Iron Pol

Preparing for major endurance events always takes planning. Sometimes, juggling training for different events takes nearly as much planning as developing the actual workouts. That's where I find myself, at the moment.

After the marathon on May 18th, I have three key events in the works. The Spirit of Racine half-Ironman is probably the least worrisome of the three. For the most part, training for the other two will more than cover the training required for a half-Ironman, though I'll have to ensure I log enough mileage on the bike. I do want to beat my half-IM PR, so there is some amount of pressure.

Oddly enough, the 50 miler I hope to enter only warrants second place in the "concerned" pile. Now, don't take that to mean I'm not concerned. The prospect of training for than running 50 miles is huge. Balancing the training for a half-IM PR with the long, slow runs required for a ultramarathon will make for some interesting training weeks.

The biggest challenges is going to be balancing the training for a half-IM PR and a 50-miler while fitting the swim training required to complete the B-Fit B-Day challenge. While the 40 mile bike and 10 mile run will be relatively minor compared to other events, the swim has the potential to make the rest of the day challenging. Four miles. That's 6600 yards if we use a "swimmer's" mile.

Okay, time for a brief aside. Who came up with the "swimmer's" mile. Someone told me it was to make sure we end up at an end of the pool instead of the middle. Okay, then why not 1750 yards (or 1800 if we want to be sadistic)? I understand the mile (1760 yards) and the nautical mile (2000 yards). I can comprehend meters. It's the swimmers mile that gets me. Anyone? Bueller?

So, 6600 yards, or 7000 if I want to use regular miles. Considering that's nearly a mile further than the longest swim I've ever accomplished, that's huge. (Okay, I'll admit that a 50 miler is nearly twice as far as my longest ever run. For me, running is easier.) It took an Ironman to get me up to 5000 yards, and this is pretty much like adding a normal workout on top of the longest swim I've ever done. No small feat.

That's a lot of training to juggle. And a lot of swimming. I feel waterlogged after this week, and I've only logged 7600 yards in the pool, this week. I'll log near that in a single swim the day I tackle the B-Fit B-day challenge. I guess I'll be spending a lot more time wet in the next couple months.

By the way, the last few paragraphs go out the window if our tri club decides to swim across Lake Winnebago. That will be a swim of about 6.5 miles. If I make that swim, the four miles for the birthday challenge will somehow seem less an issue. Still challenging, but shorter.