Status update...

Ever since we entered Ironman Switzerland 2009 (back in 2008) the issue of how to approach two mdot events separated by a mere seven weeks has been the subject of much discussion. My pre-Lanza strategy was to forget that Switzerland was even happening, put absolutely everything into the first race, and then deal with the second if/when I needed to. Missing out on Hawaii qualification on May the 23rd meant that from the 24th I've been trying my best to balance recovery, training and more recovery with the aim of hitting Switzerland two weeks on Sunday in the shape of my life. From talking to those who have previously raced two events in such close proximity it seems that the trick is to resume a decent level of training as soon as possible, take it to about 80% of peak stress achieved in the build up to the first event and then employ a shorter taper... and cross your fingers! So, with four-and-a-bit weeks down and two-and-a-bit weeks to go how are things looking?

The short answer is 'so far so good' but for a more detailed reflection I thought I'd break down the past month week by week...

Week One
Flew home on the Monday, felt pretty knackered so just one swim, one bike and two runs and nothing even remotely hard. Concentrated on sleep, rest and good food... easy!
Swim 1:00
Bike 0:45
Run 2:00
Total 3:45

Week Two
Felt great at start of the week so picked the volume back up to pre-Lanza levels across all three disciplines but still no intensity. However, by the end of the week my heart rate was significantly elevated even at low intensity work, perhaps by up to 20 beats, and my initial feelings of being recovered were proved somewhat false.
Swim 6:00
Bike 12:00
Run 3:45
Total 21:45

Week Three
Completely changed my planned training sessions around to aid recovery process - took Monday as a leg rest day and Tuesday as complete rest then swapped Pool Triangle TT on Wednesday for a very easy 60 minute run. Did bring some intensity back in the swim where I pb'd for 1500 in the pool (22:04) at about 9/10 effort (it was a weak pb, I think there's a 21:40 in there) and then managed some decent 300s on Friday (around 4:18 pace). Saturday saw a welcome return to racing with a new Olympic distance pb of 1.59.59 (accurate swim & bike, short run) however a total weekly volume of only 11 hours meant I felt much better at the end of the week compared to the start.
Swim 4:20
Bike 3:30
Run 3:10
Total (Including race) 11:00

Week Four
Finally feeling back to normal I was looking for a good week and took volume back over 20 hours combined with some intensity across all three disciplines. On Wednesday I managed to back up the previous week's triathlon pb with a similar result at the Pool Triangle, covering the hilly 12.6 mile course in 29:56 (an average speed of around 25.3mph). My all time pb was 30:30 and I'd never broken 30:50 prior to an Ironman event so a massive confidence boost. Friday then saw a return to the good old long bike with my friend Andy Scott when we covered 100 miles of the biggest hills we could find before taking in most of the Chevin Chase run course. With 23 hours and plenty of work crammed into the first five days of the week Saturday and Sunday saw complete rest and a time to reflect on my progress.
Swim 3:45
Bike 14:40
Run 5:20
Total 23:45

So, there we are... with some good pb's and plenty of volume I feel justified in saying that I've recovered pretty well. I'm noticeably less fatigued than at the same stage prior to Lanza and the recent intensity has certainly increased my 'match fitness'. Importantly I've held onto a good quality diet and at 67.9 kilos I'm about a kilo lighter than seven weeks ago, sleep has been a little less controlled and with a current seven day average of 7.6 hours I certainly need to hit the sack a little more effectively. This week has already seen a reasonable amount of time on the bike and with a 20 mile run planned for Thursday and 50 mile TT for Sunday it is sure to be the biggest test yet as to my condition. If I can pass those then with two weeks to go I'll be in a great position to arrive in Europe confident of achieving my sub-9.30 target and a place on the most famous start line in triathlon.

So far so good,

T