I'm giving myself until the end of the month to continue to unwind and just work out when and how I want. I can't say this season ever really got too far off the ground - I didn't have any real structured training blocks - but nevertheless, I feel like I need a little bit of nothing before getting into a structured program. I have thought a LOT about what the program will look like though. I'm going to blend some different things rather than focus specifically on one program... It will basically have 4 phases.
Nov. and Dec. are going to be based around strength work in the gym, time in the pool, long easy runs, and riding the MTB as much as I can.
Jan. and Feb. are going to pick up some cycling intensity with trainer sessions, all else will stay similar.
Mar. and April will be lengthening my rides, tapering off some of the strength, incorporating some speed into my running, and increasing frequency in the pool.
May, June, and July will be getting more race specific in all disciplines and and then tapering.
But now I think I'll talk about what I started this post thinking... In 2010 I finished the season with a 4:59 HIM in September and a 3:00 marathon in November. Then I took off a little time and got going again in late January/early February. I remember thinking in early 2011 that I needed to work on my bike speed, so I did a lot of long slow rides through the winter on the trainer and I tried to swim more than I had in the past. Both were pretty tough to follow through on. I also didn't think I needed any strength work...
This year I finished with a 4:58 HIM and a 3:05 marathon. My bike is surprisingly stronger (although maybe it isn't that much of a surprise considering I had only had a bike for 4 months before that HIM in 2010). My run isn't where it should be, but this year my marathon was in October not November. I think if I had to I could run a 3:00 marathon in a month... But I could be wrong.
I'm going to go with a "reverse periodization" this winter by starting with more high intensity work. I read a great article by Joe Friel that told me EXACTLY what I wanted to hear about this - HERE. I always thought that reverse periodization was a risk because you aren't building the aerobic bike strength before building top end speed. However, periodization really refers to starting with a specific skill and then becoming more and more race specific as you get closer to the race. For me, I need top end speed. And and Ironman is a long, relatively easy effort race. So, by going hard on the trainer this winter and then going long later, I'm really not reverse periodizing because I'm getting more race specific. So, we'll see how it works.
I know what my goals are and it's going to take great amounts of work to get there regardless of the path I choose. November 1 is when things get going!
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