I was listening to an endurance nation podcast today about off season training. It also touched about how ironman training can be incredibly taxing on the average age groupers life in terms of time. They really stressed the point about only devoting your mental focus for 12 weeks. This way you do not get burnt out. Thats one thing I have done to myself over the last 2 years is mentally beat the shit out of myself. I spent a year thinking about Muskoka. Then I got sick and did shitty. So I spent another year grinding myself to make up for it. I did make it to Clearwater, but by the time I got there I was so mentally and physically burnt I wasn't really able to fully appreciate it. Looking back on it now I appreciate it more then when I was actually there.
Over the last little while my race season has started to come together a bit. I am registered in one half marathon and contemplating a second, and registered for Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island. There are plenty of oppurtunity for tune up races in between but I am happy with these choices for now physically, mentally, and financially.
The last 2 years my training has mainly been based on volume. The first year I had never done the distance and was purely focused on finishing. The second year I ramped up the volume and saw some gains but nothing extra ordinary. This year I am going to take a different approach and really focus on intensity. I am going to train faster. Before it was longer which allowed me to go faster at shorter distances keep a lower heart rate. But this year I am going to train faster and then race faster then that. This is going to be completed by shortening the time spend training but working at a higher intensity throughout the winter to develop a good base of speed. I will then slowly increase the volume to where it needs to be but instead of it being the main focus tempo will be the main focus. We will see how that translates on race day.
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