IM Base and July 4th

I must admit, planning my training, I could never had imagined coordinating a recovery week with a holiday week. However, that's indeed how it worked out this year. Doubt I could stumble in to that again. AND I didn't have to work.

So, here I sit, July 5th, feet up with a cup of warm "Joe" watching the last 30KM of Stage 7 of the Tour de France. Woke up a little worse for wear, but with a recovery week on the schedule, not too much to worry about. However, the next couple of days will be spent doing some serious recovery work and fueling for the beginning of the IM specific base period ahead.

What does this mean? A lot more volume combined with some very long rides. These are the weeks where the biking begins to reach for 6 hours with 30min runs after. This year, however, planning will be improved, with some early morning starts, which will lead to finishing at more reasonable finish times. The routes will be different with meeting points with different riders around the city, making the longer rides a little less monotonous. The goal is to not allow the bike to be a point of resentment by race day. Hopefully, I will be able to meet Napoleon and a few others around the rides and make these long training efforts an enjoyable time on the bike.

Perhaps a little inconvenient, Lifetime Fitness Triathlon takes place in 8 days. It's a yearly event that I do as part of a team. Good speed training, as it is an Olympic distance event. However, I'm sure I will have to play it smart as I will be tired from the long week of training that will proceed it. Looking forward to it though, as it is such a good cause we race for in Fraser. Our final year. Time to go out in style.

The final thought of the day lies with my current contemplation of Ironman Boulder 2014. A good friend of mine has stepped in and offered to sponsor my entry in return for me wearing his logos on my race day kit. A lot of thoughts are running through my head currently. What if I get injured? What if I fail to finish? How will I cope with the altitude? It's a daunting prospect, but one that brings quite a temptation to compete in this fantastic spot for an Ironman. Sign up is in 10days, so this all could be irrelevant if I don't click the mouse at just the right time.

Good luck to us all!