Ironman Florida 2012 Training: What's Different this Time Around?

1.    1.    I’m doing a lot of training with my long time buddy, Carl Bonner, who’s also training for his Ironman comeback at Florida.  Training with Carl is interesting.

2 Runners, 2 Cups.  Carl and I have never been accused of having a serious side.

He’s had a couple bad wipeouts in the past that were car related, including being hit by one during the Fiesta Biathlon.  As a result, he’s a little jumpier than the rest of us when we’re on the road.  We’ll be in the middle of a hard interval and I’m doing all I can do to maintain pace and we’ll come up on an intersection with no traffic coming either way.  I’ll yell, “CLEAR!” and motor through and then look back……there’s Carl stopped at the curb waiting for God knows what.  If we come up on a dog most of us cyclists just yell, “DOG!” and it’s up to you to take evasive action as you see fit, but you still gotta be aware of staying with the peloton.  But Carl’s protocol is to yell at the dog: “GAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!” By then we’ve put a gap on him and it’s just Carl and the dog blinking at each other.  I’m not sure what the dog makes of this but I bet it’s very entertaining for him. Carl also doesn’t like me running on the asphalt against traffic.  So running with him is like having a little bitty wife on your shoulder as a backseat driver.  But it’s all good.  He’s a great training buddy and doesn’t complain when I steer us onto extra crappy roads.  I often wonder if he’s more sensitive to that stuff since he’s a road/building civil engineer nerd.

Last Saturday we did a pretty tough 126 miler on the bikes.  Towards the end, poor Carl’s neck and back locked up like a Khia video.

His neck went out so bad when he got to my house and tried to make himself a sandwich he couldn’t look up on the fridge to see where the bread was!

2.    2.    I’m not as fixed on nailing the mileage according to plan, especially on the run.  I’ve been following the plan probably 98%, but if I feel like running less than the plan says than I cut out what feels right.  It might be smart training……then again, maybe it’s slackin’.  When I laid out my plan, I put every possible mile into training that I could anyway.  It looked good on paper.

3.      3.  I’m trying to bike more.  I felt like I didn’t get enough bike training in for IMCDA 2011 or St Croix 70.3 2012.  Both races I felt that those were my weak legs.  I’m trying to strengthen that for IMFL.  But fitting in more cycling when you’re already doing 22.5 training hours a week and trying to do your job…..well, it’s kinda tough.

4.     4.   I’m experimenting with Red Bull as a caffeine boost during my long workouts.  It sure feels likeI get a good kick in the balls after I chug one anyway.

At least, when I’m struggling during a long run it motivates me to know that this is at the next aid station…..

5.     5.   It’s not really something new that I’m doing, but this IM has a new vibe in that there are 4 of us Tricredible dudes doing this race: Carl, Bert, Kyle and me.  Carl and I train together a lot, so we know what each other is doing.  Bert and I compare notes constantly at work, and we meet for a few training sessions as well.  But Kyle’s under the radar.  We kid about it as if he’s training in secret.  We all wonder what he’s doing.  But it’s just fun to have buddies to compare notes and try to one-up each other on the training numbers and stuff.

6.   6.     I might be more paranoid about getting as much sleep as possible than I have been in the past.  I get antsy if I’m not in bed by 9, and after 9:30 I start to visualize myself turning into a pumpkin.  On Saturdays, after I’ve done my long brick and still have my long run to do early Sunday morning, I’m typically in bed, exhausted, by 7:30.  Minimum 8 hours of sleep per night, but more like 9 or 10 is what I’ve been getting.  At least I feel great in the morning and relish my free time with a cup of coffee prior to going to work.

7.     7.   I’m not focused on that Kona slot for this one.  Really I’m not.  In truth, I don’t think I’m good enough to snag it.  But I AM focused on killing it during this race, PR’ing the distance (this is my first flat course IM, so you’d think that would be an easy goal), hammering in training as best I can, and showing up on the start line in better shape and spitting more fire than I have before.  I have bad days and I have at least one a week where I just don’t wanna do this, but for the most part the gumption is there, and I want to show up at IMFL as if I may not do one of these ever again.  And I’m determined to keep Angie and mom waiting for me at the finish line much less than they have for the last 3 of these things.  Where that all gets me, I dunno.  I guess all I’m counting on is a finisher’s medal and hat and a well-deserved beer.

8.      What hasn’t changed: I’m still being anal about nutrition and weight.  For example, early in the week my dinners are usually more protein based (like salmon with a side of steamed veggies) and small portioned to keep the weight down and the recovery from the weekend’s efforts in motion.  I add a side of rice or pasta or something to my meals towards the end of the week to get some extra carbs in for the weekend workouts to come.  All alcohol is strictly verboten.  The weight I’m trying to maintain (160 or less) is hard enough without drinking, so I don’t need the empty calories.  Plus, it seems to mess with muscle recovery, and when I’m going as far as paying for recovery supplements and vitamins it seems kinda silly to waste that money by drinking at the same time.  I did indulge in a sip of beer Sunday night right before I poured it into a pot to make some French Onion soup though.  And.  It.  Was.  Delicious.  As for my weekly training routine, it’s pretty much the same as the last couple of events I trained for.  Frank Fisher turned me on to some of Joe Friel’s techniques – like biking a couple hours before the long run and some other stuff – but I haven’t figured out how to make the grand scheme fit around my work schedule so I’m sticking to what I know how to do for now.

That’s pretty much it.  To be honest, I’m amazed I’m as gung ho as I am for this race after putting a lot into the last Ironman and then again for St Croix earlier this year.  I don’t know where this energy comes from. The heat of the summer took a lot out of me as well, and made it hard to train and really tough to feel good about what training I was getting in since every mile I felt like a slug in the heat.  The cooler weather we’re having now is just what I need to kick up the gumption a few notches, and I’m looking forward to this Saturday’s Outer Banks Half Iron race.  More to come…..!

September Numbers So Far (9/19):

Hours Exercised: 47.72

Weight: 159.6 lb

Gumption: 96.3%

Bike Distance: 529 mi

Run Distance 105 mi

Swim Distance: 15 mi