My 70.3 Ironman training was about endurance. Now that I am doing two sprint triathlons in the next 6 weeks, I am shifting to speed training. I am pretty relieved I won’t be doing any really long runs, bike rides or bricks for the rest of this season. My longest run will probably be 8 miles (that is, after the Blessing of the Fleet run).
The sprint triathlon is a 1/4 mile swim, 12 mile bike ride and a 3 mile run. It will take me less than 1.5 hours to complete. That’s five full hours shorter than the 1/2 Ironman. It is all now about speed. Don’t get me wrong, any triathlon distance is about endurance. I still need to have speed on the run after the swim and bike, so I need to have some endurance in my legs to keep up.
So, my training will consist of shorter (its all relative!) and faster workouts. I am looking forward to adding in more hills and stairs. And, my runs will end with a few miles at race intensity. I really do love the long endurance workouts. It is amazing how the human body can just keep going at a certain pace if it has the proper nutrition and hydration. But, I look forward to mixing it up a little for the next couple of months.
Today’s workout:
6 mile run at 8:08 pace
30 minute open water swim (very choppy!)
