Half Ironman - Not This Year

I've all but decided to withdraw from the Black Diamond half-ironman which will take place on September 26. Since I haven't officially registered for it, I'm not withdrawing per se, I just won't sign up for it. Instead, I'll either do the Kirkland sprint tri on September 19 or the Black Diamond oly on September 26, or maybe both.

The reason is simple: I am just too far behind in training to enjoy doing the event. I think if I entered I would finish, but it would be slow and painful and I wouldn't really enjoy it. This isn't to say I'd be fast if I did have the time to train! Best case finish would be about 6:30, which breaks out to a 45 minute swim, 3 hour 15 minute bike, 2 hour 15 minute run, plus some extra time in transition. But with training, I would be able to smoothly move from bike to run; without and I'd be really tired towards the end of the bike and wind up walking most of the half-marathon. Behind on the training is one thing - a related issue is I'm certain I do not have the time to catch up over the next five weeks until the event.

I looked through the training plan trying to figure out where I derailed. There is no exact spot, but obviously there is a gaping hole in my schedule where I was on a two week business trip.

Week 1 of training called for 1:30 swim, 4:00 bike, and 2:00 run. What I actually did was 1:00 swim, 4:00 bike, and 2:00 run. Looks pretty good, I was just 30 minutes short on the swim.

Week 5 of training called for 1:30 swim, 4:40 bike, and 2:00 run. I did 1:00 swim, 2:40 bike, and 1:50 run. So, 30 minutes short on the swim, 2 hours short on the bike, and 10 mins short on the run. The problem here is the bike - I missed out on 2 hours of training.

Week 10 of training called for 2:45 swim, 9 hours bike, and 3:20 run. I did 1:00 swim, 4:30 bike, and 3:15 run.

A trend emerges - I did the run mileage I was supposed to. However, I fell short on the swim, missing out on nearly 2 hours. I fell really short on the bike - I only did half the amount! I was probably able to keep up run training as running is more familiar to me (I've been at it longer than biking or swimming) but fundamentally running is easier to do - less equipment, minimal travel needed, etc. Plus bad weather doesn't shoo me off from running.

To really train for a half-ironman I need to make a point of doing the swim and bike workouts. This means juggling my schedule around to prioritize those workouts, which can be difficult to schedule because bike volume tends to run so high. Plus, and this is really the key: I don't want to give up everything else I do.

During the off-season I'll do more planning and see what I can fit in for next year. If I start with a higher base bike fitness, then it will be easier. To do this I must ride at least once a week with my bike club (Cascade Bike Club), and on my own a few times as well.