T-22 weeks: "Base 1 Week 1 - New zones and much positive energy"
- Kathrin Peters Ferrell
- Dec 29, 2024
- 7 min read
Dear Papa, and dear Reader,
Christmas week lies behind us. And we're finally on with the Ironman training plan!!! I completed the first week of base 1, and let me tell you, it feels so good! I was a little apprehensive about it, but man, it is just good to get rolling now.
We got back from Germany on Monday afternoon, just in time to jump on the indoor trainer and get the first workout in. On Tuesday morning, Christmas Eve, I went to the pool for a time trial to adjust my training zones, followed by a speed play run in Rock Creek Park. I was so delighted to find out that my swimming threshold pace has increased from 1:48 to 1:42/100yds over the last six months, which for me is a massive improvement! All the drills and the work on my form seem to slowly be paying off. Because swimming is so technical, this is likely the only discipline that has improved during my off-season, and I'll take it!
The other time trial I did on Thursday was a Functional Threshold Power (FTP) test on the bike, and as expected, it decreased from previously 163W to now 154W over the last three or so months. It's a bummer to have lost fitness, but I'm sure I'll build it back up in no time. My FTP a few years ago was significantly higher, and I feel like it is even less on the TT bike than the road bike. As I'm now training for three disciplines instead of one, I'm under no illusion of getting back to those levels anytime soon. Either way, I am targeting to at least be back in the mid 160s next time I test again in a few weeks. That's the goal!
Right now, I'm sitting in my Normatec Compression boots after finishing my last run this week. I started at sunrise and caught a break in the rain - it is fairly warm though today, mid 50s Fahrenheit / around 12-13 Celsius. Next Tuesday, on New Year's Eve, I will do my run time trial, and although I expect a bit of a decrease there as well, I look forward to having all my zones set up correctly so that I know exactly how hard to train and when, in order to maximize the benefits of my training plan. (Yesterday, I did my long ride (40+ miles / 2:15h with six 2 min intervals in the beginning), and I was working and sweating so so hard the entire time, wondering why an endurance zone ride would feel so challenging - only to find out that my zones had still been set on my previous FTP! Oh my. I had worked a lot harder than I should have!)
Two workouts, other than the mentioned, were standouts this week: On Thursday, I rejoined the very (!) ambitious group from Montgomery County Road Runners Club (MCRRC) that does a weekly 10+ mile run at 5:30am every Thursday morning - this week at 7:00am though, a Christmas miracle. They are going fairly fast, so even though I hang out at the back end of the group, it still is pushing both my pace and heart rate slightly beyond where it technically should be. But wow, these long runs are just so much more easily done in company! My good friend Maryam, a fellow triathlete with whom I will be racing the 70.3 World Championships in Marbella next November, was there as well, and it was so great to catch up with her during the 1:40h we had together. She had just come back from the 70.3 World Championships in Taupō, New Zealand, and last year, she raced in Kona, Hawaii, for the Ironman World Championships in her age group. She is simply amazing! I want to be her when I grow up!
The other standout "workout" might not really count, but it was one of my favorite events this week: Jim's daughter Anna had planned a walk through Downtown DC on Christmas Eve with her little family, hitting eight of the most prominent and beautiful Christmas trees in the city! We started in the early afternoon, walked from tree to tree, and had a really wonderful dinner at the Hamilton in the middle of it. It was truly the most wonderful way to invite in the Christmas spirit, watching little Vera examine every ornament on those gigantic trees with her little hands. Walks of course don't really count as triathlon training, but as they can still generate at least some fatigue, even if by themselves they don't add up to much, I've resolved to log every walk that is more than 1 hour and 3 miles to make sure I keep on top of what I'm putting my body through in terms of total workload. Anyways, if we let this count as a workout, it was my favorite workout this week for sure!
