Staying motivated--especially during these last three weeks before the race. I'm pretty much done with the whole training thing. Every Saturday for the past five months I have sat on a bike seat for an ungodly amount of time. That takes a toll on one's ass. And to make matters worse, every Tuesday I must sit on the trainer for 75 minutes--again, not doing any favors for the caboose. Here's my big plan: stay off the bike this Tuesday and swim instead!
To recap the weekend, yesterday was a 4.5 hour bike ride followed by a 50 minute run and today I ran 10 miles. It's weird how running 10 miles is no longer that big of a deal. I actually felt pretty good on the run, but I think it's because running does not involve a bike seat!
The next two weeks will be slow taper until race day and I need every minute of it.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Getting closer...
Yesterday marked the longest training day to date...8 hours and 45 minutes. I got on my bike at 8am and started what would turn out to be the best training day ever! The weather could not have been better--crisp in the morning and warming to about 84 degrees in the afternoon. No wind until after noon meant that I would be looking at my fastest ride to date--14.3 mph! I covered 102.5 miles in seven hours of actual riding time, battled some pretty strong winds, a couple of decent hills and sat through 40 minutes of traffic lights! All in all, a pretty damn good day! If I could've changed anything it would've been my nutrition. When I started my run I felt nauseous and starving all at the same time. This is a phenomenon that can only be experienced whilst doing something like this, I think! Typically, what I consume during my bike rides consists of liquid nutrition and Shot Blocks (kind of like a Jell-O shot sans the alcohol). For all other rides, this nutrition plan has worked great, but not yesterday! The five mile run that followed the bike ride was slow and painful, which was super disappointing after such an awesome ride. On a positive note, it brings to light the need for me to change my nutrition plan for the race, which I will be trying out next week. The result of yesterday's workout was, quite simply, exhaustion. I was in bed by 8:45 and asleep (I think) by 8:47!
Waking up this morning and knowing that I had a two hour run almost made the nausea from yesterday come screaming back! So instead, Tracy and I decided to go out for breakfast and run after we ate--can you say, "mistake?" I had some oatmeal, one egg and half of a pancake. All of which, sat in my gut like a golf ball for the first 40 minutes of the run. And this was not a run that I wanted to start in the first place. As a matter of fact, I started the run and turned around after the first few minutes and came back home. After deciding that I was being a wimp, I walked back out the door. One thing that I have discovered during the past 20 weeks of training (wow, 20 weeks!) is that the longer I go, the better I seem to feel. This is what I kept repeating to myself for the entire run. I ran a little slower than I would've liked, but considering the way I was feeling, I'm okay with it!
This coming week is the LAST hard week of training! After this we start our two week taper and then...it's Race Day! We received our bib numbers this past week, and I was hoping for a seven. The only thing I know about numerology is that I'm a seven, and it appears in many aspects of my life--my birth date, my address, etc. My bib # is 781...7 + 8 + 1 = 16. 1 + 6 = 7.
It's gonna be a great race!
Waking up this morning and knowing that I had a two hour run almost made the nausea from yesterday come screaming back! So instead, Tracy and I decided to go out for breakfast and run after we ate--can you say, "mistake?" I had some oatmeal, one egg and half of a pancake. All of which, sat in my gut like a golf ball for the first 40 minutes of the run. And this was not a run that I wanted to start in the first place. As a matter of fact, I started the run and turned around after the first few minutes and came back home. After deciding that I was being a wimp, I walked back out the door. One thing that I have discovered during the past 20 weeks of training (wow, 20 weeks!) is that the longer I go, the better I seem to feel. This is what I kept repeating to myself for the entire run. I ran a little slower than I would've liked, but considering the way I was feeling, I'm okay with it!
This coming week is the LAST hard week of training! After this we start our two week taper and then...it's Race Day! We received our bib numbers this past week, and I was hoping for a seven. The only thing I know about numerology is that I'm a seven, and it appears in many aspects of my life--my birth date, my address, etc. My bib # is 781...7 + 8 + 1 = 16. 1 + 6 = 7.
It's gonna be a great race!
Sunday, October 16, 2011
ahhhhhhhhhhhh!
A recovery week can mean only one thing: there ain't much to write about! Yesterday was a very easy 31 mile bike ride and this morning was a 6 mile run--done! It has been absolute heaven having time to relax, go out to dinner and spend time with friends.
Not so for the next three weeks...stay tuned!
Not so for the next three weeks...stay tuned!
Sunday, October 9, 2011
I guess being tested is a good thing!
Wow, the last three weeks has been rough and I'm so happy it's over. Usually I would get a recovery week after two weeks, but during this phase of the training (Ironman specific training, they call it) we had three hard weeks in a row. I have been feeling under the weather for the past few days, so yesterday and today seemed extra difficult. Yesterday's workout consisted of a 71 mile bike ride, followed by a 3 mile run. I experienced a "jacked up" stomach for a significant part of the bike ride and was quite surprised that I lasted the entire time! My typical M.O. would be to stop short, or quit altogether and chalk it up to feeling crappy, but this training has been different. It could be that Tracy and I are in it together (and she wouldn't quit), or it could be that I have finally decided to push the limit! I think it's a combo of both. So now we get to the run today...
