Back Into Some Consistency Again

I'm finally starting to get back into some consistent training once again, making sure that I keep everything slow and steady zone 2 efforts. I definitely don't want a repeat of last year and right now I'm feeling good about just being able to do regular daily workouts. I know I'm not in good shape right now but I'm learning that part of the ability of athletes who race year after year is going through a regular process of de-training and building slowly.

I'm in the build phase now and just to see where I'm at I did a little 30k TT on the trainer with fellow triathlete Steve yesterday. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be and I managed to average 279W at a weight of 77kg giving me a 3.62W/kg starting point. The idea behind using W/kg allows all of us to compare 'relative fitness' because of course lighter athletes don't need to push the same wattage to maintain the same speed as heavier athletes. Also as I continue training I will hopefully see an increase in lean body weight and this will equal a higher W/kg number. My power might not change but if I'm losing body fat I should see a higher W/kg number and by definition a faster speed at the same level of power. This is the primary reason a training buddy (Robert) can go the same speed as I can at a much lower wattage. He is a 60kg athlete and he averaged 195W for the 30k TT; giving him a 3.25W/kg number a little lower than mine but he's also starting from 0 on the bike, he hasn't done any riding in months but it won't take him long to get back to 220W (giving him a 3.66W/kg number).

So if I continue the slow steady training I should remain injury free and as I build the distance my weight should slowly drop and lean muscle mass increase. I realize that there is a critical tipping point where my power will suffer if I try to get too lean and for me it seems to be between 73-75kgs (160-165lbs) my typical Ironman race weight is about 165lbs and my off season weight is about 175lbs. So I'll give myself a few months to get back into race shape and then start sharpening up with some interval sessions once the outdoor training begins. I've never prepared for a June Ironman before and it's going to be interesting to see if my body responds to the low-slow training the same way as it does to the hard-fast training I usually do as I prepare for IM CDA.