I certainly endured a great year of racing. I was glad I could take on the increased load to train for an ironman. I was also happy to have finished two more ironman middle distances this year. All these races and more training allowed me to gain a lot of confidence heading into the 2016 season. I was especially encouraged by my finish in the Beach to Battleship Ironman distance race, where I finished just off the podium in fourth place in my age group and 57. in the general. As I finished the final weeks of training for the ironman, I began to think about what I would want to do during the offseason.
He knew he needed a break. The last three to four weeks of training had gotten tedious and I was battling physical and mental fatigue. My 2 week set-up plan worked perfectly and I felt good for the race, but I knew I couldn’t go back to training right away for the 2016 season. I also knew that to improve in next year’s races I would have to do some things differently to improve. Eventually, I learned that I needed more leg strength for cycling, more core strength for running and cycling, and more upper body strength for greater strength in swimming stroke.
I settled on a staple for myself over the last few years and that is P90X. This series of workouts involves the development of upper body strength and also a consistent diet of lower body workouts. It also has a focus on the core and abdominal areas. I wanted to do a 60 day run of the P90X after a week off after the ironman. This 60-day P90X series would take me about a week away from the New Years. I knew that we would travel during this time to visit family at Christmas and my trainings would become serendipitous at best.
I started with the P90X and quickly realized that I did not have the strength that I had at one point, as I could not do the necessary pull-ups or weight lifting. He was also incredibly sore. I knew this was working the correct muscles to improve in triathlon, as well as building strength to avoid injury.
I will go back to triathlon training right after the New Year.
To update:
11.29.15 – I’ve been doing P90X for 40 days or so. I feel great even though I have lost some weight from not doing all the cardio I did before. I imagine I will lose some of this weight when I go back to training just after the first day of the year. My shoulders feel stronger and my back is stronger, which will help me swim. I feel like my legs are stronger along with my glutes, which will help me run and bike. I’ll be ready to finish P90X in a couple of weeks and then I think mentally ready to go back to triathlon specific training. I did a few runs during the free week between P90X weeks 3 and 5. I recognized a stronger beat and my core was stronger. I feel like this was the best way to go for my offseason plan.
