Training in December
Happy New Year! It's a new year and a lot to look forward to, but this post is to summarize my December Ironman Training results. December is obviously a busy month with the holidays and on top of that my sons birthday is right after Christmas. This month is the biggest balancing act I'll do all year. On one side of the scale I have a shit ton of training to do throughout the week. With running sessions, Peloton rides, and weight lifting sessions I'm constantly planning my week and day to fit them all in. With 8 1/2 months to go before the Ironman 70.3 in Frankfort Michigan, I have a lot of work to do. On the other side of the scale I have family, work, and hopefully enough rest. I really want to put everything I have into being ready for this race but my overall quality of life can't deteriorate because dad wants to complete a triathlon. This month I think I was able to balance both sides and I had some really good training sessions. Here is how December went on my path to my first Ironman 70.3.
My Running
The best or brightest part of my December has been the running portion of my training. I completed every run on my schedule and handled the increases on my weekly long runs. This is pretty much the schedule I followed for the month.
Week 1 | 40 min run | 30 min run/40min bike ride | 6.14 -mile run |
Week 2 | 40 min run | 30 min run/40min bike ride | 6.76-mile run |
Week 3 | 1 hour run | 30 min run/40min bike ride | 7.31-mile run |
Week 4 | 1-hour run | 30 min run/40min bike ride | 8.07-mile run |
So the first run of the week is an easier run that is shorter than the long run. I call it a "medium run". The second run is a stack with a bike ride as well. First I do a 40 min Peloton ride and then immediately go outside for a 30 min run. This is my Triathlon"ish" training block during the week. A 30-minute run sounds easy but that 40 min Peloton ride pre-exhausts your legs so it makes it challenging. The last run of the week is my biggest challenge. Every week I add 10 percent to my previous long run. It doesn't sound like much but as you can see in the table I increased my long run by 2 miles this month. The Ironman 70.3 has a 13.1 mile run so that is what I'm building towards. I'm terrible at math but I think I'll be there in 5 weeks.
December Weather is helping! The weather in Michigan this December has been super mild. Normally we get 3-4 snow storms in December and that makes paths around here icy and difficult to run on. This year we've got a couple of dustings and they've melted by the afternoon. There was a week where the highs were right around 50 degrees. January might be a different story but it's been perfect running weather lately!
January update- As I'm getting ready to post this I went for a run early this morning and it was 25 degrees and the sidewalks were iced over. 13 minute miles as I slowly jog being careful not to slip and fall!
Peloton Rides
No road bike yet and the weather has been good but not outside bike riding good. 3 days a week I rode on my Peloton changing the duration and resistance. This is what December looked like.
Week 1 | 1 hour just ride | 40 min ride | 20 min Hill ride |
Week 2 | 1 hour just ride | 40 min ride | 20 min Hill ride |
Week 3 | 1 hour just ride | 40 min ride | 20 min Hill ride |
Week 4 | 1 hour just ride | 40 min ride | 20 min Hill ride |
The 1 hour Peloton ride I feel is helping me build my endurance. Once I hit 13 miles in my running I'm going to focus more on biking/swimming. For now, these 3 rides are going to get me started. In the next couple weeks I'm going to bump up the "just ride" 10-15 mins to keep building. Riding the Peloton might not be as good as riding on the road but I feel like its a solid workout that does translate.
Nutrition for December
December has been challenging but it's also the holiday season. If I normally eat clean 90 percent of the time I'd say I'm at about 80 percent in December. There was a candy dish out of Christmas M&M's and I'd probably walk by 3-4 times a day. Would I grab 3-4 on each pass.....yes, I did! Do I feel bad.....No! I still had 2 Huel Shakes a day, Kodiak pancakes for breakfast, and healthy lunches and dinners. I did have the occasional treat and holiday meal without regard to macros. I felt really good all month probably because I did eat 80 percent clean and hit all my training sessions. The one thing I didn't do last month was weigh myself. I didn't want to think about gaining 1 pound because I had a slice of cake. This month however I am going to refocus dropping a few pounds for January. Getting lighter for swimming, biking, and running for a triathlon will equal more success!
January Goals!
I'm posting this the first week in January and I'm shooting for a few goals to achieve or get started on. With 8 months to go every month has to mean something!
More Running Goals!
Like I said earlier in 5 weeks I should be close to running 13 miles. That should put me at roughly the first week of February. So for January, I want to make sure I hit every run with special attention to my long runs. January is setting me up for the chance to hit my running goal in February. Also, I replaced my old running shoes back in August. By the end of January, I'm going to need a new pair!
More Peloton Goals!
I still won't be on the road in January here in Michigan but I still want to make some progress in the biking category. What I'd like to do is increase time on all three bike rides. So for my longer just ride I'd like to be doing 1 hour 10 mins. For my 40 min ride I do stacked with my run I'd like that to be 45 mins. Then for my Hill rides I'd like to be at 30 mins. I won't be increasing all the rides the first week but I'd like to make all the changes by the end of the month. I want to be able to write my January review next month and say I increased all 3.
Get in the Pool!
I've been working on my running and biking for the last couple of months but I'm neglecting the obvious. I haven't had one swim training session. Well, my goal is to change all that by the end of the month. I live in a small town and we don't have a gym with a pool. I read our high school has open swim and they have some of the pool roped off for laps. 3 days a week and I just have to buy a pass. No actual swimming goals except to get in the pool and just get started. February will be all about improving and I know that will be my weakest link.
Losing Weight
Running, biking, swimming, and weightlifting 6 days a week seems like a great program to lose weight. I need to drop about 30 pounds so it will be easier on my body. I just weighed myself as I'm finishing this and I'm at 272. That's about 3 pounds heavier for the month of December. January I'm expecting that to be gone and maybe another 1 or 2 pounds. Plenty of time in January to make that happen. I feel a little pressure now that we are less than 9 months away!