The race is over, the report published, and now it’s time to prepare for my next Ironman. Which will it be? Lots of choices, but I need a fairly flat course, due to my peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Then there’s the methotrexate for psoriasis that kicks my ass once a week – hoping to get onto a biological soon. But those are just minor road bumps.
I always look forward to winter Ironman training, and getting back in the weight room. I prefer free weights to machines, though machines have their place.
Winter Ironman training is your time to build strength, get tight muscles to let go, and improve skills for the swim, bike and run. Swim is really about hours in the pool and thinking about what you are doing. Bike is all about strong hips and legs. For me, the run is about trying to perfect an extremely low-impact style, to minimize claudication (muscles locking up due to lack of blood supply – really painful and screws up muscle action).
If a new machine arrives, that I like the look of, I’ll check with Dalton and Jimmy to be sure I’m using it correctly. This is quite important, by the way.
I do loving O2 Fitness. Great gym.
Don’t miss out on winter training, for strength, flexibility, balance, realignment, and the rest of the stuff in my book.
Which Ironman is it going to be? Chattanooga? Arizona? Anyway, I have to master a faster marathon, first, so I’ll do one or two in the spring.
Plenty of Ironman training to do, to save my life for a few more years.
Oh! Yes! I forgot. Due to the need to minimize hip flexion, because of the location of my abdominal aortic aneurysm stent graft, I had to abandon the rowing machine for warmup. I now use the elliptical trainer and the treadmill, instead. Of course, when weather permits, I’ll be running and biking outside, and do any short local runs when I can.
Have fun.
Keep moving.
Cheers,
Speak Your Mind