They have changed the IMAZ run course to a 2-loop course, instead of 3 loops. This news is burning up the Ironman forums! I myself am disappointed because I think the 3 loop course provided an awesome opportunity for friends and family to see their athlete multiple times without having to run all over the place. Also, I am not thrilled about the out-and-back sections on the right (east) side of the course. Those areas will offer a great chance for spectators to see people twice in the same place, but for a runner, not only will it make it very congested with runners going both directions, but it pretty much sucks to turn around and come right back the way you just came. But guess what? It's not up to me! Ironman is an exercise in taking what the day gives you and making the best of it!
On Friday I did my 18 mile long run. Boy was that rough! The route I ran was hillier than I realized, with long uphills every mile, or sometimes half mile, where the path went under the bridges. My running has been going so well that I may have lost sight of just how painful a marathon is. Well this run brought it all back! With the exception of the 15-miler in Seattle (which almost did me in!) I have been doing my long runs on mostly flat routes. This was a much-needed reminder that hills are a whole different story! I was hurting by mile 15, and around mile 16 I got a killer side cramp, which forced me to stop and walk it off for about 30 seconds. It came back a mile later, forcing another 30 second recovery walk. I can run through screaming muscles, but not a side cramp like these were! My legs haven't felt like that after a long run in as long as I can remember. Which led me to...
Unfortunately, though I dumped the contents of our whole ice maker in there, it wasn't enough; within a few minutes it was just a fairly chilly bath.
This was followed by: 1. Hot shower, 2. Pizza, 3. Nap
I have not been scheduling REST DAYS lately, because they tend to happen on their own. Case in point: Wednesday I laid down for a nap around 4:30 pm, and when I woke up 3 hours later, still tired, I decided it was a rest day! I got up and had dinner, and less than two hours later I was back in bed for the night.
Tomorrow I am doing a 1/2 Ironman race simulation workout: 1.2 mile swim + 56 mile ride + 13.1 mile run. It will be my first long run following a ride, so I am anxious to see how I handle it. Then, Tuesday is a TOTAL REST DAY!!! That means no work and no training! I am not sure when the last day like that was! And since my job is practically like strength training half the time, it definitely cuts into my "rest". So I am very excited for both tomorrow's workout and Tuesday's rest day, obviously for very different reasons.
On Friday I did my 18 mile long run. Boy was that rough! The route I ran was hillier than I realized, with long uphills every mile, or sometimes half mile, where the path went under the bridges. My running has been going so well that I may have lost sight of just how painful a marathon is. Well this run brought it all back! With the exception of the 15-miler in Seattle (which almost did me in!) I have been doing my long runs on mostly flat routes. This was a much-needed reminder that hills are a whole different story! I was hurting by mile 15, and around mile 16 I got a killer side cramp, which forced me to stop and walk it off for about 30 seconds. It came back a mile later, forcing another 30 second recovery walk. I can run through screaming muscles, but not a side cramp like these were! My legs haven't felt like that after a long run in as long as I can remember. Which led me to...
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| My first ever ICE BATH! |
This was followed by: 1. Hot shower, 2. Pizza, 3. Nap
I have not been scheduling REST DAYS lately, because they tend to happen on their own. Case in point: Wednesday I laid down for a nap around 4:30 pm, and when I woke up 3 hours later, still tired, I decided it was a rest day! I got up and had dinner, and less than two hours later I was back in bed for the night.
Tomorrow I am doing a 1/2 Ironman race simulation workout: 1.2 mile swim + 56 mile ride + 13.1 mile run. It will be my first long run following a ride, so I am anxious to see how I handle it. Then, Tuesday is a TOTAL REST DAY!!! That means no work and no training! I am not sure when the last day like that was! And since my job is practically like strength training half the time, it definitely cuts into my "rest". So I am very excited for both tomorrow's workout and Tuesday's rest day, obviously for very different reasons.
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