It has been another insanely busy 2 weeks of training and in general life... I can't really complain; I think I like it better when I am busy, but it sure makes it hard to squeeze all these workouts in!
It is SO hard to believe that IM Wisconsin is a mere 9 weeks away. Back when I started training, I really thought the day would never come. As I go about the training, it's really become more of a way of life rather than a means to some end. But now, as the weeks click away, I'm almost sad to see the day move closer to reality. It's been a lot of work (and a lot more work is yet to come), but I've just had so many great experiences and met so many good people, I'm just not ready for it to be over.
The last 2 weeks have been a bit more introspective for me as well. I've started to realize just how much I've changed since September. I think I am just starting to learn the athletic potential of my body. I've just never really challenged myself this way. I know I've run a couple marathons, a bunch of half marathons, and blah, blah, blah, but I've finally started to find that "next gear," the gear I never really believed existed.
My mom will kill me for saying this (as will a few other people in my life) but I've had more than a few passing thoughts about doing this again. I think this is really one of those times in life where the journey means way more than the actual destination. In fact, I could skip the actual race and still feel like I got more out of this experience than I expected to. However, I am NOT skipping the race! It's just going to be the sweetest icing on the cake!
After the wedding on Saturday night, I got up and ran with a couple new friends in Des Moines for about 90 minutes on Sunday morning. It was a good way to clean out the cobwebs of the race (and wedding reception) the day before. I was pretty wiped out after that, but I felt ready to tackle the new week. Truth be told, I came away from the race feeling like I had been a bit of a slacker the couple weeks before with all the racing. It's hard to train hard and still be able to perform decently at the races, so I picked a slightly lighter load to be fresher for the events. The panic attack caused by realizing there were only 11 weeks to go fueled my fresh start!
I hit my workouts with a renewed vengence, making training the priority of the week - to heck with the "real world!" So, I ended Week 11 with the highest run mileage of any week so far. I got two long swim sessions in, and my mid-week brick workout (that had been neglected for quite some time) made a return! It felt good to be able to hit all my workouts and not have to cut anything out. That was a good way to head into Week 10!
Week 10 turned out to be my biggest week of total hours of training so far! It was a great week of training, even though I miised another swim workout. The 4th of July weekend actually made it harder to get all my workouts in... and I thought days off of work were supposed to be great for training!
The week started back down in Des Moines, training with some of the DM Tri group, including a IM Wisconsin age group winner in 2004. Jan is a great triathlete and a wealth of information. I took advantage of having her there and asked lots of questions - at least for as long as I could keep up with her! It was a great overcast, cool day with a few drops of rain. We rode south out of Des Moines on the Great Western Trail to the city of Cumming, then jumped on a great, bike-friendly county road to Winterset and back. This route was a great practice ride in preparation for the IM, as it was quite hilly the majority of the way.
The goal was 90 miles for the day, and that meant a couple additional out-and-back loops from the trailhead for us, but we got our full 90 in before we changed clothes for the brick run. The trailhead we used was right across the street from Des Moines' Water Works Park and that turned out to be a great place for our run. Thankfully, it was flat and had little traffic, but the highlight had to be the (huge) wild turkey and 2 young deer that we saw as we made our way through the park. I was a little cranky after all that time on the bike, but, once again, I was very thankful to have this DM group to encourage me along the way.
After the run, I got in my truck to drive back to Ames. I think I must have really burned some serious calories on the ride/run because I started to eat anything and everything within arms length almost all at the same time! I'm sure the other drivers on the Interstate must have thought I'd lost my mind, but I put away a ton of food on the drive home - pretzels, recovery drink, bagel, granola bar, applesauce, water... and about 2 hours later a BIG dinner!
After the big weekend of workouts, I took Monday off and helped out with the National Special Olympics. My job wasn't very exciting, but it was fun to meet all the people from all over the country and (hopefully) help them out by answering questions, etc.
A good friend was coordinating the volunteers for a local 4th of July race in Ames, and so I volunteered to help out with race morning stuff for that, too. As it turned out, she only needed me for a very brief time before the race, so I was free at race time and able to compete. The Four on the Fourth offers a 4K or 4 mile race, so I signed up for the 4 miler. I thought I'd just see what all this long, slow distance training had done for me - I kinda figured it would just be a long, slow 4 mile run... But, once I got out there I seemed to increase my pace every mile, and I ended up getting third in my age group! And my first "hardware" ever in a running race! And a pretty decent pace for me! It was pretty encouraging to run well and know that even though the training runs have been long and slow, I've still got some speed, and that big endurance base means that I can run faster for a longer time. Sparkle and I headed out for a 2 hour ride after the race, then got to work preparing the "Hilton" (the trailer) for RAGBRAI, which starts in just a couple of weeks.
The rest of the week I hit most of my workouts and took advantage of the great weather we've been having to get out and put a few more miles on the bike. The next couple of weeks should go back to being pretty crazy. I'm heading to Chicago for my grandmother's 100th birthday party, and that will be a great time! All of my cousins and their families will be there, along with family from all over the place! I am really looking forward to it. Hopefully, some of the family will also be joining me on a training ride somewhere, too, as I need another good, solid long bike ride before the following weekend, which will be my first half IM distance race in Racine, Wisconsin. Then, the day after the half IM, I'll be joining the rest of Team Satisfied for RAGBRAI XXXIV, until the following weekend, when I think I'm headed back to Madison for another training weekend on the course! Whoa! I'm gonna be busy!
Week 11 Weekly Round-Up (Sunday thru Saturday):
Swim: 6550 yards
Bike: 2 hours, 15 minutes
Run: 36.7 miles
Cross-Training: about 60 minutes of core and strength work.
Week 10 Weekly Round-Up (Sunday thru Saturday):
Swim: 3850 yards
Bike: 9 hours, 30 minutes
Run: 23.7 miles
Cross-Training: about 60 minutes of core and strength work.
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