Remember me? It’s been a hot minute since I posted on my blog. I missed last week, so this week I’m doubling up.
Training, work, and life have been a bit busy lately so let’s get all caught it.
In my last blog I took some time off running for a piriformis/sciatic nerve issue I was dealing with. It hasn’t gone away, but it’s become more manageable to deal with. I don’t think it will fully be fixed until after California when I give my body some proper rest. But overall, we’re back running again—40 miles in the first week back, 58 last week, and this week should finish around 35-40 with my 70.3 race tomorrow.
Yes, tomorrow I’m back on the start line at IRONMAN 70.3 Wisconsin. I’ve done this race a handful of times and I don’t think the course has ever been the same from 1 year to the next. I’ve been fortunate to win it twice (2019 and 2021), but this year will be a tough test coming off IRONMAN blocks and with some strong competition.
I’m excited to get in one last race before California. I felt like my transitions and race prep for Rockford and Muncie were a bit sloppy, so I’m using tomorrow as a good run through for the sub-8 attempt. Every minute there counts. The goal at California is to keep total transition time around 8 minutes (5 min T1 and 3 min T2). Madison also offers a longer T1 transition like California so it should be similar times to what I should expect in a few weeks.
Goal for the day is go out and race it! I kept telling myself I was going to swim and bike like a 70.3 and then run at IRONMAN effort, but if you know me, that probably won’t happen. We’ll see how the cards play out on race day, but should be a fun one! You can track tomorrow on the IRONMAN app. Bib #443 and a 8am EST/7am CST start time.
Thanks to everyone who entered my giveaway last week! We had 2 winners, Nick Powell and Andrew Carlos. Appreciate all the support from those who entered and the sponsors/partners who contributed to it.
Speaking of sponsors and partners, nows a great time to reveal my sub-8 kit for California. I posted it to Instagram this week, but will share it here as well!
Big shoutout to Wyn for helping with the kit this year. I’ve been racing in the Wyn kit since 2022 and love it. It’s been great to work with Luke, Beth, and their team. $8 subscribers have access to a family/friends discount code if you’re looking to get anything from the Wyn store.
Another shoutout to one of my main sponsors, LifeStyle Staffing. I’ve known John for almost 10 years now and he’s been a huge supporter of mine.
I’m part of the Madison Multisport club, owned by Steve Brandes and Cindi Bannink. Steve and I have worked together on and off since 2021 to get me racing at my highest level. Currently he’s my chief advisor for my Sub-8 build (along with my buddy Claude). If you’re looking for a coach in the Madison area (or a remote coach), check out Madison Multisport.
Other sponsors and partners who’ve supplied me with gear, discounts and support include Intake Breathing (yes, the thing on my nose), EZ Gains, Best Bike Split, and of course, The Feed. I’m back with the Feed after a few year hiatus.
LAST WEEK’S TRAINING LOG
SWIM
Not much to report on in the swim these days. Still putting in the work. Mostly 3 days per week with the speed, endurance and strength structure. I’ve been able to get a few additional OWS sessions in over the last 2.5 weeks, which is definitely needed heading into California. Translating my pool speed to open water has been a frustrating experience, but the only way to improve it is to swim open water more.
Swim totals:
Week 6
3 hours 21 minutes
14,350 yards
Week 7
2 hours 7 minutes
9,296 yards
BIKE
The bike is coming along great. It’s my strongest discipline and I continue to have sessions where I’m dialing in my IRONMAN goal power and feeling great. I did an outdoor session on the Wisconsin 70.3 course 2 weeks ago that felt great. The workout was:
10 min IM effort
10 min 70.3 effort
20 min IM effort
10 min 70.3 effort
30 min IM effort
10 min 70.3 effort
60 min IM effort
10 min 70.3 effort
I averaged just above 280w for the IM efforts and just north of 305w for the 70.3 efforts. A strong 80+ mile ride that day.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be doing long blocks at IM goal power 45-60 minute efforts with some IM goal pace runs off the bike.
Week 6 Bike Totals:
11 hours 3 minutes
93 miles outdoors (rest on Zwift)
Week 7 Bike Totals:
12 hours 30 minutes
301 miles indoors on Zwift
RUN
As I mentioned, we’re back to running. 40 miles of mostly easy endurance in the first week back, before adding some speed and longer runs the last 2 weeks. There’s definitely still some tightness and soreness during and after each run, but I’ve taken the calculated risk to keep pushing through and hoping it holds up over the next 5 weeks. I’ve been doing more stretching and PT exercises that Sarah gave me.
Goals for the next 5 weeks are to build durability through longer runs with fast finishes, a few double run days, and run-specific strength work.
Week 6 Run totals:
4 hours 36 minutes
40 miles total
Week 7 Run totals:
6 hours 25 minutes
58 miles total
THE OTHER STUFF
I’ve been getting to the sauna when I can, but it’s not enough to make any impact in my fitness or training. After the race this weekend, I’ll share my heat plan for the final 5 weeks leading up to California. Back to strength work as well. 2x per week for 30-35 minutes mostly on lower body, stability, and plyometrics.
Week 6 Other
30 minutes strength
30 minutes sauna
Week 7 Other
0 minutes strength (oops)
28 minutes sauna
RECAP
I’m feeling good heading into the race tomorrow, definitely excited to race back in my “hometown.” I’m not putting too much into the results though. Whatever happens, its a great training stimulus for IRONMAN training. I’m trying to avoid doing the math (I’m sure others will) breaking down my race times tomorrow and computing them into California estimates.
I still feel confident I can break 8 hours. These next 5 weeks (actually more like 3 weeks and then taper), will be crucial in my final prep.
Week 6 Totals:
20 hours
Week 7 Totals
21 hours 30 minutes
Here’s where I always transition over to the paying subscribers only.
