Discovered a slight snafu in our planning this week. The emphasis is on week and that we started one early. Thus, we are repeating last weeks plan. Joy. Almost to the taper. Almost. 

A nice six days off are ahead of me and I can't wait to relax around the house and train with some structure. Plus, it's the Queen's Jubilee and we are going to the races on Saturday. Should be fun. The goal is to get all the training done before then.

Looooong Ride

Yesterday served as our longest ride of the training, that has been conducted over the last 6 months. 7 hours was committed to (should have been last week, but that has been hashed out already). I tried to compile the hilliest route I could find within the State of Minnesota (at least close to Minneapolis). It was deemed very hilly. Not being a good climber and with Constitution whose constitution was likely mostly beer, we were doomed. We set out well. Hit the main hills and felt that the first 80 were quite satisfactory. However, the last 34 were, simply out, a killer. My nutrition wasn't quite right and with the legs already tiring, we turned a corner to find yet more hills in our future. However, the  ride was concurred, albeit with slightly wobbly legs to finish. Constitution was a champ, completing the transition run of 55 minutes after the ride. I was unable to finish/start the run.

The next day brought a very tired wakeup at 6am for a lake swim. Turned out it was a great wakeup. With a light breeze and gentle water (albeit with savage attacking thick weeds) the swim was a great way to start the day. Napoleon joined in and we carved through the gentle water. Felt really good in the water.

The rain belted down all day. I saved the 1hr45min run for later in the day. It went surprisingly well and there was some great self discovery. I often have a very busy mind whilst running. I found focusing on settling the mind and rhythm lead to a lower heart rate and a higher pace. It such a shame that it took me so long to realize that something as simple as a them the Budhists religion promotes was a potential promotion of a faster running pace. I wonder whether I will be able to keep that up in Nice.

Good luck to us all!

Cold and sweats

This week has been training contrasts. First the cold, wind and rain of Sunday's not so long bike ride. Now the heavy heat and humidity of Fort Walton Beach, FL and the key run.

It was very tough today. A lot had to do with the lack of water I had with me. Should have brought additional water bottles for the fuel belt. Either way, I still would not have been able to keep my heart rate down. It was quite interesting, in a nerd like way, to see how my heart rate climbed so rapidly with such a slow pace. Allowing my hydration to to slow and allow my internal heat climb so quick significantly slowed my pace which did defeat the purpose of the key run. I anticipate a slow marathon during the Ironman if the heat keeps up (it should be noted that the lack of sleep and two beers with my crew the night before was not exactly ideal prep for such a hot run!)

This will all be over soon and I won't have to worry about any of this malarkey and realize the fun that is going out for a swim/ride/run just for the hell of it.

Good luck to us all!

Wet and Windy, not to mention freezing

What a ride yesterday was! Constitution has retold of his long rides on busy highways after getting lost, caught in the wind and the rain and lost on the open road. Having not ridden along side him before, I simply put it down to bad luck and timing. Not so!

Yesterday, we headed out knowing that all week it had been 80+ degrees and sunny skies, only to find that that day was chilly, very windy and raining. Perfect for riding, right?! Well, it started off fair enough. First forty miles were somewhat cold, but manageable. Then we leave this well known town out near the Mississippi river and not more than 1/4 mile down the busiest stretch of road that we were to ride on that day, flat tire number 1!

Not only was it the most unfortunate flat I have seen - we were dodging a huge puddle that motorists were aiming at us. Constitution was coming off our detour back on to the rode and a puddle was obscuring a ditch of some kind and smack! Ssssssssss. And there we were on a small side of the road with cars pelting by and the rain lashing. Now, these things happen. I accept that. However, Murphy's law does dictate that things must happen at the worst of times. We move on.

He fixes said flat in record time under great subconscious pressure from me peering over his shoulder, willing him to fix it so we can keep up the core temps.

We're off and of course, it stops raining! The road dries up and we get on to a nice quiet section of road and the mood begins to improve. All goes well until we get to Prescott, Wisconsin. At that point, mother nature decides we are good for another soaking and she throws in a brutal wind from the Northwest that does it's best to knock us off our bikes. It is good to note at this point that the entire rest of the remaining 40miles is due in to this howling wind. And then came flat tire number two.

Littering is one things. Smashing a glass bottle on the side of the road is a step too far! I dodged it. My riding buddy did not. The main plus was that we were on our way in to a town and the flat was discovered in the center of it. Trigger rain sequence number three and a bad reflate cartridge and the ride was at an end. The irony was that we had only just finished talking about why I would bring two spare tires during the race. Need I say more?

We called in the rescue brigade at this point and accepted our position and found a coffee shop to warm up in. Hopefully next weekend will end if a 7hour bike ride successfully.

This is the final week of hard training and then "taper" begins. That means we must be getting close. Exciting/terrifying. The good news is that the lakes are warm enough to swim in now and open water practice is under way. Looking forward to getting a swim in when I get back from this trip.

Good luck to us all!

Not just us

There is more than just one person that makes an Ironman. It is easy to forget those around us that enable us to make the leap to complete an Ironman distance. Without them we would not be as successful as we would aspire to be. Wife, mother, father, brother, friends all contribute to keep you honest and on the straight and narrow throughout this long process.

When we are cranky and fatigued from hours and upon hours of training, week after week, they are the ones who tolerate us and slap us back in to shape. Allowing us to realize that it's not simply all about...well, us.

It is easy to forget that the Ironman is about more than just one person. It is about a menagerie of different people, enabling those attempting this distance to complete the task at hand. At the risk of repeating myself, without them we wouldn't truly become Ironmen. All we would be are lonely lunatics out in the open by ourselves.

Good luck to us all!

Thank goodness for recovery week

It's been a long week. Definitely stepped up the volume. This week we managed about 164 miles of training. Seems a lot, because it is. Feeling it. Quite tired. Everyday life gets in the way or recovery and rest. Suppose thats why they have us on a recovery week next week. Most welcome.

Just finished the last workout of this week. A fantastic run along the banks of the Potomac river, with the backdrop of the National Mall. Really, quite a fantastic running environment. I even was able to geek it up off the end of the runway at the airport and watch planes take off. The ideal run.

Looking forward to the recovery week coming up. Then after that it is the final stretch. Two big weeks and then some tapering and then it's race week. Quite amazing how quickly this has all passed by. All that's left is to sort out how to get there and work on my bike transport skills.

Good luck to us all!