Starting Base Period Three
According to my Annual Training Plan, I’ve just started the third, and final, “base” period. Each base period is four weeks long – three weeks of increasing training volume and then a recovery week. Base is for building an endurance and strength base that will allow me to physically withstand the distances and become ready to tackle the “build” phase. As I understand it, during build, I’ll be doing a fair amount of race simulation training to get myself physically and psychologically ready for race day. After build comes a couple weeks of “peak” and then it’s race day. When I look at it like that, it seems awfully close…
However you define it, after the recovery week I jumped right back into training and am off to a good start. Three days of fairly intense training behind me this week, with two quality swims and a long, sustained effort ride (on the trainer, unfortunately).
After looking at my Cherry Blossom results and my heart rate average during the race, coach John has given me new running paces (planned running pace while in specific HR zone):
Zone1 – low Zone2 = 8:01 (easy pace)
Zone2 – Zone3 = 6:49 (marathon pace)
Zone4 = 6:26 (1hr pace)
Zone 5a = 4:25 (3/4mile) 88 seconds (1/4mile)
Zone 5b = 82 seconds (1/4mile)
That’s pretty impressive, if I don’t say so myself. I’m not convinced I could do a marathon at anywhere near a 6:49/mile pace (about a 2:59 marathon – take that Lance!), but I have been keeping my heart rate in zones 2 and 3 at that pace and have been able to sustain that pace for medium-to-long distance runs. And, I won’t be finding out about the marathon pacing any time soon, as I’m not doing another stand-alone of those at least until next April. John did make it clear that I wouldn’t be spending much, if any, time in Zone 5a or 5b during Ironman training.
This weekend takes me back to the four+ hour ride. The bummer is that right now the forecast calls for rain and low 40’s all day Sunday, which for me means, four hours of brain-numbing effort on the trainer. I’ve gotten tough on the bike and can ride in the cold and if it were race day, I’d be out there trying to smile, but I’m not willing to do a training ride in the cold rain. Keep your fingers crossed for the rain to skip right past us.
Swim – April 9
Distance: 3,300 yards
Time: 1:16
Strength – April 9
Time: 40 minutes
Bike – April 10
Time: 1:30
Average heart rate: 124
Indoor ride
Run – April 10
Distance: 3.4 miles
Time: 30 minutes
Average heart rate: 134
Treadmill run
Swim – April 11
Distance: 3,400 yards
Time: 1:12
Strength – April 11
Time: 15 minutes