Fast before Long

I spent quite a bit of time researching and studying different Ironman training methods and training plans in 2009 to prepare for the training I'd have to do this year. After a lot of reading, listening, and watching, I settled on a 20 week training plan from Endurance Nation.

There are several things I like about EN, but there are two main reasons I selected the plan from EN:

1. I agreed with and liked the way the coaches at EN break down their "Four Keys" to Ironman

• Success on race day is about Execution, not Fitness
• A successful race = a good run. Nothing on race day really mattters until you reach The Line which is normally around mile 18 on the run
• Race within a Box defined by what you CAN control
• At some point your body will want to quit. Be ready to convince your body to keep going with The One Thing that brought you to Ironman - whatever that might be.

2. I also like their idea of going Fast before going Long. The typical outseason guidance is to go long and slow during the off season so you can build a bigger engine—then make that engine faster when it matters: closer to the race. The coaches at EN turn that upside down and suggest spending the winter working on speed, so when you slow down, that "slow" pace is not as slow as it was last year. I like this idea since it's hard for me to do long training during the winter when it's colder and it gets dark so early. But it's pretty easy to make time for interval workouts and shorter, high-intensity work.

So here's how my year is broken down at a very high level:

Nov 23 - March 14 - 16 weeks of Fast training

March 15 - July 4 - 16 weeks of Long training

July 5 - November 20 - 20 week Training plan/General Race Prep

November 21 - Ironman Arizona!