DAY OFF. A much needed day off! Not from training, but to get stuff done. I'm tired but not blown out, which is a good sign that I'm still on the good side of balancing things. My legs are a bit swollen, but it's hard to tell if that's from not doing anything today, long hours yesterday, or the salty meals I've been eating. I'm craving salt and fat. In this day and age, you'd think salt and fat are easy to come by, but healthy salt and fat are tricky.
I have this week and the next before IM 70.3 Kansas. I am treating this like an A race: planning, resting, and tapering. So for the planning, I need to get my ducks in a row. Quality can't-miss-em workouts in bold:
Monday: Off
Tuesday: 1:40 ride with 3x10K; running speedwork
Wednesday: swim of 20x1000; TT on bike
Thursday: group tempo pace run, Swim 1000 Loco
Friday: short swim
Saturday: Long OWS swim, 3hr ride
Sunday: Long run of 1:40, aerobic extension ride 1hr
Week Total: 13:45hrs
Monday: Death By Hills Ride, 40-ish miles of hills. (usually tues ride)
Tuesday: swim; running speedwork
Wednesday: swim: TT on bike
Thursday: group run
Friday: swim
Saturday: light ride and short run
Sunday: RACE (long run and ride fit here)
Week Total: Plan says 13:15hrs
I don't see a day off in there...maybe skip the swim on the last Friday.
I'll set specific goals for this race later. For now I'd just like to hit some highlights and overview upcoming goals.
I'm days away from a 2.4 mile open water swim. I'm 20 miles short of a century ride. I've already run a marathon this year. And I feel great. I'm slowly adding together the components of an IM race, but I won't be doing them individually come Sept 12th. I'll have to string them together into one long day. Come IM 70.3 Kansas, the training plan enters what it calls the "competitive" season. What I've been doing now is just called "preseason". The hours go up and start looking like run numbers in a marathon plan: 15, 17, 19 hrs/week. I've been building aerobic base for 22 weeks. The real meat of IM training is yet to come.
When others ask about IM training, they don't always grasp the meaning of what I'm doing. When a triathlete asks about IM training, they get into the relevant questions. How many hours, and how many miles. They appreciate the numbers. When an IM triathlete asks about training, the questions really zero in on what matters. It's not the hours or miles. It's how I'm holding up. Am I getting enough sleep? Am I taking care of myself? Am I listening to my body? The evaluation is more personal, and these are the questions I need to be asked.
This is an enormous undertaking, but it's not out of reach for someone who is prepared and trained. But it's more than hours and miles. It's heart. It's mental toughness. It's faith. Do I have the courage to put face my fears, to challenge myself, and overcome pain? Do I have the patience to listen to my body, let it heal, and let it build up? Do I believe in myself, believe that come sunset on Sept 12th I'll be at the finish line of the greatest challenge I've set up for myself? If I can't answer Yes to all of these questions, then I've got problems beyond poor swimming technique.
As of now, I can answer Yes. A tentative Yes, but Yes nonetheless. I've heard it time and again: Respect The Distance. I have moments where I'm 100% certain that I'm going to rock a fast IM. Then I have moments in which my stomach turns at the thought of 26.2 after 112. It seems impossible, painful, and intimidating.
These moments can come seconds apart from each other.
But the race isn't tomorrow, or next week, or next month. I'm still working my way up to the goal numbers and I have a little over 100 days to do it. No need to stress now, now is the time for sleep!
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