Settling In

IRONMAN 70.3 ROCKFORD TRAINING – WEEK 3 WRAP-UP – MARCH 23, 2025

As I headed out the door to wrap up the week with an 8-mile run, I had a couple things on my mind. First, don’t overdo this run. Find a nice, easy pace and settle in for the duration. And second, get this run done before it starts raining!

I found that the comfortable pace I started out with was good, right in the zone of not overdoing anything. But as hustled across the street with the green light, my pace quickened, and the next thing I knew I was running at my usual running pace. Once I was a mile into the run, and also into the hills, I realized that this was not the original plan, I reigned myself back in and got back into a more casual pace.

If you are a runner, you probably have a pace that you run, one that your body just falls into and feels natural. Most people walk at the same pace every time or talk at the same rate as well. Running is no different. Although I am saying pace, what I really mean is cadence. When my buddies and I were training for our first Ironman in 2013, we were wrapping up a long bike with a short run together, and one of them commented that I took a lot of steps. I quickly replied, “Yes, 180 steps per minute.” That I knew how many steps I took per minute was a surprise to him, but unknowingly I had settled into my usual cadence. I was a little faster of a runner than they were at the time, and I had shortened my stride to run with them, but that same cadence or leg turnover remained the same. I had settled into that cadence.

As I wrap up Week 3 of training, I have also found myself settling into the routine of training for a 70.3. That feeling of being in the right zone is where I need to be right now.

Week 3 Totals:  Swims 0 – Bikes 3 rides/53.5 miles – Runs 6/26 miles