One Third

With Ironman Louisville taking place on August 26th, it will be interesting to look at this year in thirds. January through April and May through August. Admittedly, August may be a bit of a wash between taper and post-IM downtime, but the periods work out well.

So, while I don't generally post specifics about training, here are the numbers from the first four months of 2007. One note, the roads have only recently become clear enough for biking (using Iron Pol standards). The bike mileage is deceptively low. There have been hours spent on the trainer, where mileage isn't documented.

The Swim

In mid-January, I began my 8-week swim focus aimed at improving my comfort in the water, as well as my ability to come out of the water fresh. Between January 1 and April 30, I completed 134,453 total yards swimming. Here are two bits of information to put that in perspective. First, that comes out to just over 76 miles. Second, it is only slightly longer than some of the longest single day swims completed by Martin Strel as he attempted to swim the length of the Amazon. In 2006, it was December before I had accumalated that much swim yardage. And true to Coach Mike's approach, my capabilities in the water are greatly improved.

The Bike

As mentioned above, using mileage alone is misleading when reviewing bike workouts. Through April, I have a grand total of 108 miles on the road. Brutal, especially if you consider most of it came in two rides. Put into proper perspective, my TIME in the saddle for the past four months totals 42 hours, 38 minutes. Using an average 17 mph, that's well over 700 miles. This will ramp up VERY quickly now that biking outside is a reality.

The Run

Admittedly my strong suit, running has taken a back seat to swimming and biking. Even so, I have logged about 40 miles more this year than the same period last year. With a total of 265.6, I am well on the way to a 1000 mile year. Like the swim, I have also seen significant gains in my run as I seek to break the 42 minute mark in the 10K. That is for purely self-gratifying reasons, as a sub-42 minute 10K will result in elite status for a local race. Just once, I'd like to start with the jack rabbits.

Now, it will be interesting to compare these statistics with the same information for the second four months of the year.