What Time Will the Clock Say in 2016?!

I have to be honest and say that this is my favorite time of the year. 🙂 I am adamant about taking two weeks off from total exercise at the end of every season. It’s all too easy to get back into training when my body is not ready; I consider this the price I pay for being active the other 50 weeks of the year.

Not all was lost however, as I continue to remain focused on my food and I was very active in my regular scheduled life. The sheer amount of house projects I have postponed have made for a fantastic transition training plan!!!

I also used this time to lay out a tentative plan for the 2016 season. This is a large part of why I enjoy this time of year: nothing motivates me like setting big goals in trying to figure out how to achieve them.

In 2016 I will be racing both Texas and Chattanooga. I chose Texas because I’m looking for a fast race, Chattanooga because it’s a Team event. you’re nicely into two parts that will give me plenty of opportunity to both train up but also recover between events.

The goal is a pretty audacious one – I am targeting the nine-hour barrier.

I have to be honest and say that it’s hard for me even to look at that sentence on my screen. It’s an incredible leap from where I am now, but certainly within reach. I have to be honest with myself – I have one or two more years of peak endurance performance before the tide begins to shift!

I feel like the past two years has seen a solid progression in both my fitness and my ability to execute. I have had two sub 9:30 minute races in Texas and a low 9:30 at Tremblant; my bike splits are consistently under five hours regardless of the course.

The biggest confidence booster however, is my most recent performance in Hawaii. I really feel like that race represents the pinnacle of my ability to plan – and execute! – a solid race.

All of that said, aiming for nine hours means making some significant changes to my program.

Most of all I need to get back on the swim train. I really need to have this close to one hour swim as possible. This will be challenging in Texas because it is a non-wetsuit legal swim; definitely attainable in Chattanooga given the currents of the river. Regardless, you will definitely see me swimming a lot more if you follow me on Strava!!!

The bike will be what it is. I will continue to work towards being able to hold closer to .74 versus .7 on race day. At Texas this “should” net me a 4:36 bike; in Chattanooga my time is predicted to be closer to 4:50 (this is where a faster swim time will help!).

Either way, the magic has to happen on the run. I am very pleased with my body composition work for the season. I’m going to do my best to maintain that heading into 2016. My run execution has been good, but not great. I have run a 3:15 in Texas before so there’s hope for a faster run if I can speed up my transitions and stay cool while keeping the effort up. Chattanooga will be another story altogether, the run course there is LEGIT. I have run a 3:18 at Lake Placid, so I know I have the ability to run fast in the hills. Now we just have to see if it’s possible on race day.

But enough of playing the time game. What am I actually doing?

My early-season focus has been exclusively on the run. I will be building up for approximately 10 weeks, my goal is to have two big run weeks north of 60 miles. I am also spending some good time in the pool. It’s hard not to be on my bike right now, especially given the beautiful fall weather. But I have a much greater incentive to improve my runs and swim times… So I need to invest my time wisely.

I will transition from this one focus to a six-week high intensity block to get rejuvenated. Then it’s on to a more traditional Ironman training program into Texas. Along the way I will be doing my usual training events: the January volume camp in Clermont, Florida (slots still open, join me here) as well as some form of training weekend in Texas (mid-March). Of course, there will be the annual pilgrimage to North Carolina for our Blue Ridge Cycling Camp (waitlist open, info and sign up here).

Thanks for reading, and as always thanks for your continued support and daily motivation. I am going to need your expertise and advice more than ever as I embark on this journey.

Let’s Crush 2016 Together!!!

~ Coach P

Ps — what are your goals?