Monday, November 12, 2007

Training Begins


As I was eating a piece of "Death by Chocolate" with vanilla ice cream lopped on top at a dinner party last night, one of the other party guests asked me "when does training begin for Ironman Florida 2008?". I replied that it won't really begin until Memorial Day 2008. But, that isn't really true. I could argue that training has already begun and I'd like to share a few relevant items in my regimen here.

- I am in a heavy weightlifting phase right now. For the past two months, I was doing weightlifting that consisted of all body parts, twice a week with high reps, low weight. Now, I am in a phase where I lift three days in a row.
  • Day 1: Chest and Arms. Dumbbell press, incline dumbbell press and decline press. 4 - 5 sets with heavy weights. Sets of 10 down to 6 reps on last set. Curls of various types and tricep extensions to hit both sides of the arm.
  • Day 2: Legs. Squats on a Smith Machine. Leg extension. Leg curls. Calf Raises. Again, 4 - 5 sets with heavy weights. Sets of 10 down to 6 reps on the last set.
  • Day 3: Shoulders and Back. Arnolds, shoulder press, military press, lateral raises and a variety of back exerices. The idea is to get the shoulders and back tired out so it is heavy weights and multiple sets.
- Every other day, I'm doing ab and core workouts.

- Running: I'm doing short maintenance runs though I am signed up for a 10k this Sunday. I'm doing the Cold Turkey 10k in honor of Kati Fisher (http://annapolisstriders.org/races/coldturkeyrace.html). My running is 30 - 40 minute runs at a 9 minute mile pace to just maintain form an aerobic capacity. I've been running twice a week.

- Biking: I have not been outside on a bike since the Civil War Century on September 8. My bike is currently in a state of disrepair and I sense some blog posts soon about purchasing a new tri bike. I have ridden a stationary bike at the gym once week. I do an hour on the stationary to the hill program so I can get my average heart rate (hr) into the 140 range. I think time away from the bike will be good although I have to be careful about getting TOO FAR away from good bike fitness.

- Swimming: My gym has a pool. I've been in it. I haven't been in it lately. I'll probably start trying to get 1000 yard swims in a couple times a week. Mostly to work on technique.

- Nutrition: This year, I plan on doing better with my eating. Right now, I am trying to take it easy during the day at work. I am typically eating a bagel with peanut butter around 10 am, a protein shake (banana, strawberries, blueberries, yogurt, soy milk, whey protein powder) for lunch. Then, a Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch Clif bar around 3 pm. Been pretty good with that plan the past couple of weeks. I have to rein in the food consumption when I'm *not* at work. Last night's dinner party did not boost my confidence.

So, training really has begun. I'm trying to build some muscle and maintain my run fitness. I start working on bike and swim technique here soon and am trying to apply a nutrition plan that keeps me from putting on weight during the "offseason".

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Geez TJ ... you are hitting it hard ... I look forward to following your blog ... you are the IRON MAN ...

GaryBNB said...

You the Man.
Happy Turkey Day to you and your family.
See you at The Plunge, Jan. 26th!
Go Team.