W/b 5 February 2024
Training plan: my thoughts and tweaks
After months of base training, the start of Kalmar 2024 Ironman training has arrived. I am part excited and part a little scared. I was excited to be only 28 weeks away and scared to be only 28 weeks away. We have an overall idea of the plan for the next three months. 10 Ironwomen will be posting the plan on Instagram on Monday mornings. 10 Ironwomen (10ironwomen.com) have provided 3 options, a beginner, intermediate and a 70.3 plan. I intend to follow the intermediate plan with some of my own tweaks. This should suit my life and where I left off with my base plan.
I still have a prescription to an AI App called Humango (humango.ai). I am enjoying using this and may continue to use. However, nothing quite like following a plan where there’s chance to train with others. I have been doing long bike rides and runs during my base training. I will therefore make the weekend long rides longer than the 10IW and see how I go.
At breakfast this morning, I checked out the weeks training. I was aware that Monday is a rest day with optional 1 hour bike. Since my current rest is Monday that works pretty well. I cycle to work on a Monday, about 20 minutes each way. So I decided to miss the optional bike ride but replaced it with commuting.
It feels a little odd to start a plan with a day off. But it did give me time to input the plan to Training Peaks and make the necessary tweaks. I am swapping Tuesday’s swim with Wednesday’s bike and vice versa to fit in with my Wednesday group swims. I will also swap Thursday’s strength to Tuesday. Thursday is a long workday so I only have time for a run.
I am not sure how much to change though as my current plan has set a 90-minute run on Thursday but the 10IW one has set only 45 minutes. Saturday’s ride would be 4 hours 50 minutes and the new plan is between 1 hour 15.
I find the short swims in the Humango App very inconvenient. They use quite a lot of time for a small amount of training so I will adopt the 10IW swim distances.
Looking at the training plan from 10IW, two things come to mind. This race is accessible for most people to train for. I will have to work out how I adapt it to suit my current fitness without doing too much and getting tired too soon.
My plan
| Day | 10IW | Humango | Intention | Actual |
| Monday | Rest, 1 hour bike optional | Rest | Rest with bike to work (approx. 34 mins total) | Rest plus commute to work (33:50) |
| Tuesday | Swim:2,200m optional run 45 mins | Bike: 1:40, strength 20 mins | Bike: 1:30 to 1:40 plus strength (20 mins) or Pilates (45 mins) and commute to work | Bike: 1:10 plus Pilates (45 mins) and commute to work and back |
| Wednesday | Bike: 50 mins | Swim: 2,750m | Swim with group (2,500m or more) plus commute to work and back | Swim: 2,500m plus commute to work and back |
| Thursday | Run 40-45 mins, strength | Run: 1:30 | Run: 1:30 | Run: 1:06 |
| Friday | Swim 2,000m | Swim: 37 mins, bike: 32 mins | Swim: 2,000m Vinyasa flow | Swim: 2,150m Vinyasa Flow |
| Saturday | Bike 1 to 1:15, optional strength and conditioning | Bike: 5:10 ROTB: 40 mins | Run: 5k Bike: between 3:30 and 4:50 | Run: 5k Bike: 4 hours (107km) |
| Sunday | Run: 50 mins to 1hour, optional swim 2,000m, optional reset (stretch) | Run: 1:28 | Run: 1:28 Maybe yin yoga |
The training
Tuesday’s bike session went quite well. I had to go into work when I normally work from home. This prompted me to do my bike on Zwift in the morning after waking up rather than putting it off until later in the day. Always feel better for exercising early. However, I wasn’t up quite early enough so managed 1 hour and 11. minutes. However, with the ride to work and back came to more than 1:40. Am never sure how useful the commute is in terms of counting towards fitness.
Went to a Pilates class on the way home rather than doing a strength session at home. My core knew it had worked the following day. Attending a class meant I didn’t do some of the leg strength work set for me. I find classes easier to follow and stick to.
Wednesday comprised of my usual Swim for Tri group swim so not much to say there. I felt good and swam 2.5km, as intended.
On Thursday, I was supposed to run for 90 minutes. I still haven’t got my waking really early (5.30) two mornings in a row down so managed an hour and 6 minutes.
I run to work on Thursdays and need time to shower and eat breakfast before starting work just before 9. My goal is to leave the house in time to manage 1:30. I think this will become easier as the mornings get lighter and warmer.
