IM training guidance for someone working 12 hour days, 6 or 7 days per week
I'll try not to let my annoyance show through that Verizon's unions have gone on strike. I'm usually a lawyer. For the indefinite future, I'll be working 12 hour shifts from 7 am to 7 pm out in the field. We work the first 10 days straight, then go to one day off per week. I'm doing Ironman Kona in 8 weeks. Hopefully, things will be resolved by then. Furthermore, I've got a tibial stress reaction that precludes me from running for the time being.
What should I be doing?
Swimming: The pool opens at 5:30 am, so i could get in an hour before work. I should be able to keep the normal schedule.
Biking: I've got a Computrainer in the basement. I can ride for an hour from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm after the kids are asleep or in the morning on non-swimming days. But I don't see anything longer than an hour happening in the next 10 days. Once I have a day off per week, that obviously becomes long bike day.
Running: Can't do it anyway. I've been advised to walk/jog a little bit once the leg feels better. Hopefully installing/repairing phone lines won't make the injury worse. I've got to walk the dog anyway. And I may do some aquajogging in the morning on non-swimming days.
Arrgh. This couldn't come at a worse time. I'll same my anti-union vitriol for another time.
Off to work . . .
Comments
I saw the advice you received about the stress fracture, so pool running and swimming are taken care of. You can definitely back swim down to 1-2 days per week and run in the pool. Your long run will be impacted time wise, but you can only do so much in the pool before you want to slit your wrists- even with music.
The biking- while training for IMWI last year- not as big a deal as Kona, but still... I had made the commitment to my family that I would be present for family gatherings (out of state). In the 12 weeks training, I had 3 (!!!) weekends in which I could not do the bikes as prescribed. My solution:
Friday morning- as usual.
Friday night- Saturday intervals on trainer
Saturday morning- drive 3-4 hours to family, maybe do a short run just to get the stiffness out (30-45')
Sunday morning- perhaps another short run, hang out, drive home (30')
Sunday night- ABP on the trainer for as long as I could stand it, usually 1.5 hours
Monday morning- as usual
My point is that it was not optimal, but I didn't feel like I was off the reservation and not getting ready. An hour of biking before and after work on Sat/Sun won't be what is called for, but sometimes main sets are all you can do. Keep up the intensity.
Best of luck.
Keith - If this lasts longer than two weeks, I suspect the hardest part will be re-setting your expectations for Oct 8th. Is there a risk you'll lose your planned time off for Oct?
No way your bosses see a PR value in having someone on staff at Hawaii Ironman and cut you a little slack for some long bike rides?
I'm guessing that your work schedule is goning to suck the life out of you. You've got to get into survival mode and need to prepare for that mentally. I'm guessing that its physically taxing too. I sit at a desk all day, so long OT over weeks into months is draining, but can't even imagine if I was carrying heavy gear, climbing poles, etc. BUT - You WILL get to Kona and you WILL finish, but you will probably need to dig deep mentally at times before you even get to the race. Just remember to keep things in perspective. I'm a EN newbie and SC gal, but thought I saw a refence somewhere for IM peeps about that 1-thing when things get tough, maybe part of the 4 keys. You'll probably need that just to get through the bad days at work when you just can't imagine getting on the drainer again or when the alarm clock rings at 4:30AM. But you are an ironman and that's so much more than being physically tougher than 99.99% of the worlds population. That means that you're MENTALLY tougher than 99.99% too. And that's the bigger deal.
Also - just because you technically could do 1 hour of training in the morning and 1 hour of training in the evening doesn't mean that you body can handle it given the other stresses. You might find yourself ready to drop at the end of each day. Again I'd think RnP would give the best guidance on what to do when, but you need to get your sleep and recovery too.
Best of luck! Also remember that this is temporary and you will get there even if the path turned out to be a lot bumpier that expected!
Personally, I'd use any training you COULD get in as anti-stress workouts. Focusify that anger towards something constructive, but do NOT dig a hole. If you sit in an office all day and will now be moving 12hrs/day, your body will taking punishment in a whole new way. There was no base/build process for climbing poles in the VZN training I'm sure (I know for dam sure there wasn't in the ATT program). But first give your body time to adapt to this strike crap, those are long hours doing things you're not used to. Don't try to force a workout on top of that, or burnout and/or more injuries can follow.
I work 12's at the hospital and get stuck in 6 out of 7 day stretches. I am currently in one only 5 weeks out from WI...this is what I have come up with...
last day off=long run (2.5 hr)
1st work day=recover/core work, I then alternated 1 hour swim/bike/run as the days pile up...all are done after work...this is done in near OS flavor...trying to keep my tss as high as I can with 2 more weeks of volume to go. I have found that I come out of these stretches more tired than my normal high volume training at this point in the plan. I think/hope that I am getting more of a mental workout than physical. I have gone to some very dark places at the end of these workouts to get them done...but I am sure they will be worth it on race day. The key is to MAKE yourself do them. It is very easy to come home and spend time on the couch while the fam is around you and call it "family time"...go down to the cave, get it done, and go to bed.
