The Training Plan - Part 2
Where am I physically?
My general fitness is very good. I have a strong, functional and consistent strength foundation. General flexibility is reasonable, but as mentioned last time, my back-hamstring flexibility requires work.
I have only been in the pool about 5 times over the last year, and didn't have much of a swim base before that. Swimming has always been the discipline I drop first. Technique had been reasonable in the past, but I know I don't have the specific strength-endurance to maintain it for any sort of distance.
I haven't touched the bike in a year. Hmmm, that is an issue, which is the main reason I am giving myself a year to prepare. This doesn't mean full on Ironman training for the whole time, but I will require at least 6 months to get my cycling up to a good standard to do the training I believe is required for the big event. While my cardiovascular system it in great condition from the running, my cycling specific strength and neuromuscular efficiency will be poor.
And my favourite, running! I spent most of last year running however I felt, which was a reasonable amount. Over the last 3 months I've followed a structured multi-paced program from which I have seen considerable improvement. This is definitely my strong point at the moment. I'm able to complete strong VO2 sessions, run consistent threshold sets and my last couple of long runs at 2+ hours felt easy. No complaints here.
Now I have taken stock of where my fitness is and how my life is likely to impact on training, I can develop my general principles and finally get down to the actual details of training.
"Run hard, be strong, think big!" - Percy Cerutty
My general fitness is very good. I have a strong, functional and consistent strength foundation. General flexibility is reasonable, but as mentioned last time, my back-hamstring flexibility requires work.
I have only been in the pool about 5 times over the last year, and didn't have much of a swim base before that. Swimming has always been the discipline I drop first. Technique had been reasonable in the past, but I know I don't have the specific strength-endurance to maintain it for any sort of distance.
I haven't touched the bike in a year. Hmmm, that is an issue, which is the main reason I am giving myself a year to prepare. This doesn't mean full on Ironman training for the whole time, but I will require at least 6 months to get my cycling up to a good standard to do the training I believe is required for the big event. While my cardiovascular system it in great condition from the running, my cycling specific strength and neuromuscular efficiency will be poor.
And my favourite, running! I spent most of last year running however I felt, which was a reasonable amount. Over the last 3 months I've followed a structured multi-paced program from which I have seen considerable improvement. This is definitely my strong point at the moment. I'm able to complete strong VO2 sessions, run consistent threshold sets and my last couple of long runs at 2+ hours felt easy. No complaints here.
Now I have taken stock of where my fitness is and how my life is likely to impact on training, I can develop my general principles and finally get down to the actual details of training.
"Run hard, be strong, think big!" - Percy Cerutty
Hi Jason - I am enjoying your training approach summary! and this is definitely my favourite quote:
ReplyDelete"I have not failed 10,000 times. I have successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work." -Thomas Edison
Cheers!
I am loving the analysis. Can't wait for the next chapter.
ReplyDeleteMy bet is the cycling and swimming form will come back pretty quick - muscle memory and all that!