Saturday, June 9, 2012

Five Weeks Out & Sticking To The Plan

It is less than five weeks to Ironman Zurich – my next A-race in my endurance assessment. I have decided to aim for better times, and the results of this 226K triathlon will be a useful assessment of my overall multi-disciplinary fitness.

This evening, while running on my minimalist Vibram Five Fingers (VFF) with my friend Kenneth Tan, we chatted about the Masters-category athletes (since we fall within this bandwidth). I was glad that despite our deliberate, slower pace (Ken was apologetic about his relative lack of speed of 6 min/K), we did achieve 11.5K (in an easy 75 minutes). It was my longest ‘barefoot’ road-run, although I have done barefoot pool-running for up to 75 minutes. I am pleased to announce that after running a total of 2X21K runs (at 1:54 & 1:48 respectively on Tuesday and Thursday) within 48 hours, this completes my 53 hours of consecutive runs within a week. For my body, this mileage is adequate as I can focus on a weekend of consecutive rides and swims.

Tomorrow, I will do a moderate-distance ride (lactate-threshold, aerobic session) and on I will do a 60K cycling race on Sunday morning (an anaerobic/strength session). What I am mindful is I have to complete my longest sessions for ride and run, as the main deal-breaker for an overall PB time are the last two disciplines. I have a 10K hilly run next Sunday, and a 21K run race a week before Zurich, so these will useful tuners for my racing mindset. So far, all is well and intend to maintain my slow but sure progress. I am getting enough quality sleep, and amplified my protein intake (including high-quality whey protein), essential fatty acids (krill oil), and antioxidants (plant-based, and the algae asthaxantin). My body fat is dropping, muscle tone is enhanced, and core strength is still reliable.

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