Week 24 is done! Finishing with a BANG.
The week was the first of my 24 week campaign into IM Western Australia (Busselton).
This campaign is a little different to all the previous 5, it's a 24 week lead in, 4 more than any previous campaign. Given that I have some experience in Ironman training and races now it is time to put some further effort and time into achieving a sub 10hrs at IM WA.
The 24 week campaign is broken up into 2 phases, over the first 12 weeks will be mainly strength/endurance work keeping intensity levels around 65-75% for the majority of sessions with some technique work thrown in. For the final 12 weeks there will be introduction of some intensity, some more specific strength/endurance work and increasing endurance.
The focus for this campaign is simple:
1. Stick to the plan
2. Stay disciplined
3. Don’t give up
Improvement is only going to come through consistency and commitment to the plan.
Sticking to the plan and putting faith in the plan. It is also about sticking to the specifics of the plan, if it says 'easy' then it important to make sure that the session is done exactly that way.....easy. There is often is a temptation within these types of workouts to go a little harder after a while because the body feels good. No...No...No! Some restraint is required and think of the bigger picture, its 'easy' for a reason and have faith that in doing this session 'easy' it will help to support other session throughout the week.
Stay Disciplined:
Again this is so true for so many things within an IM campaign. It's easy to undo all the good work with undisciplined behaviour. It is very much the small things that need the disciplined attention, diet, stretching, core, and recovery.The plan and discipline have a close relationship. Being disciplined enough to stick with the plan (and the specific instructions) must be a big part of achieving the goals.
It simple....isn't it?
It's a question to ask...which is stronger? The mind or the body? Many people will answer the mind....and this is why people give up. In fact the mind isn't strong at all, it can be easily influenced by many factors and therefore, again, there is the need to stay disciplined. But this is where the body can be an influence, it IS much stronger than the mind and in many athletes it has the capacity to physically push harder and longer. One of the challenges of any sport, not just Triathlon, is to harness the power of the mind for good rather than evil.
If I can maintain this mental and physical focus throughout the 24 weeks, then anything is possible.
The plan also consists of a few other areas which have been a focus for a while but only now I have had a break through.
The Diet......FINALLY I have turned the corner with my diet! Yes, I know, it's taken me a while but I have found that with KO participating in a 12 week Body Transformation Challenge, both of us have been introduced to whole new way of eating. The big thing, with this has been the discipline with the portions. Sometimes I look at the portions and think, 'this is going to be flat out feeding a mouse, let alone me' but I have been true to the philosophy and gone along with the idea.
Along with this has been a conscious effort to eat a lot less sugary foods.
The other big thing is that over the past 5-6weeks I have just had one (375ml) soft drink and this one was a diet variety. Water...water...water and the occasional cup of tea!
The Weight.....
Finally I have got the right formula of eating right and portion control. I have begun the 24 week campaign at a weight of 80kg. This is the lightest I have EVER begun an IM campaign (5-6kg lighter) and it means that, unlike other campaigns, I'm not chasing the weight down and can purely work on the training.
The Core....
If I can maintain this mental and physical focus throughout the 24 weeks, then anything is possible.
The plan also consists of a few other areas which have been a focus for a while but only now I have had a break through.
The Diet......FINALLY I have turned the corner with my diet! Yes, I know, it's taken me a while but I have found that with KO participating in a 12 week Body Transformation Challenge, both of us have been introduced to whole new way of eating. The big thing, with this has been the discipline with the portions. Sometimes I look at the portions and think, 'this is going to be flat out feeding a mouse, let alone me' but I have been true to the philosophy and gone along with the idea.
Along with this has been a conscious effort to eat a lot less sugary foods.
The other big thing is that over the past 5-6weeks I have just had one (375ml) soft drink and this one was a diet variety. Water...water...water and the occasional cup of tea!
The Weight.....
Finally I have got the right formula of eating right and portion control. I have begun the 24 week campaign at a weight of 80kg. This is the lightest I have EVER begun an IM campaign (5-6kg lighter) and it means that, unlike other campaigns, I'm not chasing the weight down and can purely work on the training.
The Core....
Critical! If it's not strong then everything suffers. I guess this is been something that I have neglected up until the Melbourne IM campaign but now I have it as a priority session, where before it would be the first session to be pushed aside. Including Pilates, these sessions are happening 3 times a week.
The Stretching.....
Critical..... I have found this again is a part of my training regime that was neglected in the past, mainly due to the fact is that you get home from a session and need to get to work etc. and just don't get time for it....well, it's a priority and I have made time. I have put together a 25min stretching routine that I do 2 times a week and a shorter 10-15min stretching session that I factor in after harder or long sessions.
The Recovery......
VITAL! The stretching is apart of this recovery.
It is the ice baths, whilst painful after the initial shock it is sooo valuable in bring the body back up to speed, giving those legs their 'zing' back.
The recovery shakes after longer and harder session or making sure I eat within 45min of a session to help the body to recover.
The massage are an important aspect of this recovery and will continue every 4 weeks up to 14 weeks out then will be every 2 weeks.
Sleeping in my compression tights is something that I have embraced and found further support the recovery of the legs.
It is early days in this campaign but there a distinct smell in the air this time round. There is a aroma of focus and commitment that was not possible there in previous campaigns. The weight alone is something that brings further confidence and opens up all sorts of other possibilities over the next 24weeks and, of course, on race day.
The Stretching.....
Critical..... I have found this again is a part of my training regime that was neglected in the past, mainly due to the fact is that you get home from a session and need to get to work etc. and just don't get time for it....well, it's a priority and I have made time. I have put together a 25min stretching routine that I do 2 times a week and a shorter 10-15min stretching session that I factor in after harder or long sessions.
The Recovery......
VITAL! The stretching is apart of this recovery.
It is the ice baths, whilst painful after the initial shock it is sooo valuable in bring the body back up to speed, giving those legs their 'zing' back.
The recovery shakes after longer and harder session or making sure I eat within 45min of a session to help the body to recover.
The massage are an important aspect of this recovery and will continue every 4 weeks up to 14 weeks out then will be every 2 weeks.
Sleeping in my compression tights is something that I have embraced and found further support the recovery of the legs.
It is early days in this campaign but there a distinct smell in the air this time round. There is a aroma of focus and commitment that was not possible there in previous campaigns. The weight alone is something that brings further confidence and opens up all sorts of other possibilities over the next 24weeks and, of course, on race day.