Pre-Training Training

What do you do when your targeted Ironman is almost a year away?  How much should I be doing now? 

I've been #IMpretrainingtraining when tweeting about my workouts over the past two months.  To me, I'm in pre-training mode.  I'm no coach or trainer, but I've done the distances enough times that I sort of know how to put it all together and what's required of me right now. 

Right now, it's all about finding a training schedule I can manage while getting in 2-3 swims, 3 runs, 3 bikes and strength/flexibility workouts, and being consistent.  Slowly, very, very slowly I've been increasing distances.  I don't need to do 4 km, 180 km, 42.2 km now.  That will come in about 11 months.

So my pre-training training schedule goes something like this:

• Monday
• Strength - total body (15 min)
• Plates (60 min)
• Yoga (60 min)
• Tuesday
• Swim (30 min)
• Run (30 min)
• Strength - upper body (10 min)
• Wednesday
• Strength - total body (15 min)
• Thursday
• Swim (30 min)
• Run (30 min)
• Strength - upper body (10 min)
• Friday
• Strength - total body (15 min)
• Saturday
• Long Run - (time and distance vary)
• Sunday
• NOTHING!

This will all change in a couple of weeks when indoor cycling training begins.  The cycling will be Tues/Thurs morning and Sunday, the swim will move to the evening, the runs will move to Mon/Wed and the rest will move to Fridays.  And everything will begin to increase in time, except the rest :(

So it will look more like this:

• Monday
• Strength - total body (15 min)
• Run (30 min)
• Pilates (60 min)
• Yoga (60 min)
• Tuesday
• Cycling - indoors (1-1.5 hers)
• Strength - upper body (10 min)
• Swim (1 hr)
• Wednesday
• Strength - total body (15 min)
• Run (30 min)
• Thursday
• Cycling - indoors (1-1.5 hrs)
• Strength - upper body (10 min)
• Swim (1 hr)
• Friday
• NOTHING!!!!
• Saturday
• Long Run
• Sunday
• Cycling  - indoors (1.5-2 hrs) 

The hardest part of this schedule for me is the evening swims.  I like to go to bed early and get up early, so doing things in the evenings, like the swim, consistently will be a challenge.  This will change again at the end of November when both my Pilates and yoga classes will be complete.  I'll probably take another class in January ... probably.

I'll also have to decide at that time whether or not I want to get myself a coach.  That's when pre-training training ends and official training begins. Can't wait.  Until then, I'm putting in my time, trying to get better with each swim, bike and run.