Three More Training Weeks

I officially have three more weeks of hard training left, and then a glorious, glorious taper until Ironman.

Last weekend's race at Syracuse taught me that I need to focus on my bike fitness.  I am very happy with my swim and run fitness and how those have progressed over the past few months.  So I've decided to add short bike rides to my training, even on days when bikes are not scheduled.  Nothing crazy -- I don't want to break myself so close to the race.  But just short rides here and there to get in some more miles.

So the next four weeks will look like this:

• Week 1 = Bike-focused training
• Week 2 = Bike-focused training
• Week 3 = Normal training (begin reducing miles as week progresses)
• Week 4 = Taper for Ironman

It's going to be hard to fit everything in over the next two weeks, but I feel that I'll be ready for the race if I keep focused and get my training sessions in.  The challenge will be finding the delicate balance between what will improve my fitness for the race while not treading too far over the line of overtraining.  I will keep a close watch on my energy levels and adjust as needed.  I'd rather go into the race undertrained than overtrained.

Syracuse 70.3

Today I raced in Ironman Syracuse 70.3 (half-Ironman distance).  It was a good race to test the waters and see how my training is progressing so far.  This is my first "real" Ironman event (Ironman as the official sponsor -- I have a new car sticker on my car to prove it....and yes, there was room for yet another sticker).

There was a magic feeling to the whole thing as I checked in yesterday and racked my bike.  This was IRONMAN!  The infamous M-Dot logo was everywhere.  It was like arriving at Disneyworld for the first time.

Despite my excitement, I entered the race with a lot of apprehension, along with that "what am I doing?" thought floating through my mind.  I set my goal to do the race at Ironman pace -- easy -- never pushing too hard.

The swim was amazing.  The weather was perfect, the lake was calm, and I had probably the best swim of my life.  At the start, I almost always freak out a little bit.  My heart rate goes too high and it takes me a good 10 minutes to start settling into my pace.  Today, I took some deep breaths before the swim start and did the front crawl while keeping my head above water until the people around me thinned out a little.  I didn't experience any panicking at all.  I swam easy and, at the end of the 1.2 miles, I felt like I could keep going.  And I only missed my swim PR by about a minute, which was set during a race when I was swimming all out!

In contrast, the bike sucked.  And here is why.  First off, at about mile 6 or 7, there was a very nasty hill that wouldn't die.  As a result, since I am a spaz on my bike and can't balance right to reach for things while going uphill, I got behind on my nutrition.  By the time I got to mile 40, I began to feel like crap and wonder how in the world I was going to finish this race.  I began to doubt my fitness and my preparedness for Lake Placid.  And then I realized I had not eaten according to my plan.  Once I gobbled down some pretzels, Powerbar bites, and sports drink, it was like someone breathed life back into me and I felt fine again.

Secondly, I had to stop three times on the bike due to my stupid bike chain deciding it didn't want to shift from high to low gear, and protesting by slipping off the gear rings.  It is an easy fix, just a pain in the butt -- and you get grease EVERYWHERE (thank goodness for Wet Ones!  I keep them in my bike bag for such occasions).  And it made me very reluctant to shift out of high gear for the rest of the bike, so I had to work harder at times in a higher gear when I should have shifted down, rather than take my chances and have the chain slip again.

I finished the bike and was genuinely worried.  My legs were rubber.  It was hot.  And now I had to run 13.1 miles.  To my surprise, however, my legs went into robo-run mode and I felt like a rock star.  The run course was very hard -- definitely the hardest run course I've ever experienced in a triathlon, and on the list of my top three of any road races.  There were lots of hills -- including one hill that you HAD to walk up, the incline was so steep.  And then there were dangerous aspects that I didn't really like in the race -- such as patches of the run on green lawns full of divots and holes, just begging for an ankle to fall into.  And then there was the part when we had to run on the side of a hill, trying not to wrench our knees as we went.  I thought those aspects were actually irresponsible on the part of the course planners.  But that's just me venting.

I just felt good on the run.  And don't get me wrong, it wasn't my fastest run; the difficulty of the course accounted for that.  But I was strong and just let my feet go.  I had enough left at the end for a strong kick and sprint to the finish.

Overall, I feel good about my performance.  The course was hard.  And when I was done, I was glad to be done.  However, I finished strong and was not wrecked.  If I had to go further, I could have.  It would've been hard, but I could've done it.  So with a few more weeks of training, I think I am in good shape for Ironman.

Entering the Home Stretch

I just have a few more weeks of hard training left before I begin my taper for Ironman.  I am feeling pretty good overall.  I had to pull back a little bit over the past couple weeks to keep from burning out.  But now I can approach my peak training weeks with renewed vigor and motivation.

I've got Ironman Syracuse 70.3 this weekend, which will be a good tune-up race to check in on my training.  And it'll be fun to do a longer-course race.

Did I mention I can't wait until the taper???

Just a few more weeks left!

A New Day and New Attitude

Yesterday I had a great race -- probably the best triathlon I've ever done.  I did the Hudson Crossing sprint triathlon in Schuylerville.  Not only did I feel AMAZING the whole time, but I PR'ed on the course and shaved 5 minutes off of last year's time.  My 5K time was a little over 22 minutes -- which isn't too far from my old standalone 5K PR...and this was AFTER swimming and biking.