Our training program states that we should've done a 3 hour run today (our longest of the 24 weeks), but Tracy and I decided that a 15 mile run would not test our mental strength--hello, UNDERSTATEMENT!! We decided (in all of our wisdom) that an 18-20 mile run would better simulate the suffering endured during Ironman--and suffer, we did! Right from the very start I had a side ache that would not go away--unless of course, I stopped running (not an option). My plan was to turn around at mile 9, but without knowing exactly where that was, I missed it by about a quarter of a mile. Knowing I would need to re-fill my water bottle (for the third time), I timed it perfectly to fill it up at a middle school on the way back. As I approached the school I was devastated to see the gate shut--and locked! Who locks up a middle school on the weekend?! As I frantically scanned the school to see how to get to the fountain of youth (water is life on a run that long), I obviously didn't notice the damaged, raised manhole cover that sits right in the middle of the running trail. I tripped, big toe leading the way, and almost went down for the count. I stopped--only momentarily--and then began running again because there is NO STOPPING in Ironman. "Suck it up," I said to myself, "there is no better way to train for suffering, than by suffering!" The next place to stop for water was 2 miles up the path. I would need to ration what seemed like drips left at the bottom of my bottle for about 24 more minutes. Tracy, who is a much faster runner, was somewhere behind me, as she was able to get in 21 miles in the same amount of time. As I approached the 15.5 mile mark (where there's a park--and a fountain) I turned around and saw Tracy--suffering just like I was! The way Tracy described this same moment (later, while we were sprawled on the living room floor immediately following our run) was that when she approached me and asked how I was doing, my response was a whimper! I'm pretty sure that I was whimpering for the last 3 miles of that run! The good news is that I never stopped (minus the 30 second pause when I tripped). This 17.5 mile run was an excellent test in mental fortitude--something you can't be without during an Ironman race.
This next week is a recovery week--and I have never felt more in need of something.
Our training program states that we should've done a 3 hour run today (our longest of the 24 weeks), but Tracy and I decided that a 15 mile run would not test our mental strength--hello, UNDERSTATEMENT!! We decided (in all of our wisdom) that an 18-20 mile run would better simulate the suffering endured during Ironman--and suffer, we did! Right from the very start I had a side ache that would not go away--unless of course, I stopped running (not an option). My plan was to turn around at mile 9, but without knowing exactly where that was, I missed it by about a quarter of a mile. Knowing I would need to re-fill my water bottle (for the third time), I timed it perfectly to fill it up at a middle school on the way back. As I approached the school I was devastated to see the gate shut--and locked! Who locks up a middle school on the weekend?! As I frantically scanned the school to see how to get to the fountain of youth (water is life on a run that long), I obviously didn't notice the damaged, raised manhole cover that sits right in the middle of the running trail. I tripped, big toe leading the way, and almost went down for the count. I stopped--only momentarily--and then began running again because there is NO STOPPING in Ironman. "Suck it up," I said to myself, "there is no better way to train for suffering, than by suffering!" The next place to stop for water was 2 miles up the path. I would need to ration what seemed like drips left at the bottom of my bottle for about 24 more minutes. Tracy, who is a much faster runner, was somewhere behind me, as she was able to get in 21 miles in the same amount of time. As I approached the 15.5 mile mark (where there's a park--and a fountain) I turned around and saw Tracy--suffering just like I was! The way Tracy described this same moment (later, while we were sprawled on the living room floor immediately following our run) was that when she approached me and asked how I was doing, my response was a whimper! I'm pretty sure that I was whimpering for the last 3 miles of that run! The good news is that I never stopped (minus the 30 second pause when I tripped). This 17.5 mile run was an excellent test in mental fortitude--something you can't be without during an Ironman race.
This next week is a recovery week--and I have never felt more in need of something.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Late, but not forgotten.
I just didn't have the energy to write about my weekend! I saved it all for the workouts: an 80 mile bike ride on Saturday and a 12.4 mile run on Sunday. We are now starting the third week of hell; one more week and we get a recovery week. I had to get up at 4:15am this morning and get on my bike--which is no fun after your crotch has sat on that damn seat for 6 hours (just three days ago). The bike workout this morning was 1 hour and 25 minutes--and my legs felt like lead, but it had to be done. When you're in this, you're in it--period. There is no crying in Ironman...there is no complaining in Ironman...and there is definitely no quitting in Ironman--and that includes the training. I will set my alarm again tonight for 4:00am and get my tired butt in the pool for my 3,200 yard swim--and I will not complain (well, maybe just a little).
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