The Program

I found a training program at www.beginnertriathlete.com. It's a 20-week program designed to get you into ironman shape. Well, it's designed more to get you to a point where you can finish the thing, which is the whole goal anyway. I don't really have any illusions as to what time I'd like to finish in. I've kicked around a lot of numbers in my head, and I think 14-hours is doable (2 swim, 6+ bike, 5+ run), but I'm not setting a goal, at least not at this point.

Twenty weeks of about 10 workouts per week. The average workout to start is about an hour in length. So in the next 80 some weeks, I need to get into that kind of shape.

First, what I'm not going to do. Not going to walk/run on a treadmill or ride on a stationary bike. If I can't do it outside or in the pool, it's just not going to get done. Walking/running/biking for hours on end is boring enough, doing it in place is just plain stupid. I'm also not going to join a gym, lift weights, etc. The only thing I may consider doing (outside of strictly endurance work) is take some sort of pilates or related class to improve flexibility (If I attempt to stretch, I can easily get past my knee, but the toes are out of the question).

For the present, I'm going to work out 2-4 times per week, trying to average 1 - 1.5 hours each. Swimming and walking will be the main initial components. I'll eventually transition into running, but with my knees, I'm really not in any hurry. I'll also start biking soon, need to do a few repairs to the bike before I can ride. Once winter comes, I'll continue to walk and swim, but I'll ski as well provided we get enough snow.

I've started to look at prep races. I'm sure I'll alter the plan to meet the demands of any prep races I'll have to train for. Some things I'm considering include:

1/2 ironman - possibly fall 2008
shorter ironman - ??
berkiebeiner - feb 2009 (I skied a lot in high school, and this was one race I always wanted to do back then.
syttende mai - may 2009 (just because it's local)
chequamegon fat tire festival - Sept 2008 (cool mountain bike race up north)