Pre-race blog

 

So I always used to do a pre-race blog, although honestly I’m chomping at the bit to get this triathlon over with and get into some hard-core marathon training! Like many triathletes, I started out as a pure runner (cross country and track all through high school and early college), and switched over to triathlons when injuries cropped up. The lower impact of cycling and swimming helped keep me fit and fend off injuries. (Though then of course I bumped it up to crazy long Ironman racing, and later on dabbled in ultramarathoning, which kind of makes the argument for triathlon as injury prevention kind of null and void.)

With the goal of a marathon PR at Wineglass marathon (my PR being 3:15:02 from 5 years ago) and perhaps even a NYC marathon qualifying time (sub-3:10), I’ve used this 5-week block of triathlon training to get me back into consistent training as a precursor to upping the run mileage. I’ve been running 5-6 days per week (30 to 80 minutes per session) and will be following the Hanson’s Marathon Method, which would be 6-7 days per week (with the possibility of adding a couple doubles).

I’m not sure I’ve ever trained more than 7-8 hours per week of running (50ish miles) even when I was racing professionally for Ironman triathlons, and marathon-specific training with the advanced Hanson’s plan calls for 50-65 miles. Elites go up to over 100-mile weeks, and I don’t have plans to get that fast, but I am aiming for a sub-3 marathon in the next couple years. So we’re going to see how my body tolerates higher mileage, and try to get up to maybe 75-mile weeks in the last block of marathon training starting at the end of August. 10-hour training weeks would be very reasonable with my current schedule, I just gotta build up to that while staying healthy.

As far as triathlon fitness, I am feeling pretty good! At the beginning of the month I posted up my self-coached training program above, on FACEBOOK to keep me accountable. The five-week cram plan! It's now covered with pink X's as the race is tomorrow! I’ve only been training 7-8 hours each week overall, which is a far cry from what I used to do, but it’s just an Olympic triathlon and there has been a lot of intensity in my sessions. I’m told Rock Hall is a pretty flat course, and the weather should be mild. Sub-2:30 for sure!