Book: Be Iron Fit by Don Fink

Just finished reading "Be Iron Fit: Time-efficient Training Secrets for Ultimate Fitness" by Don Fink. I think I'll go with his 30 week training plan for the Ironman.


30 Aug 2009

Running:
12km - 1:07:30

Easy tapering run...

Swim:
1600m - 30:00

... followed by an easy / moderate open-water swim.

28 Aug 2009

Bike:
98.7km - 3:50 (450m)

Entire distance into a strong head wind. Had planned to go further, but stopped at Kaiserslautern after a very tough (almost) 4 hours. Second half undulating.

26 Aug 2009

Running:

15 min Warm-up
5 Yasso 800s - 3:19/ 3:24 / 3:21 / 3:23 / 3:20 -> 3:21
15 min Cool-down

Legs quite tired. Time for a rest day.

25 Aug 2009

Bike:
46km - 1:45 (620m)

Hilly / undulating ride. Think I got bitten behind the knee by a tick - they are a bl**dy pest this time of the year...

24 Aug 2009

Swim:
46:30 - 2500m (approx.)

Long open-water swim at modarate speed. Good preparation for Locarno. No real problems (apart from my elbow which got also battered when I fell the other day...).

23 Aug 2009

Run:
32km - 2:58:30

First 3 hour run without any major problems. 20km easy, rest moderate. Got nutrition right for once. First time that I wore my heart-rate monitor in a long time.

Right knee is badly bruised after a stupid fall yesterday. Didn't hurt during run, but is pulsating now.

20 Aug 2009

Running:
11.8km - 1:01:30

Moderate speed except km 10 (4:29) in hot conditions even though I ran in the morning to avoid the forecasted 37 degrees for later in the day. Legs heavy.

17 Aug 2009

Gym 30 minutes (15 Core, 15 Strength)

Another short gym session in another nice hotel in London.

16 Aug 2009

Running:
26.4km - 2:32

First long(ish) run in quite a while. Very warm, but ok due to slow speed.

14 Aug 2009

Bike: 110km - 3:52 (800m)

Good long ride from home to Ludwigsburg in very warm weather conditions. First half flat, second half undulating. Speed easy to moderate. Drank 2 1/2 liters and was still dehydrated.

Used newly fitted Aerodrink bottle for the first time - very strange construction, but good once it is fitted.



Oh, and I also signed up for another middle distance triathlon: Triathlon Locarno. I always wanted to cycle in the Alps...

13 Aug 2009

Running:

15 min Warm-up
4 Yasso 800s - 3:15/ 3:24 / 3:22 / 3:19 -> 3:20
15 min Cool-down

First Yasso session in ages. Strange to run on a track after such a long time.

11 Aug 2009

Running:
13.2km - 1:11

Easy / moderate run through Richmond Park in London. Warm and mildly undulating. Very enjoyable.

10 Aug 2009

Gym 30 minutes (15 Core, 15 Strength)

First gym session in about 3 months in a nice hotel in Cambridge. Arms very heavy - need to start doing more strength and, more importantly, core work before training regime starts.

09 Aug 2009

Running:
12km - 1:05

Easy / moderate run. Legs much better and almost back to normal.

First run in a new pair of Nike Lunarglide+ - my treat after last week's success ;-)


08 Aug 2009

Bike:
32km - 1:08

Easy recovery ride in very hot conditions (over 32 degrees)

07 Aug 2009

Swim:
1200m - 22:00

Easy open-water swim in (old) short wetsuit.

05 Aug 2009

Running:
6.6km - 40:00

First recovery run. Body not really ready yet for this...

02 Aug 2009

Antwerp 70.3 - 5:15:58 [Results]



Swim: 33:33 (496th)

T1: 3:06 (206th)
Bike: 2:46:10 (576th)
T2: 1:59 (213th)
Run: 1:53:08 (506th)

Total: 536th out of 855 Finishers
V1H: 79th out of 126

This was one of the toughest and best things I have ever done in a very, very competitve field.

The weather wasn't on our side when we woke up on race day. Pouring rain and quite strong winds wasn't what we needed so everybody was soaked while setting up T1. I was relatively calm before the start which helped a lot.



The swim was pretty uneventful (apart from some waves caused by the TV helicopter) and I exited the water to realise that my stop watch showed 00:00:00 before mastering a huge T1.

The bike was almost flat (a tunnel and a couple of fly overs), quite boring, very windy and rather dangerous. Big mats were placed over railway lines that had to be crossed (approx. 20 of them) which caused problems especially in the wet conditions. Loads of crashes and lost kit. I felt really strong and made up a lot of time compared to my planned schedule of 3 hours.

T2 was on cobbles - very nice to run on with wet and cold feet. There were only markers every 5km by which time I realised that I went out way too fast (sub 24:00). I slowed down (a bit) got through 10km in just under 49:00 before things got very tough. Having to pass the finish 3 times didn't help nor did the lack of crowd support. Managed to battle through the last lap which was very agonising and was awared with the biggest and heaviest medal ever...



Überhappy with my time albeit the terrible run. A fantastic experience, but physically and mentally much harder than I had anticipated.