It’s less than a week away. 4 hours on the bike to raise money for cancer research. 2019 Cycle for Survival in the Equinox in Huntington Beach, CA. I’m gunning for 80 miles during my ride, which means averaging 20mph for 240 minutes. OOOOHHHH that’s gonna suck. But hey – it’s for a good cause and, if I can do this, I’ll have complete faith in my ability to get to T2 in Ironman Santa Rosa in May well before the cutoff time. So this ride will be a real test in every way, shape and form. In order to prep for this one, I basically rode the bike all weekend. ALL…..WEEKEND. I’m not sore – and I’m shocked about that fact.
So I’ve begun to develop a training plan for myself that seems to work. It’s rather demanding of my time, but that’s fine by me. Certain goals require you to change up how you do things – to re-define your routine. Like the old saying goes:
NOTHING CHANGES IF NOTHING CHANGES.
So I’ve continued to tweak my routine little by little, moving things around and adding things here and there. Lately, I’ve enjoyed playing Dr. Frankenstein. So I’ll share my basic game plan for a normal week here, as I’ve designed it to basically be the physical equivalent of cramming for a difficult exam…….
- The alarm goes off at 4am daily. This has been a routine for me for a while now, so the fact that I’m actually getting up that this hour no longer makes me want to toss my Iphone out a window.
- Each morning, I’ll bike for an hour and then run for an hour. This accomplishes several things: it allows me to jack up my metabolism first thing in the morning, and burn a decent amount of calories before breakfast. This is important because I need to lose a significant amount of weight in order to achieve the ultimate goals of competing in Kona and covering those 500 miles again in 2020. So each morning, the goal is to be left with a tiny bit less of me than when I woke up. Also, going from the bike and immediately transitioning to the run allows me to practice my T2 routine. Lastly, I’ve found it difficult to get my legs to “fire” for running after stressing them and building up lactic acid on the bike. This is good practice for race day.
- I’ve been bringing my own, home made breakfast and lunch to work. I’ve been using Myfitnesspal to estimate calorie intake and track hydration throughout the day. Using a free app like this also makes me a bit more self-conscious about what I eat during each day – if I need to log it in, and it’s crappy for me, it helps me say NO to Oreos, etc.
- I’m lucky enough to have a pool in my apartment complex. It’s an outdoor one, and it’s not really heated – so in the evenings I’ve tried to swim because, as Goggins says, “each day you need to do something that absolutely sucks”. So I’ll log some yards in the pool. Then I’ll dry off and hit the small gym that we have in the complex. I’ll do a simple routine ( shared here: My Basic Strength Workout ) that works on building up a bit of muscle. Endurance races break down muscle…so you first should build up some muscle in preparation.
- Dinner has always been my weakest point. I’ve burned the calories, and I’ve done the exercises…and then here comes that heavy need for calories that taste AWESOME (i.e., everything that would negate any gains made on the day). This is where I need the most practice: saying NO to the stuff that I crave. I’ve been working on this one. For a long time. And I still trip up A LOT.
- Before I crash for the night, I now do some stretching or some yoga. Yes, you read that right: I…….do……a little yoga. Right now the only way I can touch my toes is if someone would cut them off my feet and hand them to me. Buuuuut, I’ll get flexible if I stick with it.
- last but not least, I close the door to my room, do a few minutes of meditation (yup, I’m doing that shit too – it’s got to be the California vibe that snuck into my bloodstream. Then I check my blood pressure, review my schedule for tomorrow, and hit the sack my 9:30pm.
I know…not very exciting. But I need this crash course to give me the best chance of covering 140.6 miles in less than 17 hours. 5 weeks until Ironman 70.3 Oceanside, and 10 weeks until Ironman Santa Rosa. GAME ON.
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March 3rd…..4 hours on the bike with a goal of 80 miles or more in order to raise money to fight cancer. Please check out my Cycle for Survival donation page (I’ve attached the link below), and consider a donation to this important cause. Thanks!
…and if you’re interested in checking out my race schedule, I’ve shared that link below as well!
My cycle for Survival Donation Page!
