Ironman Training - Week 2

So, I've learned a bit in this journey.
Lesson 1: I'm really bad at keeping up with this blog. 

I made it through the 20 weeks of outseason, and feel as fast right now as I ever have when running.
I've gotten into a routine with Master's swimming and although I'm still in the slow lanes, I'm feeling more confident in my swim.  4000m is in sight as the workouts are now routinely at 3000m with good intensity.

Lesson 2: Training for Ironman is a selfish activity.
I need to get better at carving out the time required for training, and find ways to put it out of mind when I'm not actively training.  I missed a ride this weekend because I overslept, and wasn't selfish enough to still fit the ride into the schedule.  To my family's credit, nobody made me feel like I shouldn't do the workout, so that one is on me.
As I look forward to future weekends and weekdays, the primary workout will need to be high on my priority list, since the race is fast approaching.

That's all for now. 

Week 14 - Testing again

Time flies when you are having fun.  The VO2Max block of the EN outseason isn't exactly fun, but it was certainly work.  Instead of longer 10+ minute intervals, the last few weeks have been made up to 1-2 minute intervals followed by 1-2 of relatively easy riding.  These sessions are generally pretty quick but very intense.

I'm not sure if the work paid off in the short term.  My FTP moved up to 173, which is a modest gain.  I think we'll see the reward in 6 weeks after one more block of FTP intervals

From a running perspective, I'm back.  I'll test tomorrow, but after 1 run in Nov and December due to tenosynovitis in my right foot, I'm happy to be running almost pain-free again.  Based on my workouts, I'd guess I'm a few seconds slower than I was in October, but given where I was at Thanksgiving, I'm just happy to be training full speed again.

These next few weeks should be a lot of fun.  Two ski trips planned which will break up the monotony of riding the trainer.  I think this change will really help me get down to business in the long workouts ahead.