The Big 3…
Recovering legs in the river
Well I’m still alive…barley! After progressively pulverizing myself for 3 weeks I made it to my recovery week. It was much needed as I was starting to really struggle through workouts. At the on set of this block I only thought of how much fun it would be just to try and hit the numbers. I never really consider it to be a learning experience but that it was!
Week 1 came and went and I felt great. By the end of week 2 though I was worried. All the running combined with the bike miles was leaving its mark. In order to hit all my work outs I was forced to place them on short rest, problem 1. The longest stretch between training sets was 10 hours. This did not give me adequate time to recover, so I was going into each work out more and more fatigued. Also as a result of the increased work load, my appetite decreased, problem 2. Not completely but enough that I was definitely in a calorie deficit starting each work secession. This deficit also slowed recovery and made bonking a continual reality.
Week 3 started rough I was spent and ready to be done. By Wednesday though I was feeling better. This told me that I was recovering be it slowly. At this point I made a couple of good decisions, first I kept my heart rate very low in all work outs, second I started eating big, probably around 1500 calories a day more than normal and third I started drinking water in ever increasing amounts especially before I went to bed. The calories and hydration were key. I felt good going into the weekend and was able to hold on to the end. I was surprised at how well I actually felt on my last Saturday. I laid down my largest brick of the season, 120 miles biking and transition for 12 miles running. I felt horrible to start the bike and thought I might be getting the flu. I was wrong …dehydrated. I started drinking copious amounts of water and by mile 50 was feeling fine. I spent the rest of the ride paying close attention to my fuel and by the end of the bike I was picking up steam. Transitioning into the run I topped off with twice the normal calories and stopped twice to drink water to the point I was uncomfortable. I ran with two of my younger training partners (28,29 yrs) They had both done most of the ride with me and now were running along side me. They were much more excited than I at the start of the day, but by mile 5 their lack of years of milage was showing and they were looking for a way out. They hung tough for 2 more miles and then headed home. As they pulled off I was worried that I was going to have to suffer alone but that is when I realized “I feel great!” Much to my surprise I did not mind running alone and actually was inspired to drop the pace close to Half Ironmna pace. Long story short, I got it right, fuel, water, etc.
Here is the take away. It’s not rocket science but sometimes when we are too close the problem the answer can be hard to see. The problem is the same whether it’s training or a race, especially Ironman…a drop in performance coupled with the loss of motivation. The answer is always one of the big Three. 1 fuel, 2 hydration, 3 rest(recovery). If you are not motivated when you should be, if you are moving slower than you should be, start with the answer and work your way out. Don’t just quit or walk.
My base phase is complete and all is well I’m heathy and fit. I’m about 80 percent ready for my key race. I need to lose a few pounds and layer on a little speed. That should have me flying at Ironman CDA!
By the numbers
Week 3:
Run: 31.0 mi
Bike: 471.0 mi
Sw: 10,000.0 m
Hours: 33.4
