Today is the day…the first day of training. For the next 42 weeks I will training for my first Ironman 70.3.
Unlike my accidental journey into marathon running, my journey to becoming a triathlete is quite purposeful. I made the decision to transition, at least for the time being to a new sport. I love the marathon distance but I had become indifferent the last couple years. Training had become a chore. The thought of doing a marathon race no longer excited me. It just become something I had to do, not something I wanted to do.
I caught the triathlon bug last year when I did my first Sprint tri. The sport just fit, like my tri suit. I noticed that I thought of the sport often and was reading articles, following various athletes on the social medias. I was just drawn to the sport. It wasn’t all consuming but it intrigued me. After doing my second triathlon this year and shaving 15 minutes off my time and a course that was longer, I knew that I had found my niche.
I was successful. Something I noticed was lacking from my marathons. I had become stagnant. Despite increased and improved training my finish times remained the same. The needle wasn’t moving, despite the fact that I was. More importantly than success, I was having fun. I found myself smiling and laughing during the Sprint Tri.
After much thought and discussion with my wife, I made the decision to attempt an Ironman 70.3, otherwise known as a Half-Iron. Because I’m not fully crazy yet. I decided that a race in June 2020 would give me ample time to train for 1.2 miles of open water swimming, 56 miles of biking and a half marathon.
I am scared but excited all at once. A combination that I know means I have made the right decision for myself.
While yesterday was technically the first day of training, it was a rest day. Today was the first day that the rubber met the road…quite literally.
Today’s training was to be a total of 45 minutes in the seat, broken down as:
Warm Up: 10 minute, moderate effort
Main Set: 4 x 20 speed intervals max effort
Cool Down: 10 minute, moderate effort
Three things:
- Stop signs and the need for timed max effort are NOT friends
- Frederick has way more hills than I anticipated
- Lighting for evening training is important
That being said, I did 40 minutes of solid effort. Just getting use to my bike for a long period of time. And more importantly just getting out and making those first efforts for training.
I got out the door later than intended, but thought I would have Tour de France like speed and skill and would beat the darkness. Not so much (see number two above). While it wasn’t completely dark by the time I got near home, it was dark enough that I didn’t feel comfortable with my visibility to motorists and my ability to see.
I was pleased with my effort. I was pleased with how strong, yet tired, I felt. I was pleased that I have a stake in the ground from which I can measure.
Summary of Workout:
7.99 miles (UGH that chaps my craw that it wasn’t an even number)
40 minutes
314 elevation
Things to work on:
Hills!
Changing gears-when to change and what to change to
Timing of coming out of drops at the multitude of stop signs around my neighborhood
GeekyTriathlete 