Ironman Sweden is coming up in ~ 3 and a half weeks time and I’m in the final stages of preparations. On the whole I’m feeling pretty good. The last 6-10 weeks of training have gone very well. Well, I believe they have gone well, I will never know what changes I could have made to improve/worsen the results. 2 weeks ago I was exhausted finishing 3 weeks of intense training with a 3 hour run on the Thursday and then a 5 hour race simulation workout on the Saturday (not to mention the training on the Friday!). On the Sunday I had weighed myself and my weight (after rehydrating/eating/etc) was at 130 pounds. I’ve not weighed that amount since I was half my age which is worrying because I’ve never been a big man in any case despite my big mouth. After the 3 hour run I was a paltry 126.8 pounds. That’s great if I’m trying to turn myself into a marathon runner but unfortunately I was worried the weight loss was affecting my bike power which would be hugely disappointing.
So on my rest day I was thinking about a few things:
- What is my ideal weight for racing?
- Have I dropped power on the bike as well as pounds off of my body? Or am I just tired?
Before thinking about that I considered the positives:
- My running feels much better after running consistently since the early part of the year (I have history of running injuries). My form feels more economical and my heart rate is markedly lower when I’m cruising. Additionally, my cruising speed as increased pretty dramatically. Last year I would do my long runs at about 6.6-7mph if I wanted to keep my heart rate below 140 but now that’s looking more like 7.5mph. Huzzah.
- Even if my bike power hasn’t improved at all, I’ve dropped 10lbs do my power to weight ratio has improved, which is a key cycling metric when comparing person to person.
- My endurance has really improved. In the intense training period I had one bike session where I was caught with headwinds for the entire ride turning a 5-6 hour ride into a 7 hour ride. Despite the second degree sunburn (sorry mum!) I still felt strong towards the end of the ride and maintained a very positive outlook.
So, after reviewing the positives I was ready to think about the outstanding question of my weight.
Decision number 1 was that I need to stem the weight loss. It’s all very well eating healthy but if my body is tapping into my body fat/protein supplies to keep going then it was going to eventually end in injury. So, a post workout McDonalds was in order for the time being until I came up with a better plan. After long workouts (3 hour plus) I was eating a Double Quarterpounder with cheese with a whopping 750 calories. After a few days I had planned and stocked the fridge with more healthy options, my favourite being: white english muffin with almond butter, cheese (brie most of the time!), and avocado. It was small compact and filled with over 500 calories. It was also basic ingredients so I knew I wasn’t picking up any hormones or crap they put in burgers and getting a whole heap of nutritional goodies (protein, magnesium, healthy fats) along with the ’empty calories’. Snacking is also going to be reintroduced with no guilt; so I ordered a 5lb bag of Haribo Green Frogs which I can munch on no matter how I’m feeling.
Decision number 2 was I will eat more over the coming weeks and then review weight later. It’s now weeks later and my weight is back up to 134 pounds despite being in the middle of my final intense training block. I feel great. Of those extra 4 pounds I put on I’m guessing one or two of them could be muscle but I’m not going to stress the rest given I feel great. At the end of the first week I had a race simulation session where I bike at a given effort level and then run afterwards to see how I’m feeling. I felt great on the bike, the watts were very easy to attain and my urge was to push harder. Getting off the bike onto the run I started running according to feel and after a kilometre I looked at my pace and I was already 15 seconds below my race pace target. 30 minutes later I still felt good at that pace and even quicker but knew it probably wasn’t a pace I could sustain for 3 hours plus. So two positives there: bike feeling good, and running off the bike feeling good.
Decision number 3. My overall strategy still seems to be yielding good results and I was probably just tired at the end of the intense training block. I need to repeat that training block again (with some variations to keep my body guessing) and keep focusing on stretching, nutrition and recovery to ensure I stay injury free. That’s not really a decision but I like to call it such to reaffirm my belief that I’m heading in the right direction.
One of my race goals is to shave 15 minutes or more off my marathon time. That’s a pretty lofty goal but I’m starting to feel like it’s very achievable if I have a good race day. According to this calculator I should be saving 11 minutes or so off the time just because of the weight loss. I don’t know how accurate it is but I’ll put it in the evidence locker to keep my belief strong.
Onwards and upwards
Tired Legs Empty Mind 