Ep. 2 Training an Ironwoman
Today: Jan. 22 2017
Lake Placid July 22 2017 : 26 weeks away.
And So It Begins
Cindy and I talked at the end of 2017 about getting together, but with our schedules and both of us traveling over the Holidays it never happened, until just the other day. We met at a coffee shop and talked about everything that is triathlons and training.
Where Is Cindy Starting At?
Last year Cindy did 70.3 Muskoka in Canada. For the amount of training she did, she killed it!
Her splits / rank in age group
Swim: 35min / 2nd
Bike: 3:34 / 24th
Run: 1:50 / 8th
Overall: 6:07 / 14th
Her swim: Cindy has a strong aquatics background in various sports such as synchronized swimming, waterpolo, and competitive swimming. She swam competitively when she was younger, but not at a high level. She is confident in the water and enjoys the swim portion of the race. Also, like me, because of her job she has easy access to a pool to train regularly.
Her Bike: This is obviously her weak point and where she can gain the most. She was a casual cyclist going into the 70.3 Muskoka race, and competed on a standard road bike.
Her Run: Cindy has completed in two marathons with with a PR of 3:39:32(in 2009). She is in current shape to go out and run a solid ½ marathon today if needed.
Outcomes of our first meeting and my first official coaching advice.
General Summary: ‘Get Fast Then Go Long’ is my advice in a nutshell. We have 26 weeks. (Inspired by: Endurance Nation website and podcast) I suggested that we take 6-8 weeks to focus on getting “fast” then take 18-20 weeks on going long.
What Does This Look Like for Cindy?
Cindy, here is a recap of what we talked about.
Swim: Remind yourself of what it was like to swim fast. Technique and a lot of purposeful swimming. No “30 min. zone 1-2 just swim” type of workouts. Have a focus and a purpose.
Goal: increase CSS, take advantage of the fact that swimming is convenient for you.
Bike: I want to be respectful of your finances, but here are 2 things I encouraged you to do that will aid your cycling.
Get an aero TT position on the bike. I am going to leave it up to you. You can simply add aero bars to your existing road bike or try to get a Triathlon/TT bike. We talked extensively about the “free time” that existed just by putting your body in a aero TT position, even on a course like Lake Placid.
Get a power meter. I suggest a simple left crank power meter, such as stages or 4iiii.
Goal: Take an FTP test for the first time, learn the basics of training with power , and focus on raising FTP for 8 weeks.
Run: You are in a good place with your current run fitness. We talked about how you have your sights set on completing the Seoul Marathon on March 18. In order to keep you ready for the marathon in 8 weeks we cannot completely go overboard with the “Go Fast Then Go Long” mentality. You will definitely need some “Long” progressively built-in over the next few weeks to make sure you are ready for the marathon. We talked about inserting some "speed" work once a week on Tuesdays.
Goal: increase run cadence slightly, and insert some speed workouts.