Alameda Runners – Get After It!

There is something about running that brings out the competitive spirit in us.  We want to run a little bit faster than we did the day before.  It is hard for us to accept the fact that taking it easy is good.  Our bodies need to rest to recover.   Cycling gives our body’s time to rest.  Our bodies use different muscles for different exercises; we cycle our workout routines to use more of the muscle groups that we will rely on for the long distance event.
Cycling a workout plan consists of a set of goals.  Our goals are all different and we have to plan our own.  I will give you my goals and my plan to achieve them.
Goal number 1 – Live a long, healthy and happy life.  I lived pretty long.  I am healthy and I am very happy.  All of the rest of my goals are to help me achieve goal number 1.
Pick 2 events per year to keep me focused.  1 event will work but I like two.
This year, I picked the Vineman half ironman triathlon in July and the Sacramento marathon in December.
Set a plan to achieve these goals.  The Vineman triathlon was on July 17.  On January 1, I was in shape to accomplish each event individually.  My goal was to put them all together.  My big cycle to complete the Vineman looked something like this:
January and February – build strength while maintaining event distance endurance.

• Week 1 – (10 hours) Swim 4 miles, run 20 miles, bike when I felt like it; lift weights for 3 hours and cross train for an hour.
• Week 2 – (12 hours) Swim 4 miles, run 20 miles, bike when I felt like it, lift weights for 3 hours and cross train for 2-3 hours.
• Week 3 – (13 hours) Swim 4 miles, run 20 miles, bike Saturday; lift weights for 3 hours and cross train for an hour.
• Week 4 – (10 hours) Swim 4 miles, run 20 miles, bike when I felt like it; lift weights for 3 hours and cross train for an hour.
• Week 5 – (13 hours) Swim 4 miles, run 26 miles, bike when I felt like it; lift weights for 3 hours and cross train for an hour.
• Week 6 – (12 hours) Swim 4 miles, run 20 miles, bike when I felt like it; lift weights for 3 hours and cross train for 2-3 hours.
• Week 7 – (14 hours) Swim 4 miles, run 20 miles, bike Saturday; lift weights for 3 hours and cross train for an hour.
• Week 8 – (10 hours) Swim 4 miles, run 20 miles, bike when I felt like it; lift weights for 3 hours and cross train for an hour.

This is the time of year when I make my choices.  If I want to be strong for the triathlon, I will follow the above pattern to give me a strong core and body.  I can easily take 5 hours per week of the training plan and still finish the triathlon.  It is all matter of how strong I want to be at the finish.

March, April and May – Build endurance to be able to keep going for the duration of the event.

• Week 1 – (10 hours) Swim 4 miles, run 26 miles, bike when I felt like it; lift weights for 1 hour and cross train for an hour.
• Week 2 – (12 hours) Swim 4 miles, run 24 miles, bike Saturday; lift weights for 1 hour and cross train for 2-3 hours.
• Week 3 – (13 hours) Swim 4 miles, run 20 miles, bike Saturday; lift weights for 1 hour and cross train for an hour.
• Week 4 – (10 hours) Swim 4 miles, run 26 miles, bike when I felt like it; lift weights for 1 hour and cross train for an hour.
• Week 5 – (13 hours) Swim 4 miles, run 26 miles, bike Saturday; lift weights for 1 hour and cross train for an hour.
• Week 6 – (12 hours) Swim 4 miles, run 24 miles, bike Saturday.  Spin or ride on weekdays.
• Week 7 – (14 hours) Swim 5 miles, run 30 miles, bike Saturday, run after bike.  Spin or ride on weekdays.
• Week 8 – (16 hours) Swim 5 miles, run 32 miles, bike Saturday, run after bike.  Spin or ride on weekdays.
• Week 9 – (12 hours) Swim 5 miles, run 20 miles, bike Saturday, run after bike.  Spin or ride on weekdays.
• Week 10 – (18 hours) Swim 6 miles, run 32 miles, bike Saturday, run after bike.  Spin or ride on weekdays.  Cross train for 1-2 hours
• Week 11 – (12 hours) Swim 4 miles, run 20 miles, bike Saturday, run after bike.  Spin or ride on weekdays.
• Week 12 – (18 hours) Swim 6 miles, run 32 miles, bike Saturday, run after bike.  Spin or ride on weekdays.
• June – Put it together to be able to run far after I was on the bike for a long time.
• Week 1 – (18 hours) Swim 6 miles, run 30 miles, bike Saturday, run after bike.  Ride on weekdays.  Big Saturday here – I pick up the pace on the Saturday bike ride and follow it up with a long slow run.
• Week 2 – (10 hours) Swim 6 miles, run 20 miles, bike Saturday, run after bike.  Ride on weekdays
• Week 3 – (18 hours) Swim 6 miles, run 30 miles, bike Saturday, run after bike.  Ride on weekdays.  Big Saturday here – I pick up the pace on the Saturday bike ride and follow it up with a long slow run.
• Week 4 – (12 hours) Swim 4 miles, run 24 miles, bike Saturday, run after bike.  Ride on weekdays.

July – Taper and race.
I don’t like to rest.  I just like to go out and do it.  I always get injured from overtraining.  The above plan is the basic outline that I will use for Vineman 2012.  I will add details to what I will do for the individual weeks.  Within each week I will vary the distance, speed or intensity of the workouts.  I will keep changing things and go up and down with my cycles.  I will skip workouts and try not to add workouts to make up for the ones that were missed.  I will switch my resistance training from free weights to bands.  The idea is to let your body rest between workouts.
I planned on a 5 sentence blurb here but I received a lot of questions about training lately so I added a level of detail.