After an all too brief rest following the marathon in December I have been working through Joe Friel's Half Ironman training plan (available on TrainingPeaks), my goal being Honu 2018. Actually he has a range of plans differing by age and number of hours per week. The plans I purchased come in two parts, base and build. Two years ago I purchased the build plan, and since these are re-usable I added the base plan this year. His plans are unbelievably detailed, and align perfectly with his books. Even better, the plans I use follow the advice he puts forth in his book "Fast After 50." I think he needs to add Fast After 65. Or 70. The base plan started December 18th, and the build plan March 12th. On a more serious note, I see he has a new set of plans that incorporate TrainingPeaks Structured Workouts. That option was not available when I bought mine, and should be a real time saver.
Life has a way of throwing us a curve ball every once in a while. It happened to me this winter, when our family plans were turned upside down leaving Pattie and I a month to find a new place to live. Happily we found a really lovely little house up on the hill with a great view of Kahala and the back side of Diamond Head, so for now things are back on track.
It is hard to say how much of an impact a month of lost workouts had on my form. It is not as if I had a bad case of the flu, or a broken leg. If anything I was much more active during that time. Beginning mid-January my days were filled with clearing piles of treasure accumulated over thirty years, sifting and sorting, hauling hundreds of pounds of really great stuff to Goodwill, or as often as not, the dumpster. By afternoon of every day I felt numb with fatigue, the kind I associate with a long race. I lost weight. I swear I got stronger, as if I was working out at a gym every day.
One thing I got from this experience was mental toughness. We had a firm deadline to meet. Making it required us to work long hours, every day. I had to keep going, no matter how tired I felt, no mater how much I wanted to sit down and relax. Quitting was not an option. Very much the kind of mental challenge we feel in a long race. As helpful as it is to read about mental toughness, nothing beats a real-world opportunity to experience it.
When I signed up to do the Hapalua half marathon I fully intended to tweak my training plan enough to have a good outing. Ideally that would mean more runs per week, but triathlon training simply does not allow for that. In fact, I already has just enough speed work in the plan. All I really needed was longer runs on the weekends. This is where that missing month had the most impact; my long run mileage is not what it should be.
On the other hand -- or foot, as it were -- I am keeping two strength training sessions per week, and Coach Dorian and I have made Monday's sessions all about legs. I am starting to feel the difference. Running overall just feels easier, and going up hills does not take as much out of me. At my age (68 as I write), putting in extra time on building muscle mass in the gym is more efficient than long runs, and should produce a better outcome. The aging body just does not want to build or maintain muscle mass. Mindful weight lifting will help.
