After the testing week and first 'real' week of my training plan, here my time and distance totals:
Swim: 2 hours 25 minutes, 3700 meters. Bike: 6 hours 50 minutes, 111 miles. Run: 4 hours 10 minutes, 21 miles.
Total time: 13 hours 25 minutes... it only goes up for the next 38 weeks!
When you're beginning any training program, it's a good idea to test your current level of fitness. Lifters test their maximum weights, runners might take times in their respective events. Triathlon's version of "Whaddya bench?" is the lactate threshold test.
When your body is excercising it uses the oxygen you breathe in to burn sugars. A waste product of this reaction is lactate. Your body produces lactate every time you move a muscle, and it must be absorbed and removed by the body. As the intensity of your exercise increases, your body will eventually fail to absorb all the lactate that is being produced, and the result is the "burn" you may have heard the stereotypical aerobics instructor yelling about while sweatin' to the oldies. This "burn" is known scientifically as the lactate threshold, and spells the beginning of the end of your ability to maintain your level of intensity. Lactate begins backing up in your cells, interfering with other important pathways, and you have two choices: slow down, or fall over in a giant cramp.
Lactate threshold can be improved through training, and triathletes use it as a tool in determining current fitness level. At its most scientific, it involves poking you with a needle attached to a lactate monitor and increasing excercise intensity until the lactate level in the bloodstream spikes. At its most basic, you can get a decent approximation by measuring your heart rate with respect to pace while going as hard as you can for thirty minutes.
And that is exactly what I've been doing for the last week or so. Testing helps establish heart rate zones in which I can train for extended periods and still recover properly. Hopefully, it will also provide hard evidence that I'm becoming more fit. The first round of results are: Swim: 2:10 per 100m, Bike: 180 watts at 167 beats per minute, Run: 10:20 per mile at 188 beats per minute. I will be testing every four weeks and posting the results as they come in.
On an unrelated note, it's my favorite sporting weekend of the year: The British Open and the Tour de France are on simultaneously. TiVo will be working over time!
I've just signed up for my first Ironman...Ironman Arizona, which takes place April 13, 2008. While I've been doing triathlons for several years, this is my first foray into the full Ironman distance - a 112 mile bike ride sandwiched between a 2.4 mile swim and a marathon, 26.2 mile run.
Lots of folks have asked what's involved in preparing for this particular distance, and to be totally honest I'm only beginning to find out. As my training progresses I'll be using this blog to chronicle all the events along the road to Tempe.
That's where you come in, dear reader. While I have lots of motivation for doing well in this race - more on this to come later - I'm also a big believer in that what's recorded gets done. If I know I have to report back here on my training (good or bad), I'll be that much more motivated to resist the snooze button and hit the gym.
So, thanks for stopping by, and please check back in frequently to keep me on task. With the amount of time I'll be spending out training, my entries won't be very long!
