Right of the Leaf’s Road to 70.3: Week 1

/ 2025 Ironman Training Journey, Weekly Training Breakdowns / By

Right of the Leaf’s Road to 70.3: Week 1

Training Overview

Monday, December 30, 2024: 🌟💪🌟

Full Body Strength Training:

    • Deadlifts: 4×8 @ 115lbs

    • Dumbbell Bench Press: 3×10 @ 30lbs

    • Kettlebell Goblet Squat: 3×12 @ 35lbs

    • Single-Arm Dumbbell Rows: 3×10 @ 30lbs

    • Plank (Front and Side): 30 sec x 3

    • Towel Pull-Aparts: 3×10 reps

Technique and Strength Swim (Total Distance: 1,400m): 🌊🏊‍♂️🌊 Warm Up:

Warm Up:

      • 150m Freestyle

      • 150m Backstroke

Main Set:

      • 4x50m Breaststroke focusing on form (15 sec rest)

      • 4x25m Breaststroke with hand paddles (20 sec rest)

      • 4x100m Freestyle @ Moderate Effort (15 sec rest)

Cool Down:

      • 200m Kick

      • 200m Easy Swim

Wednesday, January 1, 2025: 🎆💥🎆

Full Body Strength Training:

    • Lat Pulldown: 3×12 @ 90lbs

    • Straight Arm Lat Pulldown: 2×12 @ 100lbs

    • Overhead Dumbbell Press: 3×12 @ 20lbs

    • Face Pulls: 3×15 @ 60lbs

    • Dumbbell Lateral Raises: 3×15 @ 15lbs

    • Reverse Fly (Dumbbell): 3×12 @ 20lbs

Recumbent Bike Training: 🚴‍♂️🕒📏

    • Distance: 9.69 miles

    • Calories: 294

    • Duration: 50:00

    • Average RPM: 68

 
Thursday, January 2, 2025: 🏊‍♂️🦵🏃‍♂️

Technique-Focused Swim (Total Distance: 1,200m): 🌊💦🌊 Warm Up:

Warm Up:

      • 150m Freestyle

      • 150m Kick

Main Set:

      • 4x100m IM @ Moderate Effort (20 sec rest)

      • 4x50m Breaststroke @ 80% Effort (20 sec rest)

Cool Down:

      • 150m Freestyle

      • 150m Kick

Run/Walk Training (2 min Run/3 min Walk for 20 min): 🏃‍♂️🕒📏

    • Distance: 1.43 miles

    • Calories: 291

    • Duration: 30:00

    • Average Pace: 20:51/mile

Friday, January 3, 2025: 🌊🔥💦

Endurance and Strength Building Swim (Total Distance: 1,400m): 🌊🏊‍♂️🌊 Warm Up:

Warm Up:

      • 150m Freestyle

      • 150m Breaststroke

Main Set:

      • 200m Freestyle

      • 200m Breaststroke

      • 400m Leg Burner Kick (50m Flutter Kick, then 50m Whip Kick, repeated)

      • 4x25m Freestyle with hand paddles (20 sec rest)

Cool Down:

      • 200m Easy Swim

Saturday, January 4, 2025: 🚴‍♂️⏱📊

Long Ride – Recumbent Bike Training:

    • Distance: 21.75 miles

    • Calories: 753

    • Duration: 95:00

    • Average RPM: 74

Challenges 🌧⚡️🌡

Recovering from a Christmas week cold/flu brought its hurdles. Clearing my lungs of lingering phlegm and battling body aches from fluctuating winter temperatures made training difficult. The shifting cold/warm cycles caused my knees and shoulders to swell, ramping up the nerve activity in my back. This led to me waking up with numbness or tingling in my feet and sharp, electric-like nerve pain that varied in intensity from day to day. No days are pain-free.

Takeaways 🎯📈💡

This is only week one. I focused on consistently hitting effort across all sessions rather than overexerting in one workout and missing multiple days to recover. A sustainable 70% effort across four days equals 280% total effort—far better than blowing 110% in one session and being sidelined for the rest of the week. As I continue to train this way, I hope to push my way up to maintaining a steady 80% or more throughout specific weekly workouts, allowing for a more consistent and expedited improvement.

Progress Updates ✅📊🌟

  • I completed my first week of training!

  • Accomplished 8 of the 11 planned workouts. (Missed one swim due to the pool’s New Year’s Day closure.)

Nutrition and Recovery 🍎🥩💧

This week’s focus: cleaner fuel and increased protein density to support daily exercise demands. I’ve upped my water intake and incorporated a hydration supplement to optimize fluid absorption, which is particularly critical with two daily workouts and heavy cardio.

Gear and Prep 👟🎯📚

After researching the best running shoes for someone my size, I’ve settled on the ASICS Gel Kayano 31. These shoes’ joint support will be vital for my knees and hips until my weight and strength training balance. The challenge will be locating a pair soon for the upcoming run workouts I have scheduled.

Personal Reflections 🧠💭🌀

I’m thrilled to have completed week one and look forward to the day when my soreness comes solely from the previous day’s workout. Yet, the biggest battle lies in overcoming the mental blockade. On some days, simply getting to the shower takes the same mental effort as scaling Everest. But once I’m moving, the mental fog lifts, and focus takes over. Seeing how physical movement dismantles these mental hurdles is strange but motivating. I am working to help ease that process into physical activity and make it necessary to do daily tasks because my body craves the activity and movement. My mind finds comfort and relaxation when I push my physical body to the limits. The more time I spent in the pool and gym, the more I reignited that fire I had in me as a hyper-competitive and active kid. I’m excited to see what this 3/4 year-long journey has in store for me.

Goals for Next Week 🎯📅🏆

  1. Complete at least 9 of the 11 planned workouts in full.

  2. Avoid skipping workouts for more than one consecutive day.

Next week includes a trip to Edmonton—an exciting opportunity to explore new facilities and visit one of my favorites while staying on track and active. Let’s keep building!