Hopefully at this time in exactly eight weeks I'll be crossing the finish line of my first half Ironman!! As I was running this morning I thought about something I've never really thought about before...what if I don't finish. I really don't know how I would handle that. Just thinking about it was pretty emotional. You may get couple hundreds of training sessions, but you only get one race day. Anything can happen on that one day. It doesn't seem fair to DNF after 5 months of preparation, but it does happen. Since June 14 I've spent about 56 hours on the bike, 30 hours swimming, 11 hours doing strength training, and 25 hours running...and I've got a lot more to do.
A few weeks ago I actually felt like I was close to being ready for the race, but now I'm not so sure. I think I'm ready for the swim and the bike, but the run is another story. Today I had 1.5 hour run that I began right after open water swim practice. My legs felt heavy and I couldn't seem to break a 10 minute pace. I was doing a 5 minute run / 1 minute walk combination and ended up averaging 11:28 min/mile. Toward the end I was struggling to maintain a jog. Part of this could have been due to hydration issues. My fuel belt only holds 20 oz of water and this wasn't enough. At one point I spotted a water fountain so I began downing the water in one of my bottles so I could fill it up. I'm sure you can imagine the four letter words that slipped out of my mouth when I discovered that the fountain was turned off. Really!!! We are in the middle of worst heat wave in over 30 years and the city of Lewisville decides to turn off a drinking fountain!! While I should have had more water, I'm not sure I can completely blame hydration today. I'm going to try tweaking my eating and sleep habits this week.
I still have this nasty sweet tooth that won't let up. Last week I bought my first and last jar of sweet chocolaty Nutella. I couldn't stop eating it and vowed to never buy it again. My friend Jeneen suggested that I just finish off the jar and be done with it. I did finally take her advice and went to town on the remainder of the jar. Now that the Nutella is gone I'm going to restock my pantry and fridge with healthy fruits and snacks. People kept telling me that Nutella isn't that bad if you compare it to peanut butter or jam, but I don't typically open a jar of PB or jam 5 or 6 times a day to grab a spoonful...or two...or three. I'm sticking with almond butter because I like it, yet I've never had any desire to reach in and eat it with a spoon.
Since I don't get to take naps between morning and evening training sessions I'm going to have to be better about going to bed early. This week my goal is to be in bed by 9:00 every night. We'll see if the extra sleep and reduced sugar add a little pep to my step.
As much as I'm looking forward to race day, part of me is a little sad that I only have 8 weeks left. I like having a goal to work toward. Last October I began training for my first race, a duathlon, and I've been in training ever since. After the duathlon I turned my focus to the Rock n Roll half marathon, then my first sprint triathlon, and now my first half Ironman. By the time Austin comes around I'll have been in training for a full year. I'll wait until October 24 to decide what's next.
"There's no thrill in easy sailing ... but there IS satisfaction that's mighty sweet to take, when you reach a destination that you thought you'd never make."
— Spirella
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