Journey to Kona Day 78: Volume over Intensity

With just under seven weeks before Ironman Boulder, and coming off a few weeks of little to no  training due to my rib injuries, my coach gave me my marching orders today.  Volume over intensity. It's going to take patience on my part to not want to push up a steep hill, or to not want to keep up with someone who passes me, or to not want to monitor my pace in the pool  None of the above! My focus, at least for the next 3-4 weeks, MUST be on getting in as much bike, run and swim volume as possible.  Which means aerobic efforts only!  It doesn't always seem obvious how even an extra hard short effort might limit what I can do the next day from a volume perspective.  That must be top of mind from here on in. And, Need to plan to squeeze in as much volume as possible.

Getting the time in on the bike takes some planning.  This week is a little challenging due to babysitting duties and other things to get done, but we'll see how tomorrow goes as a test. Sometimes, it's just a matter of getting on the bike a few times a day, or running a few times a day, when the opportunity arises. It all adds up!

The body is remarkable.  The volume focus is very specific to ironman, as I definitely won't be putting in any hard efforts on race day, or rather, if I do, I'd be stupid, because they'll come back to haunt me. For that reason, my top end bike wattage or top end run speed are irrelevant.  At the same time, my body will absorb large volumes of training right now and that will prepare me well for race day.  I've never really been good about doing super high volume on the bike prior to an ironman, which I'll try to start for Boulder, but will definitely ramp up for Kona.  That's the only way that I'm going to acquit myself well in Hawaii.

It's about commitment.  Cycling volume takes time, and time can seem to be at a premium at times.  But it comes down to what my priorities are and what's important.  There's certainly nothing wrong with hours in the saddle from a meditative perspective!  So,volume it is.  This is going to be interesting.