Best of luck with the work situation and your race in October!!!
Ebe
Keith- sorry to hear about the work change. hopefully, it gets resolved soon.
Great suggestions so far. AS you know, I also do 12's. They can be challenging for sure. As Ebe mentioned- adds to the mental toughness training.
Something I have been doing of late. I take a 15 minute siesta if really tired. Sometimes, if my legs are tired I do it lying on floor with legs up on wall. No more than 10 -15 min. Then you need to get it done, go to the cave!
Other things to consider- the evening workout may then jive you up, making it difficult to go to sleep. Cool shower or bath to drop body temp may help
The kids will be going back to school/daycare soon. Bring all kinds of germs home, add that to new training work stress. Hand sanitizer- bath in it. Start adding the vit C and zinc.
Good Luck! Cheering for ya
We would all prefer to see you work it out...but something will have to give - family time, work time, sleep (not advisable)...but there are only 24 hours in a day.
Alright, I am going to go find a little girl to tell that her puppy died (thats a joke; since I provided the least positive thoughts to this forum).
Bravo Tucker! Bravo!
1hr Run
1hr Bike
2hr Run
4hr Bike
8hr Total
The long bike was on a weekend and the rest of the workouts were scattered throughout the week to fit my schedule. If I had some extra time I might get in a swim or extra run. Of course all workouts included a good amount of Z4 threshold work.
I know this is not the ideal amount of volume/time but this is all I could fit on a weekly basis. When race day rolled around I just followed the EN race execution guidance and just tried to enjoy the whole experience.
You get to race in Kona! My advice is to just do whatever training is possible and go have a great time on the island. Hopefully I get fast enough to join you one day.
Sorry to laugh but several years ago, AT&T was going to strike also. Carrie Chavez's husband Steve is/was an IT guy and they had him out training to climb telephone poles in case the strike materialized. They never did strike, but management cross training was fairly comical, to me at least.
Sorry, can't offer any better advice!
Put it this way, the company is completely fine - ecstatic in fact - with a 70% competency rate of those installs/repairs.
Would you want me in your house installing and messing around with electrical? I wouldn't!
+1. You never know when/if you'll get back there again. And even if you do KQ again, something worse than a training sucking strike may befall you and pull the rug out. Do what you can, then enjoy the day on Oct 8th with whatever you've got. And don't get hurt between now and then!
What Al said.
In my case, I rolled my ankle/almost broke it about 9-10wks out from Kona. Didn't run a step before the race until I did a 6mi out and back in the Energy Lab. Of course, I cycled my ass off that summer and rode a 5:08, after cruising to a :58-59 on the swim (came out of the water next to Natascha Badman. Swim was the most enjoyable part of the day and I just looked at the pretty fish)
The run sucked but...that's about what I expected. My point is that there are very, very, very few opportunities in the modern world to say "on this day I was #xxxth in the WORLD at this sport!"
Do what you can, don't stress and enjoy the once in a lifetime experience!
The good news is that I submitted a medical exemption request yesterday that was granted. I wanted to stick it out, but I wasn't going to jeopardize my leg for my company. Starting tomorrow, I'm back driving my desk.
I'll still be working extended hours (primarily filing for injunctions against illegal union activity--google "Verizon strike daughter" for links to a youtube clip of a union guy forcing his young daughter to block a Verizon truck, all the while screaming obscenities at the Verizon manager filling in for the strikers), but I'll have more flexibility and should be able to bike and swim regularly, and probably get in a four-hour ride on the weekend. Hopefully the shin will recover soon. If not, I'll walk it. Last year's Kona NBC broadcast showed a woman who got a stress fracture six weeks out, was on crutches until two weeks out, and walked the marathon in her boot cast. I'm not nearly that bad off, and if she can do it, so can I!
Keith: Two stories, from my own races at Hawaii. 2006 - An AG buddy from Oregon in 2002 suffered multiple broken bones in pelvis and back, with screws, rods, etc after a number of trips to Kona. By 06, he was back at IM CDA, finished 3rd, and got a roll down spot from me. Out on Ali'i that Oct, I saw him walking as I ran by (he's a better biker than I). He WALKED THE ENTIRE 26.2, with a smile on his face, happy to be back somewhere he never thought he'd get again.
2009 - I'm in the process of a self-imposed implosion, again on Ali'i, and I see Harriet Anderson, age 70-something, walking along in the other direction, again with a smile on her face and her arm in a sling. We both had time to stop and chat for a few seconds - she'd fallen off her bike and dislocated her shoulder. But she loved that race so much, and her legs stil worked, so ...
Here's hoping you channel their spirit, and are able to have a day you'll never forget.
Keith- Glad that you can let the shin heal a bit. Hope training is going well. Make sure to savor every moment of Kona. I am jealous. Kona slots never roll down to 60th place