I’m just about at the half way point of
training for Ironman Lake Placid. Overall, I’m happy with my progress. The
first few months were focused on running as I prepared for the Philadelphia
Marathon in late November. Then in early December my focus shifted to getting
stronger on the bike. I’ve been training 10 to 15 hours/week – about 40% of
which has been on the bike. During this time a typical week consisted of three
bike workouts – two 60-100 minutes and one weekend long ride of two-three
hours. All were designed to increase my functional threshold power (FTP), which
is essentially the maximum power you are capable of maintaining for one hour.
As mentioned in a previous blog post, a power meter is necessary in order to
obtain an accurate FTP. For those that are not aware, power is measured in
watts. If I’m going to improve my time on the bike in Ironman, an increase in
FTP is necessary. In addition to the three weekly bike workouts (five-six hours
in total), I’ve also been swimming on average four times/week (four
hours/11k in total), and running on average four times/week (four hours/50k
in total).
My FTP was about 270 in early December.
After a lot of hard work in the saddle (about 80 hours) and a well-crafted
training schedule thanks to a great coach, I have increased my FTP by over 10% to
around 300. There is such a fine line between working hard and overdoing it.
Thanks to coach Matt of Carmichael Training Systems (CTS) and his experience
analyzing data, he pushes me just enough without going too far. I upload all of
my workouts to Training Peaks, where Matt can look at my power and heart rate
numbers in an effort to maximize improvement. Despite the fact that he coaches
20+ athletes, he still finds the time to analyze at all of key workouts. If he
feels I can work harder, or may be overdoing it, he makes the necessary changes.
This brings me to one of Joe Friel’s most famous quotes: “If you’re not getting
feedback, you’re not being coached.” My
most recent "Steady State" (a CTS term) workout involved a 15 minute warmup followed by four times 10
minutes at 295-305 watts. If this workout had not been adapted, my goal power
for these intervals would have been around 280 (far too low).
 |
| Some of my numbers from my most recent Steady State workout. |
Having done all of my cycling since
December indoors, I am very much looking forward to hitting the pavement next
month. Until then, I’ll keep slugging it out in the basement, all the while
keeping the Ironman finish line in sight. For the next month or so increasing my
FTP will remain the top priority. Then there will be a significant increase in volume
and the focus will shift to improving efficiency. As a result, the amount of
intensity will drop – which will be a nice change. Essentially, there will be
less short intense workouts and more long rides with intervals at 70-80% of FTP
– what I should be able to maintain during the Ironman bike leg according to
Matt. My running will follow a similar plan – less short intense workouts and
more long runs at close to goal ironman marathon pace (still to be determined).
In April if all goes as planned, my
training volume will increase above 15 hours/week for the first time since 2013
– which will require more sleep and a more strict diet. What will follow will
depend on how my body responds. If all goes as planned, I’ll be logging weeks
in excess of 20 hours by mid-May, and 25+ by mid-June. If it wasn’t for my very
understanding wife (Lisa), this would not be possible. It’s also great to have
three training partners (Corey, John, Chris) that are also be training hard for
Lake Placid!
