I don’t believe I’ve made an official announcement about something that’s going to have a serious impact on my life(s) in the next twelve months. I’ve talked about it. I’ve mentioned it. I’ve alluded to it, but I’ve never made it official. Well, just to be up front:
On November 7, 2009, I will race in the Florida Ironman
I’m officially insane.
This is going to mean some relatively serious changes to my lifestyle over the next 12 months. You may recall that my training for the Nike Women’s Marathon wasn’t up to where it should have been. This was something I brushed off with the “I’m not going to do as well as I’d like, but I’ll still finish” line. Unfortunately I won’t be able to get away with that for an ironman.
To remind everyone, an Ironman distance triathlon consists of 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking and ends with a marathon (26.2 miles of running). That’s a lot. In order to be prepared for that, I’m aiming at 600 hours of training for the next twelve months. Training began last Sunday.
In case you’re interested, I took most of my training setup from Joe Friel’s Triathlete’s Training Bible. This book is not recommended for the casual athlete (or even the casual tri-athlete) but if you’re serious about developing an annual training plan this is a good resource. Keep in mind that it’s got some flaws but I understand the most recent edition has fixed some of those.
Anyway. I’m training for an Ironman. Go me. November 7, 2009 is the date. Panama City Beach, Florida is the place. Don’t ask me how much this will cost by the end of the year.
Yes, you are insane… but in an extremely fit, bucking the national average sort-of way.
Good luck and remember to have fun!!
What Chris said. I think we only say you’re insane because on some level we’re jealous of your abilities and your hard work.
Train hard, be safe, and have fun.
If you are a swimmer, you can take note of Iron Bob’s training program that will get you to the finish line. It consists of BIKING on Sunday, one or two 3 to 6 mile runs during the week and one swim during the whole training period. (That is a 2 mile swim in your wetsuit)
It is all about the bike. If you can get off the bike and walk, you can finish. I am proof, in IMAZ April 08. Plus the chances of injury leading up to race day are less.
December: Bike 30 miles on Sundays
Jan: Bike 40 miles on Sundays
Feb: Bike 50 miles on Sundays
Mar: Bike 60 miles on Sundays
April: Bike 70 miles on Sundays
May: Bike 80 miles on Sundays
June: Bike 90 miles on Sundays
July: Bike 100 miles on Sundays
August: Bike 100 miles on Sundays
Sept: Bike 80 miles followed by 3 to 4 mile run on Sundays
Oct: Bike 50 miles on Sundays followed by 3 to 5 mile run
Nov: Enjoy the race
If you aspirations are higher than getting to the finish line, use another program.
You are crazy! Engineers are supposed to be fat sedentary nerds, not endurance athletes. funny thing, my friend Steve Kester (EE GA Tech) won the IM Fla 08 45-50 age group. I myself am looking to step up to an Olympic distance this year. Good luck with the training!