Sunday, December 30, 2018

Training volume 2018

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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