I am feeling very confident with my fitness level.  I am realizing that I need to stop worrying about pushing so hard and just stick to the mileage I need to do to be prepared.  I am eliminating "junk volume" from my plan in favor of more recovery time.  If you remember correctly, I took some rest time last week -- and it paid off for my race.

I have two more weeks of hard training, and then my tune-up race (Ironman Syracuse 70.3, a half-Iron distance)...and then the long-awaited taper.  It can't come soon enough.

But I feel ready.  I know Ironman will be hard regardless of how much training I do.  I need to begin enjoying the process and feeling confident about the work I've put in all year so far.

Check Myself Before I Wreck Myself

The effects of the Tour de Cure 100-mile ride didn't hit me Monday.  In fact, I went to the gym and performed my scheduled workout without issue.  The ride hit me on Tuesday.  My legs felt like lead and I knew it was in my best interest to take a recovery day.  Foam rolling, gentle stretching, but NO hard training.

I decided to try again on Wednesday and went to the gym.  I did my warm-up run, got halfway through my weights routine, and realized it just wasn't going to happen. 

This feeling was very different from the "I don't want to" whining I've been doing lately.  When I train, I like to call it "flipping the on switch."  You start off not wanting to do it (the switch is in the "off" position).  And then, after you begin the workout, you hit the moment when the "on" switch is flipped, and you're focused and driven, ready to push until the end.  Some people call this getting into "the zone."  I call it flipping the switch. 

There was no switch to flip yesterday.  Or rather, someone ripped the switch from the wall and there were dangly bits of ripped wires and shrapnel where the switch should have been.  I actually WANTED to train.  But I had no gas.  I could not push myself.  So, rather than risk injury, I bagged the workout and headed back to work.

Today I was able to do a little more, but I'm still taking it easy.  My legs are sore to the touch.  So I'm using this week as a recovery period, letting my body rest and get stronger, so I can return to my Ironman training next week.  I rationalized this by telling myself, in true personal-trainer fashion, that it's better to be under-prepared than over-trained...or worse, injured.  Plus, I'd rather rest and then hit it hard than hit it pathetically all week.  This should also recharge my batteries in time for the Hudson Crossing sprint triathlon on Sunday.

Just a few weeks of hard training left after this!

The 100-Mile Trial

So...this has been a rough week.  Both Ironman training and work took significant tolls on my time (Grand Opening preparations are nuts!).  The past four days, I've averaged about 4-5 hours of sleep per night in order to get everything done.

I had a wonderful race yesterday at the Charlton 5K.  Amazing weather and, as always, a wonderfully-planned and managed race.  I finally broke the 22:00 milestone with my time of 21:47!  And I felt GREAT.  The beginning felt easy and I had just enough left to kick hard at the end.

Right afterwards, I was working until about 9 pm and had to get up early this morning for the Tour de Cure 100-mile ride.

I will be honest.  I woke up this morning and did NOT want to do it.  I was (and still am) very tired.  I would never have blown this event off (particularly since friends and family donated money to support my ride), but I honestly considered cutting it short and opting for the 50-mile ride instead.

With this idea running through my head, I made a compromise with myself.  Here are the rules I made for today's ride:

1. No GPS watch.  No obsessing about pacing or mileage.  Only a regular watch to use for timing nutrition.
2. I am riding EASY.  Leisurely, even.
3. I can stop at any time to rest for as long as I want.
4. I can eat whatever I want within reason.  Food is an excellent motivator for me.  And the Tour de Cure's rest stops are chock full of goodies -- PB&J, energy bars, cranberry muffins, etc.  So I allowed myself to choose what seemed appetizing and eat it in appropriate quantities to fuel my performance (and not make me bloated).
5. If, after all of the above steps, I am still miserable, I can follow one of the shorter course's roadside arrows to cut the distance down.

I am pleased to announce that I completed the 100-miles successfully.  Not only that, I actually feel pretty good.   I finished faster than last year without pushing myself too hard at any time.  And it was an important learning experience for these reasons:

• I learned I am riding my long bike rides too fast.  By riding them VERY easy, I am just as strong at the end as I am at the start.
• I learned that I am not eating enough during training rides.  I have been having pretty miserable training rides lately -- which I now suspect was due to bonking.  By giving myself the freedom to eat at will, rather than according to a schedule, I felt much better and had more energy.
• I discovered my new favorite, AMAZING bike food -- Peanut Butter Pretzel Powerbars.  Like all good discoveries, this happened by complete accident.  My go-to bike fuel of choice is Peanut Butter flavor Powerbars.  I had some with me to fill the food gaps between rest stops, and I keep them in my bike pouch.  At one rest stop, as I was perusing the food choices, I saw pretzels, which I'd never tried before during a ride.  I ate one and it was the best pretzel I've ever tasted.  Taking that as a clue, I shoved a handful into my bike pouch with my Powerbar.  Well, today was hot, and the Powerbar melted a little and fused with the pretzels, so I had to eat both together.  OMG it was AMAZING.  I put pretzels on my shopping list to add to my training menu.
• MOST IMPORTANTLY, I gained much-needed confidence with my bike distance.  I completed 100-miles, and I still have several weeks of training ahead of me.  I feel much more comfortable with tackling the 112-mile Ironman bike course now.

With tired legs and a satisfied ego, I'm off to work.  I'm feeling pretty good right now -- I just have to make it through June and I'm home free!