My Best Month Yet in 2012

March is over and here comes April, which means warmer temperatures and thunderstorms for us in Memphis. It also means race season is getting closer, so I have about 5-6 weeks of hard training before my Olympic race. If April is anything like March, then I am going to be happy. At the end of the month, I always like to look back and see if what I am doing is productive or am I just out there making it look like I am working hard. Again, this post is mainly for myself, but please feel free to make any call outs you see.

So let's dig in:

March Totals:
Swim       9.24   miles    5:14:11
Bike        214.1 miles    9:41:00
Run         56.28 miles    8:29:36

Now based on miles alone, it looks about right as far as more biking than running and more running than swimming. A total of 23 hours and 24 minutes was spent training in March, almost one full day. I know I was short on my monthly goals, but I am I did increase my monthly time of working out by over 6 hours and 92 more miles!

I also completed a half marathon in March that I was seriously under trained. My longest run had only been 8 miles leading up to the race. This was a real confidence boost for me also. I know I can do the distance under trained, so by September, I should be able to rock my half Ironman distance race and marathon later in the year. I am happy with my progress YTD as well. (Yeah I have those numbers also)

1st Qtr 2012
Swim    28.41   miles  16:25:53
Bike     493.2   miles   22:47:00
Run      141.38 miles   21:18:15

Now it was important for me to have the same ratios of swimming/running/biking throughout the year, meaning I want my biking to be the majority of my workouts, followed by my running. I need a strong bike/run for me to hit my goals. The swimming is not a problem for me much anymore, but that dang run always gets me. I know January was mostly running for the first two weeks which is why the times are closer than I would like, but I still feel like I am on track. Judging by last years totals, (swim 48 miles, bike 959miles and run 546 miles), I am going to totally blow 2011 yearly totals out of the water because April will be more miles than March, and after my May race, I start training for my half iron distance which will mean more miles in training! All of this is leading up to my date with my full Ironman in 2013! I get excited just thinking about it!

Also in April, I am going to focus on adding some core work. I have committed to myself to 4 core workouts a week and to really focus in on a better diet in the month of April. I am already down to the 188lb range, with a goal of 183lbs by race day (May 20). I think it is totally doable, I just need to focus on the eating part and make smarter decisions. So April needs to be another big month for me, but I am feeling confident about my race in  May already! I plan on sticking to my plan and missing as few workouts as possible while trying to stay healthy. Let's Bring It!

I will blog more about my Aprils Abs goal in my next post. Thanks for reading!