Saturday, March 17, 2012

IMLP - 10-Week Base Training Period in the Bank

Training for Ironman Lake Placid in July of 2012 started just after Christmas.  I'm following a plan by Don Fink known as the IronFit plan (http://www.donfink.com/) that is focused on training time and intensity and not miles.  The plan is made up of 3, 10-week periods and I recently completed the first chunk known as the Base Period.

This training block is all about getting your body used to consistent workouts at a relatively low intensity to build your base aerobic capacity.  In summary you swim 2 times, bike 3 times and run 4 times each week and slowly increase the amount of time in each.

Here's how my Base Period worked out:

  • Swimming - Completed 18.5 hours of the 20 planned, swam 26 miles
  • Biking - Completed 31 hours of the 33 planned, biked 560 miles
  • Running - Completed 34 hours of the 30 planned, ran 220 miles
  • Total - Completed almost 85 hours and logged over 800 miles
With the support of my family, I've been able to keep to the plan and I'm feeling good.

Also, I recently purchased a new triathlon bike.  I've only taken a few rides, but so far it's awesome.  It's a Quintana Roo Lucero.
The next 10 week block is the Build Phase and the hours go up and so does the intensity.  I'll also be racing a half-iron distance race in April known as the Intimidator as part of my training in a hilly section of central Florida known as Clermont.  Good practice for the larger hills of Lake Placid.

Wish me luck!