My training plan for the Mid South Double

The training plan

The challenge to partake in the MidSouth double was kind of a joke at first but, I have stuck with my training plan and it seems to be going well. I am by no means going to podium at the event looking at previous times however I hope to suffer as little as possible.

Running

For me the run is always going to be the hardest part given when I signed up I hadn't run more that 12 miles ever.

I decided to complete a 1/2 marathon running program (I used Garmin coach for this) then straight into a marathon training plan for the running side, I used Garmin for this one too.

The 1/2 marathon plan culminated in me running a 1:42:05 on a flat paved course around lake hefner.


The marathon training has been going well also, I have been training using heart rate zones and mostly (when the HR monitor is working) I can stay in the correct zone, sometimes the HR randomly seems to drop or spike, but mostly I ignore this and it works out.

Riding

I have also been using a Garmin Century plan for the riding side.The plan is split into three phases base, build and peak, I have just entered the peak section.

This has meant some double up days for workouts to ensure I get rest days.

As it stands right now I am feeling a little apprehensive about the double but think the training is working.

I'm sure there is no way I would have been able to run 16miles the day before the Growler and ride as well as I did when I started this plan.

My biggest takeaways so far 

I was really bad at nutrition when doing long events, I am working on improving that but it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks. The Garmin 530 does help with that though as it's constantly reminding me to eat and drink.

My fitness has improved, or at least my V02max Garmin voodoo estimation has.

Not sure how this is worked out.

I am enjoying running again, a lot more than I thought I would.

It's interesting to look back on how much I have trained time wise for this event. See here