Post-Season Training Update!

Well, since my off-season started after my last race in Pocono, there is not much to write about.  I ran….once….and I biked….once.  These first couple of weeks, I think it’s important to simply rest and recover, both physically and mentally.  It’s simple: I just listen to my body.  If I want to swim, bike or run, I will, but if things get in the way or I really don’t feel like it, I give myself a “free pass” this time of year.  Right or wrong, it’s just what I do.  To me there is no doubt about the importance of consistency in training, and long-term, consistent training is necessary to yield improvements and training gains.  However, as part of staying consistent (and healthy) over the long term, I also feel we all need a break to let our bodies recover.  Why is this break important?  For me at least, after many months of commitment, sacrifice and focused workouts, taking some time off gets that fire going again and sets me up to approach that next training block with the proper intensity and motivation.  Basically I take a small step back, in the short-term, in order to see bigger gains in the long term.  And since my next race is over 6 months away, I’d say that falls into the long-term category of training at this point.   Although it is about time to get back in the pool.  That’s it for now.

Ironman Pocono 70.3 Race Report

Ironman Pocono 70.3 was a pretty late addition to my race calendar in 2012.  After a strong finish at IM Louisville, I wasn’t ready to call it a season and really wanted to do one more race.  After considering some downtime for recovery, there were not many options, and a road trip to the Poconos seemed like a good idea.  I’ve already posted on my IM recovery and fitness was going into this race, so I’m not going to go into detail again, but here is the overview.  Overall, my swim and bike were very close to pre-IM levels, but my run was still a little off.  Given the how my runs were going, I know I was not hitting the same top-end pace I was easily doing before Louisville.  I’m sure my body still needed more recovery to run faster, but after 6 weeks with no speedwork, I felt I needed to run my intervals fast to get my speed back.  It was definitely a double-edged sword and a fine-line to balance.  Regardless, I held out hope my run would come around, but there was a good chance I would not be setting a personal best.  But it didn’t really matter to me.  Racing is fun.  Period.  Also, since this was my first season racing in the Pro Field, I wanted more experience so it is crystal clear where I stand and how I need to prepare for next year.  So off I went to the Poconos!

The Ironman Recovery Roller Coaster!

The weeks immediately after an Ironman are always a series of ups and down….kind of like a roller coaster.  While I haven’t done many Ironman Distance races, IM Louisville was my 5th, but it has been enough for me to notice some trends in my recovery and mental state.  Based on that, here is a summary of my past weeks between Ironman Louisville and Pocono 70.3….