3 Weeks To Go!

Three short week.  Yep, all I have is three more weeks until the big day.  A race plan is in the works and most of my trip details have been worked out.  It's safe to say that I probably won't be able to focus on anything other than Ironman for the next 21 days. 

The year has been full of up and downs.  Fortunately, there have been more ups.  Since my last post things have gotten much better.  I did have a moment on a particularly windy ride where I threw down my bike, sat on the side of the road, and cried....and screamed... and cursed!  I'm sure it was a sight to see. It was definitely a low point, but I had no choice but pick myself up and train through the brutal winds and misery. My journey to the start line has definitely challenged me in ways I could have never imagined, but I know it will pay off.

Yesterday I had my last big training day.  I started off with a long swim that I ended up cutting a bit short in order to keep my shoulder happy.  Next, I headed out on my 4 hour bike ride.  My wet hair didn't make the 37 degree temperatures feel any better.  Within minutes my nose and fingers were frozen. I couldn't even grab my bottles out of the cages, so I just sipped out my aero bottle.  I was heading north and the wind was blowing from the north. It wasn't a strong wind, but it was COLD. Knowing that the second half of my ride would bring more sunshine and a tail wind made things much easier.  There is a good chance that I'll have a cold start in Arizona, so I couldn't really complain about yesterday's conditions. I was able to catch a little break near the end of my first hour on the bike. A friend and a couple of his buddies came rolling by me. I grabbed a wheel as they passed, and drafted as long as I could.  It was a nice little break from the winds and some free speed.  THANKS GUYS!!   After a few miles we made a right hand turn, and they picked up the pace dropping me like a hot potato.  By this point I was warming up and didn't mind pulling my own weight once again.  The rest of the ride was nice and uneventful.  After the sun came  out, it turned out to be a pretty nice day. The tail wind home was icing on the cake.

I finally made it back to where I started and began my hour run.  My feet were still pretty cold, so it took a little while to get all the feeling back.  Overall, I was pleased with my last big training day.  I got a good workout, but I didn't feel completely beat up at the end.  I even got to refuel later with a nice bowl of gumbo. Next weekend I have one more long run and that's about it as far as the big stuff!  I'll taper down and get ready to take on Ironman.

Over the next three weeks I'm going to do all I can to make sure I'm prepared for the race - eat right, get enough sleep, finish up my race plan. But the truth is, I've really done all I can do at this point.  There is no way to know what Ironman will throw at me on race day...I just hope and pray that I can handle whatever comes my way. 

” It’s important to know that at the end of the day it’s not the medals you remember. What you remember is the process – what you learn about yourself by challenging yourself, the experiences you share with other people, the honesty the training demands – those are things nobody can take away from you whether you finish twelfth or you’re an Olympic Champion.” – Silken Laumann