Training

55 days to Ironman Frankfurt, and the training is getting harder… Training Week 9 was the last in a three-week loading block that pushed the intensity pretty hard at times. Lots of race pace and above — which is brutal, but also incredibly satisfying. The week started with a rest day on Monday. Tuesday morning brought a one-hour run with short sprints, hill repeats, and tempo intervals, followed by a 75-minute bike ride in the evening — fairly easy with a few small intervals. ...

During today’s session I was involuntarily forced to test my new bike’s off-road capabilities. On the way back from the Kraichgau, there was a massive construction site right on my planned route, making it completely impassable. Unfortunately the signs only appeared very close by — otherwise I would have rerouted much earlier. So there I stood, already past the planned session duration, thinking through my options: Option 1: Push through the construction site and risk getting tar on the bike and tires? Option 2: Take a 30-minute detour and make an already hard session even harder? Option 3: Cut through the forest and across fields to bypass the construction site? ...

Last week only had 17.5 training hours, but with other obligations and very little sleep it was right at the edge of what’s manageable. I really needed today’s rest day. Tuesday I kicked things off with an easy run and a short bike session. Wednesday featured one of my favorite sessions: 3.5 hours on the bike with 4x30min at threshold, followed by a 1.5-hour brick run with a hard finish in the last 30 minutes. I’d definitely earned Thursday’s recovery day with a swim session. ...