The Road to Florida IronMan 70.3 - 20 Weeks to Go

Why wait for January 1st to start training again, I have officially started today. The gym will be full of people thinking they can pull off their new years resolution and that they will keep it up until they reach whatever their desired weight is. The good news is that they stop going to the gym before February ever arrives and things are back to normal.

For 2009 things will be different. No training for marathons while also training for an IM 70.3 and no jumping from a Olympic Distance plan to a 70.3 plan. I will do things the right way for 2009. Training will consist of three phases, Base, Build and Peak. I will also be doing 100% more stretching and 100% more core strengthening. I will also be going to a chiropractor once or twice a month and try to get deep tissue massages when the budget allows. Deep tissue massages have proven to be invaluable although it is hard on the back pocket.

I will be following the Essential Week-by-Week Training Guide by Triathlete magazine and will be following level 7. I choose that level because I do have a full time job and since I struggled with injuries in 2008 I don't want to push too hard.

Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation (R.I.C.E.) or Movement, Ice, Compression, Elevation (M.I.C.E.)

While doing some research on hamstring and calf muscles this week I ran into an article that talked about M.I.C.E instead of R.I.C.E. RICE stands for Rest, Ice, Compress, and Elevation to the muscle for recovery. MICE stands for Movement, Ice, Compress, and Elevation.

Sine I have gone to so many doctors, chiropractors, physical therapists, and massage therapists this year I have met my deductible for the year and going to the doctor's office right now is very inexpensive. So I did some research and found Dr. Adam Morse at the Florida Orthopedic Institute in Tampa, FL and decided to go for an appointment to get his opinion on my situation.

I thought he was great !! He is a sports doctor, has seen many athletes at different competition levels and not only did he spend the time listening to me and understanding my situation and actually checking it out, he actually gave me some good training advice.

I felt really good about it because the night before going I was on www.trifuel.com and read some posts about some other athletes with injuries and I came up with a plan which was right on with Dr. Morse's recommendation.

He recommended MICE instead of RICE to me. Why ? Very simple, he said that if I took 2-3 weeks off then it would put me at ground zero and I would have to rebuild all my endurance work and physical fitness. Since my issue is overuse due to running he recommended MICE. This will allow me to continue to work out, build endurance, and not loose much.

So my plan is to do all my running on an elliptical for the month of December. January I will do a partial elliptical/treadmill transition where each week I build additional mileage on the treadmill and less on the elliptical. In February I transition mileage from the treadmill to the road.

I am avery pleased with Dr. Morse advice and hopefully I will be pain free soon.

Alternative Protein Recovery Drink

I have used GNC protein, Hammer Recovery, EAS Protein, Muscle Milk Protein. With the exception of the GNC protein a serving of all these protein drinks can get quite expensive. Not only that, you don't want too much protein because the after effect can be brutal.

My new recovery drink which is right in line with the current state of the economy is skim milk + ovaltine. I also went with Nesquick but Ovaltine at least has some vitamins which Nesquick did not have. The protein is just enough to not cause me any stomach problems and chased by two eggs I get enough protein at a low cost.

Planning for the 2009 Season

2008 did not go as planned but it wasn't a failure by any means. I learned a lot now that I can look back. Training is important, Nutrition is important but the most important element which I failed at was keeping the body STRONG and HEALTHY to support such an aggressive schedule like I had in 2007.

In 2008 I did seven races compared to 19 in 2007. Two Marathons, one half-marathon, one sprint triathlon, two olympic distance triathlons, and one 70.3 triathlon. That was sure a sign of perseverance on my part since I struggled with injuries since March. I never gave up and I am proud of that !!!!

For 2009 my focus will be #1 Keep the Body Healthy and Strong, #2 Train correctly by building a good base, #3 Be intelligent on selecting races. 19 races in 2007 was overkill, 7 was a lot more comfortable to deal with and still have a social life and enjoy life. I will not say that 2009 will be the year of an IronMan 140.6 until I feel I am fully recovered and ready to dedicate the time. There is a big difference training for a 70.3 compared to 140.6.

For 2009 I will balance out the races and try to focus mostly on the olympic distance triathlons. I plan on doing three olympic distance races, Miami International Tri, St, Anthony's Tri and one still to be determined (Chicago or Escape from Miami or LongLeaf). I will do one sprint triathlon (Morton Plant Mease). I will do at least one 70.3 (New Orleans, St. Croix, or Florida). I don't think I will run any marathons in 2009 and will probably do a few 10k's and my hometwon Gasparilla Half-Marathon just for fun.

Let the year 2009 begin, I am ready and will never give up :)

2008 Triathlon Season is Over

My plan for the 2008 triathlon season was to work on speed rather than endurance but plans did not work out nearly as planned. 2008 was a year of struggling to overcome injuries and maintaining a healthy body. Although I am 90% recovered I never stopped, none of my docs, therapists, chiro's ever said stop doing what you are doing.

2008 was a year of accomplishments and I happy with my results. I have learned a lot about the sport of triathlon and I have learned a lot about my body and how to take care of it.

The TRI season will start in Miami and I was pleased to end 2007 and 2008 in Miami. The goal for 2009 is IronMan Brasil or IronMan Cancun.