Ironman: Training
Training was humbling to say the least. I trained for 6 months for a race that was canceled due to covid. Then I had to train for another 6 months for the real thing. My dad and I had a plan, we trained 6 - 7 days a week with some days having two training sessions. Here is how my week would look like:
Monday - Long Swim
Tuesday - Easy Run + Strength
Wednesday - Structured Run (Tempo, Intervals, and Hills)
Thursday - Easy Swim + Structured Bike
Friday - Easy Run + Strength
Saturday - Rest / Stretch
Sunday - Brick Day: Long Bike + Long Run
My dad and I started at short distances before we got into the long distances. We would increase the distance and intensity each week. I started every week with full energy and then I would end the week exhausted but ready for the next week. While training, I learnt a few lessons on how to pace myself and take every step at a time. At Insideout, I’m able to apply this and teach people hw to do it themselves. Since I was training for a whole year, the second 6 month period was a lot easier than the first 6 month period.
The first 6 month period wiped me out to say the least. By week 20 of training I was tired and needed a lot of breaks during training. This is when my dad and I knew I was close to over training and we had to pull back the intensity. Once I felt better, we got back into the intensity of everything.
However, the second 6 month period was a blast. I still had days where I was exhausted but they became less and less. I took that as a victory. My training capabilities increased and I could not be more happy. Then once we knew that Ironman Tremblant was a go for 2022, that's when the nerves set it.
Months before the race I would get waves of nerves going over me. Then I finally got to taper week. I was happy that the volume of all my training was going down and that I could go on vacation. However, the intensity increased to prepare my body to race.
Before I went to bed every night, I would reflect on my training. I would think of how I did it and that all the hard work was not for nothing. This goal that I created and was ready to accomplish kept me motivated for every hard training day and would reduce the nerves I had.
Finally, twas the night before race day. I was nervous but I was spending the time with my support crew. Everyone celebrated how far my dad and I have gotten. We ate a lot of pasta and prepared for the next day.