Half Ironman Training: Week #4
How fitting is it that my fourth week of half Ironman training for the Beach2Battleship Half Ironman occurred during the week of Fourth of July? My first month of training has been full of days out of town and personal commitments that have made training a bit challenging. And my fourth week of training was no different. With 2 days at the lake with my family for the holiday and a 10K race thrown in the middle, my training – once again – had to remain flexible. This means fitting in workouts where I can, shifting workouts from one day to another and simply trying to do the very best I can.
Here is what the week looked like:
Monday
Morning: Strength training: AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible)
I did 304 total reps of the following in 15 minutes as prescribed (red).
Evening: 40-minute treadmill run on the “rolling hills” setting
I ran each mile progressively faster than the next, starting my pace at 9:13 and ending at 8:00. I alternated the incline between 1 percent and 4 percent.
Tuesday
Swam 1,550 meters:
350-meter warm up
10 x 25-meter drills with 10 seconds rest between each
600 at moderate intensity
350-meter cool down
Wednesday
Strength training: 3 x 10-minute stations
Station #1: 10-minutes of continuous work (30 seconds per exercise below, rest for 30 seconds after the sixth exercise, repeat 3 times)
- Hollow rocks
- Toe touches
- Windshield wipers
- Plank shoulder touches (from top of pushup position hold, touch hand to opposite shoulder and repeat)
- Plank leg raises (from low plank position, lift one leg off the ground then the other and repeat)
- Bird dog touching knee to opposite elbow
Station #2: 10-minute AMRAP
- 30 kettle bell swings
- 30 kettle bell high pulls
- Sprint 100 meters, walk back
Station #3: Turkish Get-ups
Perform 2 get-ups on each side, then spiderman crawl to cone and back. Repeat for 10 minutes.
Thursday
Peachtree Road Race 10K: Read my race recap here.
Friday
Biked for 1 hour and 6 minutes (18.3 miles)
I was at the lake for the Fourth of July with my family. Mr. rUnladylike and I brought our bikes and got a very hilly ride in.
Saturday
35-minute run (4.1 miles)
While still at the lake, Mr. rUnladylike and I went for a very hilly and hot run. The miles looked like this: 8:58, 8:12, 8:48, 8:24. Can you tell where the worst hills were?
After our run, we did 15 minutes of ab work.
Sunday
Brick: 1 hour bike (16 miles) followed by a 30-minute run (3.5 miles)
I did this on Sunday evening indoors on a stationary bike and treadmill since it rained most of the day. I was a smelly, sweaty mess afterward.
Week #4 mileage total: 54 miles, 10 workouts, 8 hours and 2 minutes
- Swim: 1,550 yards (missed 2 swims)
- Bike: 34.2 miles (missed 2 bikes)
- Run: 18.5 miles
- Strength training (2 hours and 15 minutes)
Although week #4 was a recovery week, my swim and bike mileage was lower than it should have been. I’m also disappointed that I didn’t take advantage of doing an open water swim while I was at the lake for the Fourth of July. This week I am focusing on getting all my workouts in while still balancing a full weekend of planned activities.
In case you missed it …
See how last week went.
See how Week #2 went.
See how Week #1 went.
How did your training go last week? What is your goal for this week?
Comments
You’re doing the best you can! It still looks like a great week. I’m impressed that you’re getting as much weight training in as you are. That’s great!
I should go back and look but what training plan are you following?
Hi Katie! Thanks for the words of encouragement 🙂 I’m following the plan from Triathlete Magazine’s Essential Week-by-Week Training plan. I’m using the level 5 plan.
Like you have mentioned, flexibility is key! You’re still getting in good, quality miles when you’re doing your workouts, so that has to count for something. I’m enjoying following your training plan.
Thanks so much Meghan! Hoping for a complete week of training during the week ahead. Good luck to you this week as well!
Looks like a solid week!! I am on recovery week….doing a whole lot of nothing!! Living the dream. I go home on Wednesday and I will get back to work! 🙂
Holy cow well done, thats still a lot of stuff.
Hi! I love your blog as it gives me inspiration for completing my first half next Spring. I always struggle with finding time to weight train for Olympic triathlons though. I am impressed with how you fit it in, are you following a specific plan for your strength training plan and if so, what is it? Thanks a lot! Also, did you follow a plan in the off season to maintain your endurance? The summer is my “off-season” as I have my kids all at home with me but I want to maintain what I gained in the winter and spring. Thanks for your tips!
Thank you so very much, Angie! Your kind words mean a lot! Congrats on taking on a half next spring. As for weight training, I joined a group called FitWit in my city that works out 4 days a week. The workouts are prescribed for us, and I go 2 days per week. So I never have to wonder what I’m doing … the workout is already prepared. It is typically a combo of both upper and lower body (often core too), predominantly using our own body weight, but sometimes using medicine balls, bands and kettle bells (CrossFit-esque but without the heavy competition type lifting). For instance this morning, we focused on Kettle Bell swings and pull-ups, earlier this week we did running with different strength stations. I haven’t really taken an “off season” in the last few years, but I do take breaks after big races for a few weeks. After the Marine Corps Marathon and Augusta Half Ironman both wrapped up last fall, I joined FitWit and just went to boot camp 4 days a week and ran easy when I could. I basically just did my own thing rather than following a plan (as I would be miserable if I didn’t exercise at all), and wasn’t feeling like anything needed to be intense. I hope that helps. Thanks so much for reading and I look forward to hearing more about your journey too!