It's all done and now it's time to look back and review what was done. Apart from training, blogging/recording about the whole thing was part of the project. Previously, I only log training miles and training observations. It's a simple excel file and I didn't bother to publish it on the web. But I always wanted to know whether my thoughts changed/would change while undergoing this whole project and the blog was a good platform for that. Therefore, I decided to commit writing on training progress and see how that developed. I can't believe I've reached the end. I'm my own critic so what was written mostly came straight from my head and influenced a bit by other literature.
For the recording/writing part of the project, I usually start with metric logging, track progress, observations and finally my thoughts on training and how I felt. Here goes.
1) All data were recorded using the 920XT. Lost workout data are estimated conservatively due to Garmin error (mostly sync error) or human error (basically me screwing up my garmin - not pushing button etc..).
Training Days: 127 days (roughly 5 months/17 weeks)
Overall Completion Rate: 85.2%
Total Distance Covered: 2608.4km
*swim/bike/run/brick only
Swim Distance: 86 km
Bike Distance: 2039.4 km
Run Distance: 483 km
Total Training Duration:235h 55m
*swim/bike/spin bike/run/brick/supplementary training
Swim Duration:38h 04m
Bike Duration:121h 10m
Run Duration:53h 13m
Supplementary training duration:23h 26m
*Core/Stability/Stairs/Stretch
Total Elevation Gained:19842m
2) Swim
Swim KPI:136.312 km
Swim Actual:86km (63.1%)
Swim progress was measured using distance.
The first half of training was ok since volume was manageable with the 1 hour I have during lunch. There's no way I could swim close to 6km in a single session so I had to break it apart. I didn't swim on weekends or any other time to make up the volume though. Apart from that, I wasn't swimming consistently enough nearing race day. I was done with swim training as soon as I felt I did enough to finish the swim. I do get in the pool but didn't perform any specific workouts. In hindsight, maybe I could do more but limitations meant this was probably as good as it gets.
On race day, I didn't push it during the swim. More like I "couldn't", especially without elevating my heart rate. The comfortable effort on race day coupled with the inconsistent swim training fairly reflected my swim time and pace. Sighted a lot and also got some rough treatment from other swimmers through out. Fitness wise, the training helped to finish the 3.8km swim. But due to time constraint, technique was compromised. So all in all, fair.
Swim Time: 1:30:03
Swim Pace: 2:19/100m
3) Bike
Bike KPI:125h37m
Bike Actual:12h10m (96.5%)
Bike progress were measured using time.
The completion rate is a bit misleading as in the early part of training I conciously deviate from was prescribed in the training plan. I knew some of the routes I chose would be long and hard compared to what I was suppose to do. So the long rides was really slow and long. That sort of made up most of the (junk) overall times. So in short, bike volume/time didn't slowly progressed. It was haphazard, fluctatuating and to be honest, I just wanted to sort of achieve the overall KPI. I sometime went double than what was scheduled and few weeks after went below the target.
A steady progression would've probably serve me better on race day. I struggled after 130km and on the hills because I probably didn't have enough base. So I was slower than expected. I expected like at least a 27 km/h average ride. But my expectation was based on a 150km single bike ride so, a bit naive there. For the bike, I really feel I didn't train enough or wisely enough eventhough training was close to 100%. The spikes in training meant I didn't get the full benefit from training. Could've done better.
Bike Time:6:53:43
Bike Pace:26.14km/h
4) Run
Run KPI:57h15m
Run Actual:53h13m (93%)
Run progress were measured using time.
Out of the 3 discipline, run training increased progressively. The only issue was maybe intensity. Some easy and tempo runs were too hard, a typical beginner problem. Didn't do much long run and when I did knees/tendons were hurting. That was the reason why it's more conservative to run according to the training plan. But when feeling good, I probably went too hard on some sessions.
Also felt like I peaked too early. During race day, no issue aerobically just that couldn't hold faster pace because of muscular fatigue. But running after a bike and run was never going to be easy, and I did PBed the marathon, so overall, quite pleased with the run.
Run Time:4:55:48
Run Pace: 7 min/km
5) Brick was done every week to build confidence and also cramp proof the quads. The brick also revealed realistic run paces which guided the effort on race day.
6) Suplementary training was the biggest change made in this training programme. Without it, all of the above probably wouldn't be achieved because of injury or simply getting tired too early. Strength/stair training helps form. Never went a week without strength training.
7) Races that I was really pleased was the MPKJ marathon. PBed my half marathon and ran pretty well. Progressed into a faster pace and manage to maintain a fairly quick pace till the end. That week I was at my peak (highest VO2max score) as told by Garmin. On race day my VO2max score dropped 3 points. The other race that had helped a lot was the Mantin Hill 2 Hill Challenge where the distance and elevation provided a much needed confidence to validate that the training somewhat works.
8) Nutrition during training was not good at all. This left a lot to be desired. Bad eating habits was probably the main factor to tiredness pre/post workouts. But fueling on race day was ok. No stomach issue.
9) Mistakes in training:
- Started at week 7. Skipped 6 weeks of base training and I really feel this was the major mistake made. Should've started at week 1 and forget about speed.
- Too many spikes in training and not training in the right intensity zones.
- Not working much on technique for the swim.
- Strength training was focused on the core and less on legs.
10) Improvements:
- Do base training with a steady progression and in the right intensity zones.
- Strength session in the early period of training.
- Focus on technique pre-swim base training.
- Focus on speed only when the body can handle the strain.
That's it for Ironman training. Eventhough I knew these typical beginner mistakes beforehand, I only realized how hard it was to overcome them in actual training. It feels like I've succumbed to these pitfalls because I was not patient enough to let things flow. I pushed it because of time constraints. The paces/times in races and training was a direct result of training. It's a great feeling to finally validate the notion I had about training. One thing for sure is that you can't force them. You HAVE to do the time.
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