I’ve been asked a few times this week how I fit Ironman training in along with work, family, etc. I’ve had a couple of 15 hour training weeks this month and while challenging, it’s definitely do-able. I’m still early in the training schedule – there is still 110 days to go before race day and my peak training week will jump to 20+ hours. Here is the answer to the question – one week’s schedule for my Ironman training.
Monday – training day off! Great start. Got to sleep in until 6 and was at work by 7:30. I conducted an orientation for new employees most of the day and was on my feet a lot. On top of the training from the previous week, the legs were a little sore. Mondays, my typical rest day consist of lots of protein. Typically eggs in the morning, a salad at lunch time and salmon for dinner.
Tuesday – Alarm goes off at 4am. I’m on the road by 4:2o for a 45 minute run that included 6 x 5 minute intervals at 85%. After this I had a quick change and drove to Planet Fitness to get a weight workout in. I get there around 5:30 and back home by 6:30. After making my smoothie and my son’s smoothie, I take a quick shower and get to work at around 7:40. I work through lunch – typically packing my lunch and visit the salad bar at the local grocery store. My wife has a meeting so I pick up my son at 6, bring him home, make dinner and help him with homework. After he goes to bed around 8 I hit the trainer for a 1 hour ride. Finish my pasta dinner by 9:30 and fall asleep on the couch watching 24 from Tivo.
Wednesday – Alarm goes off at 4am. This morning I have a brick so I’m on the trainer by 4:30 for a 50 minute interval session, followed by a 40 minute outdoor run with the same intervals as the Monday morning session. I’m back home a little after 6am, make my son and myself our smoothies and hit the shower. I get to work for 7:45. I’m out the door right at 5:30 so I can get to Masters swimming for 6pm. That lasts for an hour. I get home about 7:20, have my pasta dinner, and fall asleep to Lost. Thank goodness for Tivo!
Thursday – The UNH pool doesn’t open until 6 so I get to sleep in a little until 5:30. I arrive at the pool by 5:50 and am the first one in the water. The workout today consisted of a 2,500 yard continuous swim. That took me 40 minutes – I shower at the pool and head home to eat (my regular smoothie), change into work clothes and get to work by 7:45. I have a ride that night so I also pack a bag with my bike gear and load my bike into the back of the car. I left work right at 5:3o to meet a couple of friends for a 6pm recovery ride along the coast. In typical New England fashion, the fog rolled in just as we were rolling out. Thankfully I had enough gear with me to keep warm. I finish the ride at 7:15 and pick up my son from my wife who has some late meetings. Once my son and I get home we both get dinner and I fall asleep on the couch watching re-runs of The Office on Tivo (detecting a pattern here?).
Friday – Alarm goes off at 4am. I had a 90 minute on the schedule and was out the door by 4:30. It was incredibly foggy and I thought my 10.5 mile loop would take me a little longer as a result, but, I finished in 1 hour 31 minutes. By the time I stretched, ate, showered and packed my lunch for the day, I still had time to grab a bagel and decaf coffee at Panera and arrive at work by 7:55. I also packed a gym bag so I can do my strength training after work. I get to Planet Fitness by 5:30 and home by 6:30 to help facilitate the craziness of a sleep over with two 11-year old boys. Somehow I managed to stay awake until 10pm.
Saturday – My son had a sleep over on Friday night so Saturday morning consisted of making pancakes for them before heading out on a 1-hour run at about 7am. Once I got back I did some work around the house and took a short nap before heading to the pool and getting a 45-minute swim workout in. I also had a 2nd 45-minute run workout planned for the afternoon which I was going to do in the late afternoon. But, I was feeling good after the swim so I decided to get the run in right after the swim. That gave me the rest of the afternoon to eat and nap.
Sunday – Today was the final push for a a long week. I had a 3-hour ride on the schedule followed by a 15-minute run plus a core workout. Because of the anticipated cold and windy weather in the morning and a family commitment, I decided to wait until the afternoon to get my ride in. Originally, the plan was to be on the road by 2pm. However, my son got a new gadget for his Playstation and needed help setting it up. Remembering how I felt as a kid after getting a new toy, I helped him get that set up before heading out. Unfortunately, the wind had not died down much but at least the temps had rose up into the 50’s, which made for a challenging but comfortable ride. After the ride, I headed out for a run and felt surprisingly good and topped the day off with a core workout. It was a perfect end to the weekend. My wife made me a great dinner, bought Ghiaradelli chocolate chips for snacking and the Tour of Flanders was on Versus. It was a good day and I’m looking forward to a rest day.
Stats for the week:
7000 yards of swimming
99.25 miles of biking
35 miles of running
15 hours 11 minutes total training time including strength training
27,400 approximate total calories burned
Dave Criswell 