My 2006 Plan for Personal Triathlon Success

With my early 2006 races out of the way I can reflect on what I've learned and where I'm going.

My early season was low key. I progressed very well in swimming. That aerobic base served me well in biking as I was able to beat race times from last year. But I didn't do diet or core strength well so, with some extra pounds to carry, my running was horrible. This reinforced the importance of non-run/swim/bike training. It's time to re-commit to my plan for the year so I thought I'd put together a list of things that I need to do to beat my ironman personal record.

When I'm training these days I'm thinking about Ironman Florida 2008, 2009 and 2010. This year I'm just getting to a point where I understand what it takes to race one of these things. I hope to complete the race without stopping on the run. Next year I hope to add a little speed. Then I'll go for my lifetime best ironman time in 08, 09 or 10. I have to be open to a window because to get the best time I'm personally capable of will also require cooperation from the weather. Hopefully in those three years I'll see one nice race day. And I'll need some luck. As I learned this year at Gulf Coast a cold can take you out two weeks before the race.

This list has been compiled over the course of the last few years. You shouldn't assume that it'll work for you. It helps me plan my workout weeks. I'm a little OCD so most items on the list can be built into daily "must dos".

1) Swim Every Morning - Learned this in early 2006 with The Streak of 49 days of swimming. Swimming provides a solid and non-injury-causing aerobic base. By getting up early to swim I kick off my days beautifully and pack more workout into the week. Swimming is based on form and feel so consistency in training is critical.

2) Run and/or Bike Two Hours a Day - Along with the swim this forms the basic triathlon training. There are tons of workouts I can do... high intensity, long and slow, bricks, inside, outside, etc. I generally go by feel and try to come up with a workout that sounds fun and challenging. In the morning I think about it... in the afternoon I do it. I chose two hours a day in 2005 and it worked fairly well. When Ava came along I had to switch from gym workouts to workouts from home to cut down the overall time investment... sometimes the two hours of working out was costing me three hours of time out of my day with driving, dressing, etc.

3) One Long Bike Per Week - A long bike ride is 5+ hours. Long and slow. Silver Comet or some century ride somewhere. Generally 100+ miles. Good for long endurance.

4) One Long Run Per Week - Generally done later in the evening, this long run should be over an hour and a half, include hills and be done on pavement.

5) Plyometrics Once Per Week - Friday's at 5PM at the Northlake LA Fitness. Weight vest in the hizzouse. Ouch. These things hurt. Keith brought me into this in late 2004.

6) 8 Minute Abs Video Every Day - Embarrassing, yes. But a good baseline abs workout. Don't expect much more than a baseline. I started doing this long before I got into triathlon.

7) Pilates Every Other Day - Pilates builds core strength and connects that strength to the legs and arms. It seems easy when you watch it but is very hard when you do it. I have no natural core strength so this is critical. I'll shoot for every other day... it takes more time to do the pilates workouts... either with DVD or in an actual class. I learned this in early 2005.

8) Yoga/Stretching Once a Week - First yoga class in early 2005. I haven't done many, but they did make me feel stretched for a while. Very important for avoiding injury, maintaining balance, etc.

9) Controlled Diet - In early 2005 I began calorie counting. As long as I do I can drop weight and maintain a good balance of protein, carbs and fat. I can feel the difference in my body when I'm eating properly. My goal is to bring my weight on race day to 158 lbs. Training weight should be 164 lbs... at that point my running starts to feel wonderful and bouncy.

10) Consistent Sleep - My body feels better when I wake up at the same time every morning, say 6AM. It's also important that I get a good eight hours of sleep each night so that my body can rebuild itself.

11) Some 10+ Hour Workout Days - As I looked at my heart rate in the 2005 Ironman Florida I realized that I crashed at 8hr30min despite having gone a lot further on the course. My energy systems crashed each time. Only way to train those systems is to workout for long periods of time. I've got to smartly work some 10+ hour brick days into my training starting at about three months before the race.

Easy as pie!