Spencer explains the ins and outs of his Tucson training camp.

I thought I might elaborate a little on my camp in Tucson AZ and give you a more detailed run down of some of the training I listed in my previous article…You must keep in mind that as I am doing 70.3 there is no need to log the great miles and hours needed for Ironman racing…

Swim:
As you can see from the week I do like to keep up my swimming even though in the scale of things the swim is relatively short…You may ask yourself why?? The main reason being that it sets you up nicely for the rest of the race…Having to chase from mile1on the bike is not fun and if I can be in the thick of things early it sure does save a lot of energy...The thought of coming out of the water already under pressure is not something I enjoy so another reason behind swimming 4+ times a week is really so I can get on the bike from the start and be ready to get into my rhythm early, of course I want to swim fast BUT to feel like you have done nothing when you get on the bike after the swim is GOLDEN!!!

• I like IM (Individual Medley) work as I believe it makes you fit/stronger quicker and it stops the boredom of always swimming F/C (freestyle)

• I swim with a masters programme as much as I can for two reasons…Firstly I hate swimming by myself and secondly I think swimming with younger/faster guys really does push me…I can push myself relatively well when I am biking and running but swimming….not so much!!

• Some of the sets I do below are done with relatively short rest but high intensity (heart rate sets) while others are more to just get in the endurance with longer reps (e.g 10*400)

• I like to finish the week off with a nice recovery swim on Sunday... to flush the legs out after a hard weekend, this is where I would you use fins, paddles and pull buoy etc…

Bike:

Below I have outlined and remarked on some of the sessions I do on the bike during the week:

• Approx 2hours incorporating some efforts in there up to 5mins in duration…I like to be fairly specific in terms of hr/watts whilst inserting these small efforts. They are around race intensity BUT due to the efforts being short in duration I find them not to be to demanding…I warm up and cool down well before these efforts as I generally do my tempo run after this session and do not want it to be effected

• Endurance ride approx 4hours in duration: Mount Lemmon a climb that goes up for 25miles efforts range in length @ approx 90% effort…These efforts are as you would expect @ 90% …hard. I like to stay seated in the tri position to cause me to really dig deep…I don't overgear in the race season so my cadence is in the region of 80RPM on a 5 to 6% incline…My watts are generally in the high 300's to low 400's depending on my fatigue level during each interval.

• Easy spin /Active recovery days: It is important to have those recovery spins in there to flush the legs through…The days I generally do this are after longer/harder runs as it really speeds up my recovery for the next days training…In these sessions they are in the small chain ring @ 100rpm+…

Run:

I do believe that without a strong run you are doomed (Strongest NOT Fastest!!)...For me, I have found as I have got older running everyday does not work for me, so when I do run I would rather have the legs ready to train properly than flogging myself, which in turn as negative effects on my biking as well…The runs I do during the week are never really over the hour in duration BUT do have some good intensity in there:

• Tempo 50min: After a good 25 mins @ Mid 6 mins pace per mile add 4*5mins @ 5.50 to 5.35 pace: This workout is great as the longer/faster inserted efforts really make me strong and fast. The heart rate is of course high BUT by no means out of control…Probably my favorite run session. Unlike the shorter efforts on Thursday, which are violent in effort but relatively short in duration.
• T-Run: An absolute must, which includes some race efforts at the mid point of the run workout.
• LSD Sunday: I try to keep this well under control, in terms of intensity, BUT I still like to insert some high intensity pick ups which are faster than race pace to keep me focused (no more than 1 OR 2 minutes though for each pick up), running for approx 1h 30 mins is enough for me when training for the half IM, anything longer really starts to effect my legs in a negative way in terms of fatigue and recovery…

Right Then….I am off to bed…I have got to get up for swimming in the morning!!!

Take Care All,
SS