This is the seventh year in which I record my
training volume meticulously and share it on my blog in one of my first posts
of the year. Details can be found in my Garmin account https://connect.garmin.com/modern/profile/Tarek_Badawi
After declining training volume for 2 years in
a row, I wrote last year that one of my goals was to train consistently for a
minimum of 7 hours a week, and that I did. I also wrote that that level would
be sufficient to allow me to join and finish races up to half ironman distance
conveniently. I was very wrong with that. While consistency and the number of
training hours are very important, but so is the type of training. I missed to
do long rides and runs almost completely, and I got to feel the impact brutally
in the most important event I joined in 2018, Ironman 70.3 race in Bahrain, as
I described in a previous post (in Arabic, but translate.google.com does an ok
job giving you the gist of it if you’re interested). This was a good learning
though, and just in time as I am embarking on a new challenge, which is my
second Ironman distance race.
In July 2012, I completed my one and only full
Ironman distance race. It was exactly on my 50th birthday. In July
2019, my birthday happens to be on a weekend again for the first time since
2012, which meant a repeated opportunity to complete an Ironman on my birthday.
So, I signed up for Ironman Hamburg.
Prior to my first Ironman in 2012, I trained on
average for about 9.6 hours a week. This was the average from January to July
2012, while the table above shows an average of 6.8 hours/week for the full
year. This is because the amount of training dropped significantly after the
event. 9.6 hours/week were barely sufficient to complete the Ironman distance.
I had to walk for the last 20 km or so. Therefore, I am planning to train at
least 10 hours a week this time and focus more on the long training sessions. I’m
not suggesting that this is enough, but I’m afraid I cannot do more anyway with
the very demanding day job I have.
In preparation for Ironman Hamburg, I am
planning to do one marathon at least. I have registered for the Pyramids
marathon, which is a no miss opportunity while I’ll be living in Egypt for a
couple of years. It may also be the only time I can be there without the
annoying souvenir dealers surrounding me. I only have 6 weeks to get ready for
a marathon. This is too short, but I hope it will work out. Otherwise, I’m
afraid it might become a habit to walk my races. Wish me luck.
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