Yesterday afternoon I made my way down to my old ‘hood of New Paltz to meet with the woman who will be training/coaching me for Mooseman in June. Yes, I said it, coach me. For the first time in my life, I have decided to actually train for something. I know in my other posts I’ve written about training. And, I guess it is safe to say that I have attempted to stick to training plans in the past, for marathons, or duathlons, but life just got in the way, and would throw my schedule out of whack and even though I’d continue to run and bike, they were never considered really training. I’ve touched upon that subject mutiple times in posts in the blogs. This daily look into the life of Molly will look at my first meeting with the woman who will whip me into triathlon shape, and prepare me for the hardest race I have yet to compete in.
After looking at different training plans, all of which are quite overwhelming, I came into contact with a fellow night shift nurse who trains for triathlons too. I knew it was possible for people with my schedule to participate in endurance activities (just a couple years ago, a local ER nurse won the S.O.S. Triathlon). Knowing of someone who is training for the same distance race-a half IronMan, gave me even more hope that I will be able to compete in it.
Our meeting was super–my coach, D., was enthusiastic and full of energy, asking me about my prior races and about my life, trying to grasp a picture of who Molly is. We spend an hour together, going over how the training plans work. Unlike most training plans for ironman distance races, my training plan will be customized to fit my schedule. I told her, days I work, I dont have more than 1-2hrs to train if I want to get any sleep (since I have to work 12hr night shifts). I then told her on my days off I can train longer–3-4hrs. I’ll be giving her my weekly schedule and around that she will figure out when my run workouts will be, my biking, and my time in the dreaded pool. The weekly total of hours spend training will vary, between 10 and then 12 hrs closer to race day. I’m not sure if I am terrified of what I have gotten myself into, or excited, or a mixture of both.
Until next year (in Jan 2011), i’ll be working on base training, getting more time in the pool which is my weakest area of the swim-bike-run race. I might consider getting a coach to help with my swimming technique. Then come early spring, the real hardcore workouts will begin.
I am actually training for something. And I am terrified.
The training will actually start after Thanksgiving. Before then, I was given three tests to do, which can help give D. more information about the person she is working with.
1. I’ll need to do a 10mile time trial on my bike. The only time trials I know of are from watching the pro’s completing their time trials in the Tour De France. Move over Lance Armstrong, here I come! This is so she can get a feel for my speed and heart rate min/max/average throughout the trial.
I'll be getting lots of use out of my Garmin Forerunner
2. I’ll need to complete a one mile sprint, which I can do at Rhinebeck’s High School on their track (that was the first time I found out Rhinebeck has a high school track ). It just so happens D. spent years working out of Rhinebeck, so she knew exactly where I could go to do these tests. With this one miler, I’ll be clocking how fast the mile is, as well as each lap is (one mile is four laps), and my max and min heart rate.
3. I’m to go to Bard and do 2x 1oo yard sprints at a perceived exertion of 8, time them, and, again, record what my min and max heart rate are.
I have only been in the pool three times in the last month, so this last test should be really interesting. Even still, watch out Micheal Phelps!
Target Heart Rate Zones
It’s happening! My life for the next 6 1/2 months will be swimming, biking, and running.
A Rendezvous with Sneakers 