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sabbatical and a return to IM....good idea?
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I could use a good word or two of advice. It's been five years since my last (and first) IM, and I recently have been getting the itch to exorcise some demons (racing with a broken collarbone type of demons...along with all the other you normally encounter during your first IM).

I have a sabbatical coming up from work from July 16th-August 24th. My kids will all be in summer camps, day care, etc. so I will have ample time to train, and in all reality, this may be the last summer for quite some I have some free time before the days of multiple travel teams and god knows what other kid activities stop any consistent training.

Last time I raced, I never had more than ten hours per week to train, so I'd like to see what I can do when I can put a real effort into training. OK, so enough of why I think it might be a good idea, I'd like some input from the board.

Is it realistic/doable? Last weekend I averaged just over 7:00 pace for 9 miles running. I'm getting between 30-50 miles on weekend bike rides a little over 300 watts (I'm 6'4" and 215 lbs), so the base fitness is there (I think). Swimming will always be a bit of an afterthought, but I'm functional enough (I'd guess I'd be in the 70-75 minute range in the water). I know the rides and runs will get a lot longer, but thats what all that found free time is for, right?

Question 2- Being in the Chicago area, if I sign up, I'm debating between Wisconsin and Louisville (last time was in Louisville). If I go with Wisconsin, am I maximizing my sabbatical time by finishing up my last block with a few weeks of "rest" before the race, or would I be better off waiting for Louisville, knowing that I will be back in the thick of dad and work life around Labor Day?

What say ye Slowtwitch?



http://Everydadironman.blogspot.com
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Re: sabbatical and a return to IM....good idea? [cjacobson] [ In reply to ]
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cjacobson wrote:

Is it realistic/doable?

For sure. Lots of people do IMs on way less training.

Quote:
Question 2- Being in the Chicago area, if I sign up, I'm debating between Wisconsin and Louisville (last time was in Louisville). If I go with Wisconsin, am I maximizing my sabbatical time by finishing up my last block with a few weeks of "rest" before the race, or would I be better off waiting for Louisville, knowing that I will be back in the thick of dad and work life around Labor Day?

What say ye Slowtwitch?

Whichever one suits your "strengths" more. Probably Louisville, even though it has negatives as far as timing.
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Re: sabbatical and a return to IM....good idea? [cjacobson] [ In reply to ]
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One thing I found when I tried to do this, is my body couldn’t quickly ramp up volume to the amount of “free time”

Also, when you ramp up volume you need to dial back intensity a lot too

My tip is before pat leave try to ramp up volumes so you’re ready.

I actually wouldn’t train that much more (maybe 13-15 hours?) than you did historically, but you can get more sleep. And read. And do some of the other things you can’t do because your kids take up so much of your free time these days.
Last edited by: mvenneta: May 9, 18 19:17
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