Ironman Coeur d'Alene: Recovery with Belief

You may or may not have noticed that the run segment did not have a mantra word. Particularly in the last miles, that run was mindless, I didn't even have a song in my head. It was just ................   nothing.

Post race I was still moving around and was able to retrieve Frea and the gear bags. I met up with some Spec-Taters, got back to the house for a shower, went back to the finish line, helped others get bikes, cheered in the final taters....and went home to bed.

Something was missing.

IMWI had that first-time feeling, a magic that can't be replicated. I was excited, bouncing, bubbling, so happy it spilled over into everything.

IMCdA had a good feeling, I overcame true fears and weaknesses, I worked through difficulties, and I kept going. I'm impressed that I was able to do 14hrs considering how the day started out. I never had a moment of "oh I want to quit". I never thought too much about what 14 means compared to IMWI's 13:42. I took IMCdA as it's own individual race without comparison.

So it's not that I'm upset or saddened over the non-PR time. But I am thinking that this wasn't my race. I can do better. But the problem with Ironman is that that it takes months to get to another race if you can find one still open that fits the schedule.

The Monday after the race my esophagus and tummy were pained and unwilling to work with me on eating. My throat ached, likely from the dry air, breathing, and stomach contents that visited a few times. To my surprise, I was able to walk and didn't have any particular soreness or pain. I was just tired to the core. I've felt this way before, and I knew I'd get better.

The Tuesday after we were up very early to fly home. Still feeling physically OK but mentally wiped, I started adding up the weeks leading up to the race and the race itself.

I came into the race very tired. A review of my training log showed pretty constant fatigue since TripleT. My training plan was never adjusted, I skipped a few workouts to try to recover but it didn't suffice as true recovery. So my taper was messed up. The fog of training didn't start to clear until Saturday before the race, and it certainly wasn't cleared by race morning.

I came into the race with a bank of "moderate", "steady", and LSD training. One fartlek run only. A few indoor rides with some "uptempo" segments. And only LSD swimming, as I was on my own in that training.

I came into the race with a solid bike nutrition plan, but less so on the run. I knew I tolerated gels, but I didn't get to practice it in the weeks leading up to the race. Sure, I had the long runs. But they don't simulate that feeling you get after a long bike ride.

And speaking of long bike rides, I did the same route--over and over and over. Same route, same pace, same outcome. The saying "you race as you train"? Yeah, I just lived it.

So what am I driving at here?

I believe I can do better. I believe that I can work on what went wrong and improve the next time. I believe I can go well under 13hrs.