Up until this point I’ve been referencing my Ironman 70.3 training scheduling but I wouldn’t say I’m living by it…or even following it closely at all. My intentions are good, I promise. But I’m also not into the idea of totally abandoning my social life for a race. Ok let’s be real, it’s not even my social life, it’s just my regular life that’s getting in the way. I can’t abandon my job and life responsibilities for a race. I’m not making excuses; I’ve come to realize that I really pack my schedule to the point of where I can sometimes get overwhelmed. Currently I’m teaching 4-5 cycling classes each week and am at work from 9am until at least 6pm, often closer to 7pm. Then I’ve got to get home, walk Ollie, eat dinner, work on my blog, etc etc. As you can see, that leaves little time to toss in additional workouts (maybe I am making excuses but this is my blog and I’m allowed to!).
Instead of becoming overwhelmed, I’m going to take this week by week. I’ve made a calendar of intended training workouts for the month of April (based on my Ironman-provided training plan) and will acknowledge right now, they will not all happen. I wasn’t even able to fit in all of the workouts from my Ironman training schedule and yet with cutting workouts, I literally have ONE day of rest scheduled for the month of April. Clearly that is not healthy or sustainable. My April calendar is a guideline and each Sunday I will evaluate how my week is looking and make adjustments as needed. Each Monday I’ll give you a rundown of my schedule and at the end of the week will give you a glimpse of what actually happened.
While I would love to quit my job, ditch my responsibilities and spend all my time training for a race, let’s be realistic here. I’ve done triathlons in the past, which I know are about half the length of an Ironman but when it came to training I did the best I could and I didn’t allow myself to be 100% consumed by training and I was able to finish the races and even do pretty well (by my standards). I need to remind myself that it will probably be the same for this race. I’ll do my best with training, I’ll make sure I’m eating right and am in the best shape I can be and I’ll go out and give it my all come race day.
Basically I’m writing this as a reality check for myself. I have a packed schedule, I have a lot going on and even if I can’t train like a professional athlete, I’m going to be ok in this race!
Here’s a look at the giant April Calendar:
And from that, here’s this week’s actual game plan:
Monday: (am) 60 minute cycle, (pm) 45 minute run
Tuesday: (am) 45 minute swim, (pm) EVF (CrossFit style conditioning)
Wednesday: (am) 60 minute cycle, (pm) 45 minute run
Thursday: (am) 45 minute cycle
Friday: (am) 45 minute cycle, 30 minute weights
Saturday: 40 minute run
Sunday: 40 minute run
How do you stay sane during race training? Got any tips for me?
