Ironman Training Week 3 & Hydration Tips

Hydration Tips

If you've been to my class before, you know that I'm always saying to drink before you feel thirsty and not to wait for me, the instructor, to tell you when to get water. Well, I also need to take more of my own advice. Especially when running. Since I've been hitting Saturdays pretty hard (between 15 and 20 miles over the past 5 weeks) I haven't been running with water. I don't want to carry a bottle and I think they hydration belts look pretty silly.

At last weeks Dick's Marathon training run however they was a "hydration clinic" before the run. It was a good reminder of what I should be doing and how much I should be drinking. As a general rule of thumb, it's a good idea to get at least 2 ounces every 10 to 15 minutes of activity (whether your running, biking, spinning, etc.). This will help keep your muscles loose, clear waste and acid, and just keep you feeling fresh.

A good test to see how much you need to drink is to weigh yourself before and after your workout. If you've lost weight, you didn't drink enough. For instance, say you are down 1 pound after your workout. That's 16 ounces. This means you should try to get 16 ounces more water next time you're doing the same type of activity.

All that said, I did end up taking a hydration belt with me on my 20.5 mile run last Saturday and I can't believe what a huge difference it made. I felt 1,000 times better than I had on the 20 mile run the week before. It may have been psychological, but I'll be running with the belt from now on!

Anyway... to this weeks workout schedule.

Weekly Training Schedule

Total Bike Hours: 7:30
Total Run Hours: 4:00
Total Swim Hours: 1:30

Monday
Swim at LA Fitness -DONE
Tuesday
Run at LA Fitness 4:50am - 5:40am (Easy warm up followed by 3 1 mile pick ups)
Spin at LA Fitness 5:45am
Spin at Rivers Club 12:15pm
Spin at LA Fitness 6:45pm (Warm Up, 2 10min hard w/ 3min off, then 1 15min hard 1/ 4min off, remainder of class at 75%)
Wednesday
Spin at LA Fitness 5:45am - 6:30am
Spin at Rivers Club 12:15pm (I will not be at this class, Dale will be subbing!)
Thursday
Swim at LA Fitness 6am - 6:45am (500 warm up, 150, 200, 250, 200, 150 w/20sec off, 3x150 w/20sec off, 10x25 sprints w/20sec off)
Friday
Spin at LA Fitness 5:15am - 6:30am (Warm Up, 2x10min w/3 off, 1x15min w/4 off, 2x25min w/2 off, Cool Down)

Saturday

Long run day @ 8am....not sure on mileage yet

Sunday

Some type of ride (hopefully outside & not on the trainer)