7 WEEKS TILL IRONMAN!
Expect me to begin a post like that at least once a week until race day. It is crazy to think that I started this journey almost a year ago (more than that; because I had it in my head and started swimming back in August!), and now it is only 7 WEEKS away!
Going in to this last month of peak training, I am focusing on the following:
1. Running off the bike.
2. Eating very healthy.
3. Riding as much as possible.
I am aiming to run immediately after at least 2 rides a week, and increase the length of the transition run after my longest ride. This really is at the heart of triathlon: conditioning your body to run after a taxing ride.
I am trying to eat very healthy; lots of whole grains, fruits and veggies, and no sweets (except for fast energy during long workouts). I need to fuel my body exceptionally well right now to meet the demands I am putting on it and allow it to perform, as well as recover. Also, I would really like to lose a few more pounds of body fat, which would allow me to 1) go faster with the same effort and 2) look better in my triathlon clothes. Mainly the first one. But who are we kidding? You put in a year of effort, you want to look like it. I want to show up among these thousands of well-trained triathletes and look like I belong there!
Although I am indeed a terrible swimmer, I am not concerned about that. Like I decided previously, it is not worth the huge time commitment required for minimal gains. I can hold my own without ruining my race. What I am worried about, however, is the bike. I am seriously worried about not making the cut off! I keep a pace on my long rides that would allow me to make it, but that is when I am riding. I will make it at that pace if I hold it non-stop for 112 miles. But that doesn't factor in potty stops, slowing or stopping to refuel at aid stations, and the always possible flat tire or other mechanical difficulty. Of course I have never done a ride without major stops before, because I have to be responsible for all my own fueling; no aid stations on training rides. So I spend probably a good 40 minutes over 80 miles at stores refilling water, ice, food, etc. My first 100 miler (THIRD ATTEMPT at 90+ miles, so I don't want to get ahead of myself) is this Monday, so I will try to be efficient and then have a better idea of how worried I need to be. Regardless, biking is definitely my limiter, and the biggest chunk of the race, as well as the thing that can make or break my run, so I want to get as good as I can. To that end, I am adding a 4th weekly ride to my schedule until taper time.
The run, I am not worried about. I am so much better than I was when I did the marathon in February! Every transition run I do off the bike feels great. I have gotten myself to the point, mentally, where when I get tired, instead of slowing down I speed up! When I feel myself getting tired I focus on my form, consciously taking smaller steps, but more of them. This attention to efficient form makes me run faster, so I often end up running faster when I am tired than when I am fresh! Of course, that's 16 miles, not following a 112 mile bike ride; but I am fairly confident, because it is not a mental technique I possessed 8 months ago! Also, what used to be my hard pace is now often my comfortable pace, and the pace at which I used to do long runs seldom even appears on my gps anymore! Before the marathon I was struggling to keep my pace below 11 minute miles on long runs, and now I seldom go slower than 10 minute miles. Today I ran the last 3 miles of a 16 mile run at 9:30 miles! After a 1hr 45min ride+5 mile run combo workout yesterday.
Expect me to begin a post like that at least once a week until race day. It is crazy to think that I started this journey almost a year ago (more than that; because I had it in my head and started swimming back in August!), and now it is only 7 WEEKS away!
Going in to this last month of peak training, I am focusing on the following:
1. Running off the bike.
2. Eating very healthy.
3. Riding as much as possible.
I am aiming to run immediately after at least 2 rides a week, and increase the length of the transition run after my longest ride. This really is at the heart of triathlon: conditioning your body to run after a taxing ride.
I am trying to eat very healthy; lots of whole grains, fruits and veggies, and no sweets (except for fast energy during long workouts). I need to fuel my body exceptionally well right now to meet the demands I am putting on it and allow it to perform, as well as recover. Also, I would really like to lose a few more pounds of body fat, which would allow me to 1) go faster with the same effort and 2) look better in my triathlon clothes. Mainly the first one. But who are we kidding? You put in a year of effort, you want to look like it. I want to show up among these thousands of well-trained triathletes and look like I belong there!
Although I am indeed a terrible swimmer, I am not concerned about that. Like I decided previously, it is not worth the huge time commitment required for minimal gains. I can hold my own without ruining my race. What I am worried about, however, is the bike. I am seriously worried about not making the cut off! I keep a pace on my long rides that would allow me to make it, but that is when I am riding. I will make it at that pace if I hold it non-stop for 112 miles. But that doesn't factor in potty stops, slowing or stopping to refuel at aid stations, and the always possible flat tire or other mechanical difficulty. Of course I have never done a ride without major stops before, because I have to be responsible for all my own fueling; no aid stations on training rides. So I spend probably a good 40 minutes over 80 miles at stores refilling water, ice, food, etc. My first 100 miler (THIRD ATTEMPT at 90+ miles, so I don't want to get ahead of myself) is this Monday, so I will try to be efficient and then have a better idea of how worried I need to be. Regardless, biking is definitely my limiter, and the biggest chunk of the race, as well as the thing that can make or break my run, so I want to get as good as I can. To that end, I am adding a 4th weekly ride to my schedule until taper time.
The run, I am not worried about. I am so much better than I was when I did the marathon in February! Every transition run I do off the bike feels great. I have gotten myself to the point, mentally, where when I get tired, instead of slowing down I speed up! When I feel myself getting tired I focus on my form, consciously taking smaller steps, but more of them. This attention to efficient form makes me run faster, so I often end up running faster when I am tired than when I am fresh! Of course, that's 16 miles, not following a 112 mile bike ride; but I am fairly confident, because it is not a mental technique I possessed 8 months ago! Also, what used to be my hard pace is now often my comfortable pace, and the pace at which I used to do long runs seldom even appears on my gps anymore! Before the marathon I was struggling to keep my pace below 11 minute miles on long runs, and now I seldom go slower than 10 minute miles. Today I ran the last 3 miles of a 16 mile run at 9:30 miles! After a 1hr 45min ride+5 mile run combo workout yesterday.
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