Ironman 70.3 NC has opened

We had more than 70 people vote that IM 70.3 NC would be their end of the season A race for 2017.   The race is on Oct 21 (Saturday) 2017.

 

Assuming everything stays the This is a flat course.   Even the swim (haha).   It is flat.   The bike course is not as nice as some I’ve seen”¦but the run course is really cool as it winds through Wilmington and spends a great deal of time around a local lake.    NOTE:   The course maps for 2017 are not provided yet on the website ”“ so everything may change.  But no matter where they head it will likely be flat!

 

Who should enter this race?   Anyone on the team who wants to target the 70.3 for a season focus.   This is our big team race to end the season.   We’ll have good digs for your family/friends to watch ”“ and it is only one week after Ironman Louisville.   That means almost everyone would be training and tapering on the exact same weekly schedule.

 

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You have to make this decision for yourself ”“ FOLLOW YOUR GUT.   Wait until 2018 if that is what your head and heart are telling you.   Do not let pear pressure force you in to an entry.

 

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But what does it mean to enter this race? Wondering if you can do a 70.3?  

 

Well I can’t ever promise you anything. But I truly believe that if you are willing to take the goal seriously and “do the work” ”“ there is not a single person on this team who would not be VERY WELL prepared for the distance by Oct 21.   By the end of the winter all of you will be running (all of you) more than 6 miles and riding for a few hours.   That is, if you even follow half of our training plan.

 

So ”“ in March you will have that ability.   At that time ”“ the beginning of our summer training plans ”“ our most entry level training plan for Ironman 70.3 NC will start with a 3 or 4 mile run and a 20 mile or so bike.   We then have 27 weeks to bump you up to a 14 mile or so run, and a 60-70 mile or so bike.

 

• If you take out taper weeks ”“ that leaves 24 weeks. If you take out recovery weeks ”“ that leaves us with 16 work weekends.
• Run ”“ if you started at 3 miles and we only increased your long run by 1 mile every weekend ”“ you’d be running 19 or 20 miles before we hit the middle/end of Sept (race is Oct 21). Except – you will not be running that far in training.   You only need 14 or a few more ”“ depending on the training plan.   So, we’d have to increase your run by about ¾ of a mile every work week.   But every third week is “off”.   Point is ”“ super easy build and there is time to compensate for potential work/life/injury issues if they were to arise and put a pause on training.
• On the bike ”“ we could increase your ride by 5 miles each build week and you’d be at 100 miles. You only need 70 or so, max (not even) ”“ we must increase your ride by 3 miles each build week (every third week is off)

 

Put some thought to this and let me know if you are having trouble making the decision ”“ but we have to hurry b/c the race will fill up”¦it will.