Road to Kona Training : Week of Sep 5 and 12 (PIVKON -2)
PIVKON-2 for any new readers is short for Pivnik’s (me) Kona Dream – 2 weeks out 🙂
This post will cover two weeks because some Sunday travel got in the way of writing last week. Speaking of getting in the way… really starting to get anxious and nervous about the big day. The Ironman Wold Championship in Kona Hawaii is only 17 days away and coming fast!
The week before last was a mixed one because it incorporated a half Ironman race in Atlantic City. My coach suggested I throw an actual race into the schedule to break up the monotony of training so I signed up for IM 70.3 AC.
The week leading up to the race looked like this:
Monday: One hour of Pilates followed by 15 miles on the bike.
Tuesday: Easy 5k run and 1,700 yards (1 mile) in the pool.
Wednesday: 15 more miles on an indoor bike with a quick 1 mile run to complete the brick.
Thursday: One more Pilates session and short speed sets in the pool for 1,200 yards.
Friday: The day before the race it was a quick 20 minute spin on the bike and 5 minutes on the treadmill to shake out the legs.
Saturday: I thought I had a decent chance at breaking my half Ironman best of 5:57 because of the flat course in AC. A very crappy swim start killed that dream really fast. What was supposed to be a 40 minute 1.2 miles swim ended up taking me an hour and 2 minutes. I knew that I would have a really hard time making up that time on the bike and run. A mechanical problem on the bike put me another 5 minutes back before I even got out of transition. Thank you T1 bike mechanic!
Without really pushing it I was still able to pull off a respectable (for me) bike split and covered 56 miles in 3:05 averaging 18 MPH which I was really happy with. The boardwalk run was really hot and again with a PR out of sight I didn’t over exert myself and managed a 2:13 13.1 miles run which gave me a finishing time of 6:46. That was faster than 48 others in my age group. A lady doesn’t share her age so I won’t share my actual placement. Except for the swim, I really enjoyed the “training day”.
. 
On Sunday I flushed out the legs with an easy spin in the gym for 10 more miles before heading to Annapolis for two days of R&R. If you haven’t been, I highly recommend a visit and a tour of the Naval Academy is a must!! Take the 11 AM one so you’ll get to witness their lunch ritual. I’m in awe of Navy Seals and TOPGUN so being there where candidates are bread was very inspirational.
The week’s total came to 5,000 yards swimming, 101 miles biking and 18 miles running. I’m glad I got the race in. It gave me a lot to think about and work out as I prepare for the main event on the big island.
This week’s training totals were 4,800 yards swimming, 154 miles biking and 15 miles of running which was broken up as follows:
Monday while still in Annapolis I got in 15 mile on an indoor bike.
Tuesday when I got to the pool at the hotel at 7 AM I was pretty upset to see a sign that says that it doesn’t open until 9. Maybe I wasn’t too upset since I didn’t seek out a manager to make an exception for me but rather went back to bed to toss and turn for another hour before a board meeting with a client.
After arriving back home on Wednesday it was off to Central Park for 23.5 miles on the bike followed by a quick 2 mile run off the bike.
Thursday I got in a threefer by resuming Pilates in the AM for an hour and a swim/bike brick of 2,1000 yards + 15 miles in the afternoon.
Friday was my long bike workout where I completed another century (100 miles) on the Empire State Trail. Fighting Bronx and Manhattan Friday Rush hour traffic on the final 10 miles home was super sketchy. Short of a few close calls I was unscathed but had to miss the OTB run due to dinner plans.
. 
Saturday‘s plan called for 2:15 of easy running so I came up with a creative route which included crossing the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a great idea except that 1,000’s of tourists had the same thought and it killed my pace. I still really enjoyed it and got in 13.1 miles and then hopped on the subway to get home instead of racking up more miles on tired legs.
. 
On Sunday I finished off the week with some long sets in the pool for 2,700 yards.
This coming week is still up there in volume but is definitely in the “beginning to taper” category for sure. Only 4 hours in the saddle this weekend! YAY!!
The book is coming along well. Thanks for asking! Today I finished drafting a chapter called the Legacy Lottery which describes my racing journey to qualify for the World Championship. I promise it will be an interesting read 🙂
Thank you for following along!
PS: If you’re not subscribed for updates, please do so below so you get notifications via email in case you miss a social post.