Race week is finally here!!!

Race week arrives along with a couple of cold fronts. Yesterdays 30 mile ride was quite windy and chilly. Probably the coolest weather I've ridden in in 6 months, and it was still in the low 60's when I rode. I felt very good though, and my freshly tuned up bike with new race tires seemed to work very well.

This morning is was 49. Race day weather has been all over the map the last week according to long range forecasts but it's starting to settle in now. Looks like we'll be swimming in mid to upper 40s(that's going to be very cold, especially since I only own a sleeveless LongJohn wetsuit), riding in temps up to 70 with a slight breeze and running temps dropping into the mid 40s. Right now, it looks like there will be no rain at all(fingers crossed). So, if the forecasts hold out, I'll not be able to blame the weather at all.

Yesterday, I started feeling a little bit of a cold or allergies. Nothing too much, just a little drainage in my throat and a little congestion. Hopefully with a good week of sleep it will clear up quickly.

The final week will consist of a 2000 yard swim today, a short 2 mile run tonight, a 4 mile run tomorrow and a 20 mile bike on Wednesday before loading up and heading out Wednesday night. We're hoping to get about 4 hours of driving in Wednesday night so we only have about 6 hours to drive on Thursday.

Several times in the past week it's felt kind of surreal. I've always wanted to do an Ironman but truth be told, there were many times I thought it would just be too much. But after a the summer of training, having done 4 half iron distance races and all the marathons I've done, I think I know what to expect. And that is PAIN!! There is still the unknown, how will by body and mind respond once the sun goes down and I've been out there all day. I guess we'll know the answer to that in less than 5 days.

9 days and the first weather forecast

I can't believe it's only 9 days away. Did a 7 mile run yesterday morning and at one point it hit me, 'holy shit, I'm doing an ironman in 10 days'!!

Finished up the last 'real' weekend of training with a 3000 yard swim Friday, 7 mile run Saturday and a 50 mile ride, 2 mile run brick on Sunday. Sundays workout almost felt short.

Not done much this week. 2000 yards on Monday, off Tuesday, 7 mile run yesterday. My bike is getting tuned up and I won't get it back until this evening and it's supposed to rain the next 2 days so the next 4 days look like this: 2000 yards today, 5-7 mile run tomorrow, off Saturday(baseball, Beth has a test and then a party at night), 30 mile bike Sunday. Probably get in a short swim, bike and run Mon-Wednesday next week. We're planning on leaving Wednesday night and get 3-4 hours of driving in and then arriving mid-day Thursday at Wrightsville Beach.

It's 'crunch time' and I'm in full taper. Despite the lack of long workouts, I'm feeling a quite lethargic, which is to be expected in taper. Yesterdays run felt fresh and strong, so I'm hoping another 9 days of this and I'll be rested and ready.

So the first weather forecast has come out and it's calling for low of 52 and high of 73.....hope that holds out but I'm sure we'll see that change 10 times between now and race day.

Hello taper

Decided to bag the ride yesterday hoping to get a decent last long run in today and it worked out perfect. Finally a good long run. Not great but much better than any earlier ones from the past few months.

Got in a strong 16. Probably won't go longer than 3000 yards swimming, 50 miles biking or 9 miles running in the last 16 days. My only goal between now and Nov 1st is to get to the starting line healthy, strong and rested.

It feels like I've been training for this thing for years rather than months. My only hope is my race reflects my training.

Almost done

Last week was a good week, getting about 13 hours in, including my last long(4000 yard) swim and last longish ride(70 miles). All that is left is a long run, shooting for 16 miles, this week.

Wednesday-Sunday was a good final push. 4000 yards swimming Wednesday, 9 mile run Thursday, 2000 yard swim and 41 mile bike on Friday, 6 mile run Saturday and 70 mile yesterday. The ride was a little adventurous in that about 4 miles into my ride I had a car come up right next to me and the passenger reached out and pushed me. Took me a second to realize exactly what they did and luckily it wasn't hard enough to really affect me. Though I was a little leery the rest of the ride.

The upcoming week looks like this:

Mon - 2000 yard swim
Tues- 30 mile bike
Weds - 16 mile run
Thurs - 3000 yard swim
Fri - Off
Sat - 50 mile bike followed by 2-3 mile run
Sun - 7 mile run

Long run

Got in a 16 mile run yesterday. Wanted to go 18 but cut it short when the dew point spiked to 82 degrees!!! The run started out good, 67 degrees and nice. But it heated up quick and the dew point went up with it. When I finished the temp and dew point were both 82 and just miserable. Also, the route I ran was a somewhat hilly one that many people throughout the area use for training for hilly races, especially the Boston marathon. While it's not hilly for those in hilly areas, it's one of the only hilly routes around the Tampa area, due it to running along and near 3 rivers.

Since I'm not used to running hills, they proved challenging and then when my exercise induced asthma kicked up with the spike in humidity, I decided to cut it short.

I still want to get another longer run in(16-18) in the next week in a half as well as a 100 mile ride this weekend. Might get in a 4000 yard swim tomorrow too. The plan is to begin my taper on Monday the 13th. As much as I'm looking forward to this taper, I know it's going to be tough to hold back training after many, many months of hard, long workouts. But I need to get to the 1st as rested as I can. After pushing too late into my training for the Steelhead 1/2 iron race last August, I've learned it's better to be a little under trained than over trained.