This was my first run in the rain for a while. I wasn’t looking forward to that part of it. However, the run was better than expected, despite soaking my trainers within 10minutes. I had to work until 8pm twice this week so was glad to get most workouts done early. Despite finding it difficult to motivate myself to work out early unless I have to, it is definitely preferable as it leaves the rest of the day free (or for work!).
I didn’t want to get up early on Friday. Instead I did some chores done before starting work. Somehow, after 20 years living in my flat, some mice have taken up residence. Pest control came this afternoon so felt the need to tidy up and clean a bit.
This meant my swim was pushed until early evening, not a great time on Fridays in Mile end pool, in my experience. Luckily I managed to get there in time to be finished by around 6 and so avoid being pushed to a lane with slow breast stroke swimmers. I’m not berating breast strokers just those who seem to fill Mile end on a Friday evening!
I managed to get to a vinyasa flow class during lunch. I should probably be doing specific strength workouts but enjoy yoga more plus to repeat my comments about the Pilates class on Tuesday, being in a class setting makes it easier to get the workout done.
Yoga has certainly has made me stronger – can now do multiple full push ups and don’t need to put my knees down during chataranga at all. However, from my reading on yoga for strength, it seems I should also be doing some specific strength work ie for triathletes. I do this sometimes, just prefer yoga. Will endeavour to fit the strength session in next week’s training.
I decided to join LFTC (London Fields Triathlon club) for a social run on Saturday morning. An 8am meet in Richmond for the long bike just didn’t appeal.
The run was great, a 5k from London Fields Lido to Victoria Park and back followed by coffee with club members. I decided I would make more effort to train with people this year as I tend to train alone too much and this has effected my motivation at times. I have also found that running with others makes me faster without feeling it. Was nice to see some people from track and meet new members. It can be reassuring speaking to others who have signed up for a full distance ironman. Makes my obsession with Training Peaks, Strava and training plans seem normal!
The long bike ride
I then had to bike between 1:15 and 5:10 (difference between my 10IW plan and Humango). In the end I completed 4 hours, 107k while binge watching Netflix. I am going to have to get the bike outside soon but for now Zwift works pretty well.
While it may not help in terms of bike handling or dealing with headwind and tailwind, I think the mental challenge of four hours on a turbo is mentally helpful, as it’s necessary to deal with the tedium of an indoor ride. It also means I can put real food on the windowsill to eat during the ride. This week, I bought a croissant and also ate 4 dates, some carbohydrate training mix and drank over 2 litres of water. At present I mostly only need to fuel my long rides. I find I need gel or electrolyte mix on some of the long runs too.
Allowing normality
I need to try to have some normality in my week while doing this long-distance training plan and so won’t refrain from the odd night out for the next few months. Perhaps I’ll be more restrained closer to the race. On Saturday night, Anne and I went out to eat in Spitalfields market, shared a bottle of prosecco followed by a double calvados. After waking in the morning I knew I would need to rearrange my plans for Sunday and I decided to put my run off until the evening.
Winter runs
I am reluctant to leave my runs to the evening during the winter as I enjoy running along the canals or river and don’t feel safe to run along the canals when it’s dark. However, I left the flat in daylight and ran to St Katherine’s Dock and then the river.
I spent much of the 12k dodging tourists and other Sunday strollers but enjoyed my run and decided to run back along the small canal that runs from near the Dock to Shadwell basin. It was dark by then but there were plenty of other walkers and runners so it felt safe enough to do this. I am however glad that the nights are getting longer as it feels less restrictive, especially for running alone.
Conclusions on my first week
If I was completely new to this level of training, I may have some insightful things to say about how I felt with the structure of training 6 days a week and how it was to finish the first week of a full ironman training plan. However, I trained a relatively normal amount and so don’t feel any amazement at getting through the first week. I don’t feel any more or less tired either.
However, after last week when I took the weekend off to attend my mum’s 80th, it felt good to stick to my plan and see my fitness (on Training Peaks) increasing again after a small dip. I also feel that I need to stick to my plan almost completely from now until the race, which I didn’t feel as much during base training.
On the whole a good week and a good start to the training.
As a final takeaway, I appreciate I am lucky as my job is partially flexible and I have very few family commitments. My son is an adult and proud that I am attempting an ironman.
