Should I back out of IRONMAN Mont-Tremblant 2017?

Should I back out of IRONMAN Mont-Tremblant 2017?

All winter I whined about biking because it was too cold and I didn't want to ride on an indoor trainer. I did spin class twice a week but didn't get in the long rides. Now that the weather is tolerable (over 50 degrees in Boston) I'm still dreading the bike. I've been filled with dread, worry, and fear about not getting in the long rides and the stress is consuming me. I'm not hitting the right volumes, but worse - I'm not sure I really want to?

I'm questioning - do I have the desire to do this? Do I even enjoy biking long distances anymore? Is the juice worth the squeeze (as my friend put it)? I keep talking about the bike because it's the weakest of my three sports and also the longest portion of the race. I know that if I can get strong on the bike then I'll be in a good spot to do the race.

I put a note into my coach and his response of "IMMT seems to be in the cards for you, but not your "life" right now. A happy life, is a happy you....when life isn't happy, then you aren't happy...and then you enter into the dark side of IRONMAN....and that side of IRONMAN, not pretty or healthy for you and your circle." really got me thinking about my options:

1. Worst case scenario, I back out of race. I lose the dream and all costs incurred but regain my sanity ($700 race fee, $4,500 in bike and parts, ~$2K for coaching, $149/month for spin class, $40/month for masters swim class, new biking kits >$600, etc.) This would be a bummer.
2. Show up to race day unprepared. Complete the swim and do as much of the race as I can handle (Not a terrible option).
3. See how I fare at Patriot 70.3 in June. This will be a really interesting indicator on how well positioned I am to keep going.
4. Man up and attempt to complete the volume. Fight the weekend guilt of being away for 5 hours at a clip. Get tougher about doing the work both physically and mentally.

Below is an example of my training week of April 10th. While this is under the volume I should be hitting, the real question that my coach addresses below is that if I'm feeling the squeeze now, then is shooting for an IM this year worth it?

Monday: 30 min swim, 45 min spin class
Tuesday: 30 min run, 45 min spin class
Wed: Day off
Thurs: Day off
I intend to do for the next few days:
Friday: masters swim, 1 hour run
Sat: 1 hour run
Sunday: 2-3 hour bike and 30 min run

I asked my coach, can I train 5 days a week? Is what I'm doing enough?

Here was his response:

"Here is the deal with IM, it isn't about the number of days, but volume covered. So yes, you can train for 5 days a week and do an IM, but those 5 days have to reach a workload that will allow you to cover the distance. Volume for racing, is dictated by what is called Critical Volume....the volume needed for endurance to not be a limitation on race day. For an IM, CV is 12,000 yds, of swimming, 300 miles of biking, 66 miles of running....that is the average of your peak weeks (not sustainable volumes)....so we build seasons to peak for two weeks, and those numbers would dictate performance (from an endurance standpoint) on race day. CV for an IM is pretty much impossible if you are not a pro...it would take over 30 hours per week to cover those distances. That doesn't happen for 99.9% of the folks that toe the line at Ironmans. 90% of athletes will pace like they have covered CV, and will end up walking most of the marathon. So we pace folks based on what they have for volume, so they don't overshoot their endurance account and can have strong races.

Minimum for an Ironman, is 2/3 CV....so 8000 yds swimming, 200 biking, 45 running. The training schedule built upon your logistical constraints provided by you, will not meet the 2/3 CV for IMMT. Since we are not even close to those numbers yet, and you are feeling the squeeze, that is concerning. What does not meeting 2/3 CV look like on race day...you will dance in/out of possibly missing the cutoff times, the swim cutoff time is manageable, but the bike cutoff time will be close. Straight up, you will walk most of the marathon and will dance with the cutoff time for the day 17:00. The statements above, are made, with me not "knowing" you....so don't take it personally....you may know things about how you perform better than I. But if we are having the discussion about what is required "on paper" to do an IM...the paper is showing it is possibly "doable", but it will be damn close.

Now we get to the "feeling the vice" of training in April, and it adds another layer to my concerns mentioned above for you to have a successful day at IMMT. The dark side of Ironman training, which is nothing folks talk about, or post on social media, is that it brings your life to its knees. You'll see posts on how great training is going, but you'll never see posts about how that great training is stressing every aspect of your life, and everyone around you that loves you. Your circle, has to be ready to Ironman train....so you can. I always have this conversation with folks.....I don't care if YOU are ready, I care if your LIFE is ready. I will warn folks about certain weeks...especially peak weeks....that this time, is all about you/training....and get your life and love ones on board because mommy is going to not be around. Ironman is a decision for everyone that supports the athletes decision to take on the 6 month challenge. YOU deciding to do an Ironman, and everyone else deciding is very different. So you might be getting this feeling of "yeah, I signed up for this....but damn, my kids didn't sign up for this...they just want their Mom" I don't know the age of your kids...but I would say, if they are under 10....it is going to be TOUGH...since the understanding isn't quite there for them to "get it".

So, if you were to corner me for a decision...from the very little I know about "you"....I would say to not to IMMT...do tri, do HIM's, relish in the sport and get better....get some training cycles in you, and you'll learn more about how to fit training into your life's logistics. If you decide to do it, the volume has to be covered to ensure you meet the cutoff times...even then, it will be close (that is with no knowledge of performance numbers from you). IMMT seems to be in the cards for you, but not your "life" right now. A happy life, is a happy you....when life isn't happy, then you aren't happy...and then you enter into the dark side of Ironman....and that side of Ironman, not pretty or healthy for you and your circle.

Below is the link to the article about Critical Volume. http://www.qt2systems.com/tips/

Let me know if you have any questions."

I happened to read this email around 1:30am. Deep breathe.

Let's give this a little levity. I'm part of a group on Facebook that is absolutely hilarious, called Pathetic Triathletes Group. There are about 29,800 triathletes in the group and they make me laugh daily.

I posed the question yesterday, What time range are you targeting to finish your IRONMAN? I was happily surprised to see that the majority of people are shooting to complete the event in over 14 hours (same as me)...in fact 82 people claimed to be in that range!! That made me feel not along and gives me a little perspective on all of this. I follow a lot of really excellent athletes and their abilities far exceed my own so seeing people who are just like me trying to do something outrageous is comforting.

Check out this poll:

One person responded "If I hit anything less than 16.59:59 then I over trained."

That makes me smile :-)

What next? For now, I'm going to attempt to hit the right volumes and see if I can ramp this thing up. I do feel confident that I can complete the 70.3 in June so I'm going to focus on getting myself to that point. I'll keep you posted on what I do from there!

Follow my journey to IRONMAN Mont-Tremblant here: @roadtoironmom