All the nice green colors is what I'd like to see at the end of the week, confirming that I checked off all of my planned workouts - three in each discipline. I'm coming out of this first week in truly great spirits, having logged a total of 12:45 hours: 7,750 yds / 7.100m in 2:30h of swimming (which makes it the biggest swimming week since my last Half Ironman in late September!), 95 miles / 155km in 5:00h of cycling (the biggest cycling week in the last 3 months!), and 22 miles / 35km in 3:45h of running. I also did my first little strength session to start doing some triathlon specific strength work - I hate lifting weights, but it will undoubtedly benefit my training and help prevent injuries as well. With limited opportunity to work out last Monday due to traveling and not wanting to overload myself too early in the week, I did have to do my last run today (Sunday), which in future weeks I want to try and preserve as a rest day. Having one day per week to give the body a full break has been really beneficial for me in the past, so I want a 7-day workout schedule to be the exception. Next week, hopefully, I will have everything done by Saturday evening without pushing me past my limits. It will be a total of 13:30+ hours.
As you can see in this graphic, the plan will build in length over the course of the next 22 weeks, and this is only the humble little start of it. I feel strong and energized and motivated, but I'm not fooling myself: This is the Honeymoon Phase, and I'm likely to get into territory soon that will feel very different and have me in a tired state most of the time. But hey, I'll ride the upbeat energy wave as long as I can. Also, I signed up for my triathlon team's retreat in mid-May, two weeks before the Hamburg race, and I'm very excited for that as well!
Now, Papa, you can disregard this paragraph, but here's a section for my Mama. Please don't be worried, Mama! I know you keep thinking I might not be able to tell when I'm doing too much and that I will put myself under too much pressure. But on top of the fact that I am pretty well in tune with my body and have no problems calling a workout off if I'm not feeling well, I also have a very fine-tuned data set on TrainingPeaks that tells me exactly how much load and fatigue I'm putting on my body in each discipline, and when it is getting too much. The plan is designed to keep me level, and I have committed to holding off on additional workouts in a specific discipline should my form in that discipline drop below -17, and to hold off on workouts in ANY discipline if my overall form drops below -35. Even though that might not tell you much, you can trust that I'm monitoring it with eagle eyes, and that I will always focus on health and injury prevention first! That's a promise!!
(Also, by the way, to all my triathlon friends who are reading any of this and disagree or would advise different limits, please leave a comment! I'm just running with self-educated wisdom here and will be happy to adjust to more experienced athletes' input at any point!)
This week's picture memory is from Christmas 36 years ago in our house in Schriesheim, Southern Germany! I can't remember how often you had to play Horsey and Rider with me and Steffen, but it looks like that wasn't your first loop around the ground floor with us on your back. You never turned down a chance to play with us! And we always had such a blast together, no matter our age, no matter our circumstances! Thank you for being such an incredible dad!
I hope you had a great Heavenly Christmas this year too, Papa! It was hard to receive a picture of Christmas Eve with the family without you - I still remember the picture from last year in the very same place at Tim's house, with you carrying your signature big smile. In a week and a half, it will be the anniversary of your accident. I had received your last text earlier that same day, which is the last time I was able to ever communicate with you. All I did was "heart" your text. No written response. I could kick myself for that... How easy would it have been to tell you how much I love you in response. It is so hard to read through our text string, but I can't keep myself from doing it once in a while to remind myself that everything was good right up to your accident - and every time I read through it, it feels simply impossible that you just can't text me anymore...
I love you, Papa! I'm so excited for this journey in 2025! You and me, together. We can do it!! Here we go, onto week 2 of the first base training block!!
All my love,
Kathrin
P.S. Dear Reader, if you have comments, questions, memories, or thoughts to share, please leave a comment (and leave your name in the comment so I know who it's from). I would love to hear from you!
Go to the full list of blog posts or read more about the project Ironman for Papa
you are pushing hard, Kathrin! The prize is in the process--I am sure he would be so proud of your diligent and consistent work.