And the taper begins!!!

Finally!!! Did my last hard workout tonight with 6 miles in the hills with 92 degrees and 80% humidity. Good last week+ including 8 miles in the hills last week and a 70 mile ride, 11 mile run and 2500 meter swim this weekend. Now I take off 2 days to drive up north. I'll get in a couple runs(easy) and rides as well as a couple open water swims with wetsuit before the race on the 4th. Nothing strenuous at all. I'm more than ready for a some easy, hopefully cooler workouts.

As they say, the hay is in the barn, I just hope I put enough hay in there. Not much more I could have done. Easily the most time/distance I've put in for a 1/2 before. I'm just going to plan on having fun and hoping all the training pays off.

Almost to taper

One more big week and I'll be about ready for the 10 day taper before Steelhead. Some strong workouts last week despite the heat cutting a couple a little short. Wanted to do 8 miles in the hills but could only do 6 during a noon time run. Also, wanted to do 6 on the track but stopped after 5. The heat/humidity is causes my recovery time to increase and the only way to manage it is to cut some workouts short.

Still got some decent distances in with 4000 meters swimming(including a 2500 meter swim), 110 on the bike(including a 50 miler) and 26 running(including an 11 mile run the morning after the 50 bike). Took yesterday off for my first off day in 3 weeks and to prepare for a last, long, strong week. Hoping to do 8 in the hills this evening, 70 on the bike Friday evening or Saturday morning and 11 running on Sunday.

Had a very strange experience on my 50 mile bike ride Saturday morning. It's not unusual to see strange things on the side of the road during rides. But Saturday morning, about mile 22 near Wimauma, I see a large 'bundle' on the opposite side of the road. As I get closer, I realize it's a man in a very awkward position, with his arms/hands over his head in the road. From his position and having his arms/hands in the road, I'm thinking he's injured or dead. I stop and ride over to him and loudly ask if he's alright. He immediately jumps up startled. He only spoke Spanish so I'm not sure what he said exactly but he appeared to be fine. Not sure why he was where he was but if a car came along without looking very well they would have run over his arms.

4 weeks until Steelhead

So I've got about 2 more weeks of serious training and then begin my taper for Steelhead. Since we're heading up on the 26th, it will all work out. The drive will force some downtime. Right now, I'm looking forward to the taper but the next 2 weeks are going to be tough.

Last week I put in my longest ride and run of the year. Got out early on the 4th for 70 mile bike. All in all it went well but did get caught in a downpour for about 25 miles of it. Then finished up the week on Sunday with an 11 mile run. Really felt good the first 6 miles then the sun came up and I struggled the last 5. But came away from it feeling pretty good.

The numbers for the week: 2000 meters swimming(need to get this up in the coming weeks), 140 on the bike and 24 running.

Going over my training log, I found I've had 3 days completely off in the past 9 weeks. Granted, some days I've only lifted or swam, neither of which I consider too strenuous all things considered. But still, it will be nice to spend some days off in August after Steelhead. But soon after that the kids and Beth are back in school and baseball begins again, which means things get crazy. The last 4 months of the year will be mostly maintenance mode as far as training, with only an Olympic distance race planned in late October and a century ride in Novemeber.

Another week done

Took Monday off for my first off day in 3 weeks and needed it as the week went along. Did 7 miles in the hills on Tuesday and that wore me out for the week. Ended up with 80 miles on the bike, 2000 meters swimming and 26 miles running. Both the 50 mile ride on Saturday and the 10 mile run on Sunday were done in extreme heat and humidity. Can't wait for Steelhead and the mild temps.

Also, got down to my 'goal' weight this morning. Now it's just a matter of keeping it there until Aug. 4th.

I'm always a little leery of putting goals out there for races, and I'm not going to put a toal time down. But, I've done 3 1/2 Ironman races now so finishing doesn't hold much appeal anymore. I have 2 main goals. The first is a stretch and will require all to go well race day. The second is to PR in all 3 disciplines. At Steelhead, they set the swim on race morning to go with the current, so with the lifting I've been doing and the current, I should be able to PR in the swim(44:55 at Muncie). Knowing the bike isn't very hilly and hoping for light winds and cooler temps, along with my increased bike training, I'm most confident in PRing on the bike(3:15.24 at Disney). The run will be the deciding factor on if I reach my big goal. I have yet to put together a strong run I know I'm capable of in a 1/2. Again, being stronger on the bike should hopefully bring me to the run in better shape than in the past. Temps again will have a big impact on my time but I'm still confident I can be my PR in the run(2:24:32 at Muncie).

I'm in about the best shape of my life right now. I've been much fast on the run before and maybe a little faster in the swim but my bike is the strongest it's been. So if I can just keep up the training levels for the next 3-4 weeks I should be able to have a race that reflects my training, which is all I ask for at this race.