Training to Be a Tinman

I am so excited to announce that my training for the Topeka Tinman 70 officially begins on Monday!  I've been diligently maintaining base fitness throughout the winter and getting my nutrition in check trying to reign in my nutrition.  I'm ready to begin!

If you are not familiar with a half-iron (70.3) distance triathlon, here's the breakdown:

1.2 mile swim - which is about 2100 yards.  Okay, no big deal - that's a regular weekday swim, right?

56 mile bike ride - okay...that turns up the heat a little.  Pacing and nutrition will be important!

13.1 mile run - have I lost my mind!?

I'll be using a the Intermediate training plan from the book IronFit Triathlon Training for Women by Melanie & Don Fink.  I used their Olympic distance plan last year to finish the Topeka Tinman Olympic distance.  Same training plan, same venue...just a little longer event this time.

This training plan begins with 6 hours per week of training and peaks at several 12 hour weeks.  By week 5, I will need to start waking up earlier to fit in the workouts before work.  I will also need to go back to swimming on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.  That seemed to work fairly well last year when I was training for the Oly distance tris.  It takes blind determination because it's super hard to come home from work, make dinner and see the family and then leave right before the kids go to bed.  Let me tell you...by Friday morning I am SO grateful for that rest day...it's Heaven on Earth!

I have my workouts planned.  What else do I need to factor in?  Well, at age 42 I'm well aware of potential saboteurs to my plan.  The biggest one is stress.  I never miss workouts, but I have a long history of off the rails junk calorie consumption when I get stressed out.  So I need a plan to combat that.

Things to do instead of consume crappy calories when I'm stressed out:

15 minutes of yoga with my Yoga Studio app.  I'm considering ways to get dinner somewhat started the morning before (maybe chop the veggies?) so that I can come home and quickly change my clothes and do a 15 minute yoga rescue before the evening gets underway.

Go for a walk.  We are currently under a sheet of ice here in Nebraska, but it won't last long.  Perhaps when I feel stressed out in the evenings, I can take a short stroll through my neighborhood.  It would get me a little fresh air and get me time alone.  That comes at a premium when you have kids!

Watch some cute animal or comedian videos.  I have access to YouTube so why not?

Okay!  Now I have the stress calorie consumption plan and the workouts planned!  All I have to do now is begin.  I have an indoor super sprint tri tomorrow and then no races until the Lincoln Half Marathon on May 6th.   That will be the beginning of Week 11 and my running will have progressed up to an 11 mile long run by that week.  I do have a 60 mile bike ride and 4 mile run brick the day before - but I'm just going to train through Lincoln and have fun. 

It's just a C Race...lol


I'm excited!!  I know I can do this.  I did it in 2014 with my husband.  You can read about that HERE.  There's been a whole lot of water under the bridge since then, but I'm ready now.  I spent last year getting in shape to even start this and it's going to be AWESOME.  I plan on updating the blog with my training journey.  It won't be exciting but it will be a good way to stay accountable with my stress reduction techniques and the training.  Any and all suggestions, pats on the back and condolences will be gratefully accepted.

LET'S DO THIS.

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