Four Week Update - Ironman for a cause

12/30-1/26 Triathlon Log and Training Update: Ironman for a cause

Phew! So it has been about a month since my last post of the journey to Iroman Lake Placid in July and A LOT has been going on.

- My father and I started the first big campaign for Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation fundraising
- After three months of moving, I got a job!
- The MMRF PowerTeam provided free training programs to the competitors
- Update on Knighthood Fundraising Event

So first things first - the big fundraising push.

My father and I sent out emails and the response was great! Thank you to everyone who has donated, you have made a difference in cancer research! After two weeks of fundraising through emails we hit $1,665, which equates to 33% to the goal. We have a few months to go, so if any of you know of someone who has been effected by cancer, would like to make a change in someones life, or would like to support me in this quest I would greatly appreciate it!

The fundraising page is: http://www.active.com/donate/14mmrfimlakeplacid/LPCZeman

Knighthood Attempt

My next big push in the fundraising department will be the attempt on Knighthood (Link provides a more in Sufferfest. Sufferfest is a series of cycling videos that do exactly what the companies name is called - they make you suffer. Only 66 people have succeeded in their Knighthood attempts, and that includes people around the world!
depth view of the attempt and rules). This Knighthood is based off a fictional state called Sufferlandria for a company called

For those who didn't go to the Knighthood cite, here is what it is:

You must do 10 Sufferfest videos back-to-back (ranging from 45 minutes to 2 hours). There are shorter videos, however those are not allowed
Rest in between videos can be up to 10 minutes, no more, but can be less.
I'll need to publicaly record the event - which I will be doing on this blog with photos and through power files on Strava.com (links to come)
Lastly, they suggest to do tie this event to a fundraising cause - which is what I will be asking all of you to partake! :-)

They say to average out the videos to 60 minutes, since all but a select few are at that 60 minute range. 10 videos, plus 100 minutes of rest time sets me up at the 12 hour mark for the day. That is correct, I will be on my bike for 12 hours for this quest and to help the MMRF and my Ironman for a cause.

Again, here is the link to my fundraising page: http://www.active.com/donate/14mmrfimlakeplacid/LPCZeman

Feel free to donate for every hour it takes, every mile I complete, average cadence, highest cadence, average m.p.h., average power, highest power, etc. A lot of different scenarios, or just an amount you are comfortable with!

Here is page about someone who went through Knighthood this past October.

When will this event take place? March 1st, 2013.

Training

So I received an email from the MMRF PowerTeam letting us know that we received a free training plan from Tom Holland. I am still looking it over if it is something that will fit with what I believe will make me successful. By the end of next week, I'll have decided on my new training plan and will post on here for you all.

On the day to day front, I've gone to 10 hours a week of training and it has been pretty consistent for the past 4 weeks which is great. Here is a look at it:

Four Week Summary

12/30 - 1/5

Total: 145 Miles / 7 hours 38 minutes

Swim: 0 yards / 0 miles / 0 hours 00 minutes

Bike: 140 miles (Indoor trainer miles) / 7 hours 00 minutes

Run: 5 miles / 0 hours 38 minutes

Core: 0 hours 00 minutes 

1/6 - 1/12

Total: 176 Miles / 10 hours 15 minutes

Swim: 0 yards / 0 miles / 0 hours 00 minutes

Bike: 160 miles (Indoor trainer miles) / 8 hours 00 minutes

Run: 16 miles / 2 hours 00 minutes

Core: 0 hours 15 minutes 

1/13-1/19 - Birthday week!

Total: 144 Miles / 9 hours 30 minutes

Swim: 0 yards / 0 miles / 0 hours 00 minutes

Bike: 120 miles (Indoor trainer miles) / 6 hours 00 minutes

Run: 24 miles / 3 hours 00 minutes

Core: 0 hours 30 minutes 

1/20 - 1/26

Total: 184 Miles / 11 hours 20 minutes

Swim: 0 yards / 0 miles / 0 hours 00 minutes

Bike: 160 miles (Indoor trainer miles) / 8 hours 00 minutes

Run: 24 miles / 3 hours 00 minutes

Core: 0 hours 20 minutes 

The workouts have been pretty consistent right now. I'll at least get in one long run and ride, two tough workouts per specialty and recovery the rest of the way. It is mainly just to prep me for the Ironman Block coming up rather quickly (26 weeks!)

So my workout of the week, will consist of two over the past four weeks.

Running: Involved a series of 4 minutes at 85-90% efforts with 3 minute recoveries. 20 minutes warm up, followed by 4x 4min/3 min, 20 minutes cool down. The weather was great, sun was shining, and it was in the mid 40s. My average pace for the 4 minutes were around 5:45 per mile and my average pace throughout the run was 6:55 per mile. 

Cycling: FTP Testing (Functional Threshold Power). What the number provides at the end of the test sets a baseline for cycling workouts. As for running, we know that we need to hit X:XX or a heart rate of XXX. This is cycling's way to telling you where to be. This test involved going as hard as you can for 20 minutes after a 40 minute ride that involved a warm up, 4x1 minutes at high spinning and 1 minute recovery. To go as hard as you can while looking at a computer screen is not only physically taxing but mentally taxing. I did two of these tests, one during 1/13 - 1/19 week and one just this past week (1/20-1/26). It was painful, awesome, and very educational. I look forward to using my new numbers for training for another 6 weeks until I test again.