Iron News Man - October 9, 2009
Iron News Man
As you head into your weekend, I wanted to share the following Email… for both the training philosophy and the encouraging words. My Triathlon Coach Jason Healey sent it as Ironman Arizona grows closer:
Chris,
You are nearly 6 weeks away from Ironman Arizona! No doubt, November 22 will be the biggest athletic day of your Life. Finishing your first Ironman will be a magical experience you’ll surely cherish for many years to come.
You have worked very hard over the last 6 months to build your overall (base) fitness to deal with the sheer volume of work you will encounter on race day. Over the next 6 weeks, your workouts will become more race like and will be tailored to mimic certain race stresses and IM Arizona course conditions.
After this active recovery week (10/5-10/11), you will start a three-week build stage (10/12-11/1) that will continue to increase your endurance volume (base) and will prepare you for the specific demands of the Arizona Course.
After the Build stage you will start your 3 week taper. The taper phase includes a 2 “Peak” stage weeks and 1 “Race” week. The goal of the “Peak” stage is to start the process of bringing your body to its physiological peak for Arizona. The two most important elements in the “Peak” stage are workout intensity and workout recovery. During this stage, you will be trading volume (a little endurance) for a significant increase in race performance. Because of this, it is important to maintain the intensity levels designated in your workout calendar.
The second key element to your success will be your ability to recover from the “Peak” stage workouts. At the end of each “Peak “ stage workout, I want you to feel worried that you didn’t do enough. Ideally, I would like you fresh and fully rested for each “Peak” stage workout. It will be your duty to let me know if you’re recovering adequately and feel eager to complete the next “Peak” workout on the calendar.
The final week of the Taper phase is the Race week. The race week schedule is light and together with short threshold interval your body will be primed so you will feel fresh on Race Day.
It has been a pleasure and an honor to help you realize your Ironman Arizona Goal!
Jason Healey is a fabulous coach and a great guy overall. I’ve repeatedly said that when I get to a race start it’s not a matter of IF I can finish, rather, can’t wait to get it on! I know in my heart that every day I race the fitness will propel me. Coach Healey has planned my journey well!
Here’s my TrainingPeaks.Com Schedule for today from Triathlon Coach Jason Healey:
Workout 1 Description:
Swim 1500 yrds total. Warm Up: 4 x 25 with (10" rest) then 4 x 50 with (20" rest). Drills: 200 yrds. Choose drills from the Triathlon Training Series Swim DVD. MS: 3 x 50 with (15”), 2 x 75 (20”), 2 x 100 (25”), 2 x 75 (20”), 3 x 50 (15"). CD: 2 x 50 easy with emphasis on form.
Workout 2 Description:
Run 3 Miles on a mostly flat course in Zone 1 and lower Zone 2. Check cadence several times during the run. (Try to count 15 right leg strikes plus in a ten second time period. This will give you a 90 step cadence per minute and will help prevent over striding and foster better form. Focus on form. Remember to run with a proud posture with eyes focused on what is ahead).
I’ll do the swim at LA Fitness Universal City. I’m going to throw in some weight training while I’m there. I’ll do the run at Balboa Park.
Once I finish my training for the day, I’m heading down to Long Beach to pick-up my Long Beach Marathon Bike Tour packet. Long Beach was my first full marathon and I have a soft spot for the event. Running it would hinder my Ironman Arizona training, but biking it is a great way to enjoy this marvelous coastal race. Race day temps should be perfect too!
If you want ripped abs, hanging leg curls is a GREAT (and painful) way to get them! Be sure to click on today's Wakeup Workout video to learn the correct way to perform the excerise!
Click here to read my previous posts.
Also, follow me and our Today in LA team onTwitter!
