Base Training for Ironman Louisville

I have been following several IML blogs for several months now, so I decided to get mine up and running. For the past 2 months, I have been on a rigorous base training plan. My plan consists of running and cycling at a heart rate of 150-155 beats per minute (running 3x per week, cycling 3x per week and swimming 3x per week). Training at this level has been very difficult for me since I am used to training at a much higher intensity. For example, I generally run 7 minute miles, and now I am running 9 minute miles to keep my heart rate down. According to Mark Allen at: http://www.markallenonline.com/heartrate.asp - this type of training should pay off in the long run and I should be able to get back to a 7 minute mile while keeping my heart rate down.

It has been 2 months and counting and I still have not seen any major improvements. The only thing that I have noticed is that my endurance has improved, but my speed has not improved without increasing my heart rate above 155 beats per minute. Right now my motto is "slow and steady" in about 1 more month I am going back to my old mantra of "Fast and FASTER."

On another note - I highly recommend the Garmin 305 to anyone who needs to track their heart rate, distance, pace, etc... while running and cycling. I was very lucky to pick one up from Amazon.com for $149!!!!

Here is my race schedule for 2009:

-Miami University Triathlon - April 18th
-Flying Pig Marathon - May 3rd
-Florida 70.3 - May 17th
-Endurathon 70.3 - July 11th
-Ironman Louisville - August 30th (I have already booked my hotel at Spring Hill Suites)