working out all the kinks.
This 17-week plan goes through June 8, then I'll start a 21-week plan leading up to November 1. A lot of the same type of thing, but by then I should have it all mapped out! Lots of learning, but it's actually been pretty fun to put all the puzzle pieces together (AND understand the why and how and what I'm doing).
Reflections:
Just like every week, triathlon and life seem to coincide in the way I need to approach each one. Learning to slow down in my training to get faster and stronger seems to be backwards. So it is in life. We've had those chapters in our family where it seems we couldn't stay afloat we were so busy. Part of the reason I chose this year to do my full Ironman is that we will essentially be empty nesters after May. Rylan is still living in the house, but he's got his career going, so he's really not our responsibility anymore and he might be here or not, but we don't necessarily plan around his schedule. Same with Ethan as a senior. Since he drives and has his own plans, we are more free to hit a date night, I can train when I need to, or we can plan other events without all the old busyness getting in the way. So I can arrange my training schedule as I need.
But life is still busy. Church stuff, friends, work things, and still doing life as a family. It's still a challenge to fit it all in. For every thing that disappears out of the calendar (ie, youth baseball for years), something else fills its place. So I still have to take the time to slow down. I've known it for a long time, but the faster the pace in life, I can burn out. With the lockdowns due to Covid in 2020, but there was a definite resetting of my busyness scale that slowed down, and I don't feel it's gone all the way back to where it was. Some of that has to do with the boys' and our stages of life, but I do believe that MADE us slow down. Wasn't fun all the time--missed friends, missed church, and all the shenanigans relating to the lockdowns--but it was good for me. And now, even though my week is full of training minutes, yards, and miles, I still feel I have a slow feel to the week. I still make sure I have the time for my weekly Bible Study with the guys, spend time with friends and family, hit up the high school basketball games, and watch some TV with Julie.
And I have to take my walk as a Christian slow as well. I can get so busy being busy in the church, or doing several study groups a week, or overextending myself by saying yes to everything that I burn myself out. Saying no to things is just fine. I have to be still (and know that He is God), go slow, and that can actually help me grow in my faith. As I've been working through the weekly devotional since November, it doesn't take much time each night (max maybe 10 minutes). It's not reading 3 chapters of Genesis or 45 minutes of studying/journaling. But it has helped me with simple questions that I might not have thought of otherwise. The little things build on top of each other, and my faith increases a little each week in one way or another. And that's how my triathlon training is going. I have to trust the process, not try to be an elite Christian or triathlete in one training year (and I will never accomplish either one of those). But growing and getting stronger in my faith and in triathlon takes me going slow on a daily basis--with some sprint work built in every now and then. And that's where I am. Training in this sport or in life doesn't end at a race, that's the time I get to showcase what I've become over time. I want to be the best version of myself that I can be when I am toeing the line at the starting line on the beach or when a life circumstance tests me. I have to slow down.....
As usual, thanks for following along each week on this crazy journey. I have received many comments about the blog, and I do appreciate all who at the minimum even look at just the pictures!
36 weeks, 5 days, 12 hours, 46 minutes until the goggles go on!
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