If my journey to this Ironman is the road, and it is going to be a success, I can certainly consider this road under construction. Currently, I should be wrapped in "caution" tape with blinking lights. For the past 4 days I have felt like my body has gone through the grinder. And the weird thing? These past 4 days have not been all that hard! I did find out I had a knee injury, but one I can continue to run with, so what did I do? I took off and ran for 9 miles that afternoon (that was last Thursday). It felt awesome. I needed to be out running- it was hot and muggy and I hadnt run in so long (6 days, but who's counting), and I just felt like I was slacking, so I really ran hard and tried to get in a good run, on my own. Well, after that, I think I had shot my legs. Maybe I wasnt ready at that point to run so hard, I dont know... but from that point on, I have had a hard time bouncing back. I figured I would straighten myself out, so I planned a long day for Saturday. We met up to do the Ironman course (one loop, not two), on Saturday morning early. I knew within 10 minutes that it was going to be a rough one. My legs felt like lead and I didnt have the speed that I usually have. We started up 42, and I tried to keep a positive attitude up the hill and out to 1694, practicing faster cadence like I had worked on with Curtis. But for some reason I just couldnt spin NEARLY as fast as Sarah was, right next to me. What was my problem? Well, after about 15 miles and a BUNCH of hills, I figured out I was in my big ring. For those of you that dont know this- you dont want to be in your big ring going up hills if you arent the strongest of riders and you want to save your legs. No wonder my legs were killing me. OUCH. So yeah, I fixed that and I progressed...
One of the things I love about all of this training is what I have learned about myself and about others. A large part of this happens on the bike, mostly because most of the training occurs on the bike. But in any case, there is something to be said for meeting hundreds of people with a common interest at 7 AM, all doing the same activity and all wanting to share their story, and I promise you, everyone has one. You do- we all do. Every single time I go on a long ride, I end up running into (not literally, although it has happened) someone who becomes a new contact/friend/training partner for this extended journey to the Ironman....
This particular Saturday, I met Logan. He is a man- about 50 years old, a driver for UPS and LOVES triathlons and ultra marathons- 100+miles of running at a time! He shared his experiences of seeing people dunk their heads in the water full of dirty sponges along the run at the Louisville Ironman, and seeing a pretty famous local newscaster being carted off the course in an ambulance. He shared with us his stories of stopping to chat with fans, family members, volunteers. There are lots of little tid bits of advice, inside knowledge gained from past experiences, etc that he and others share every time we come along one of these veterans and I am a sponge. I just soak it up and hope I can remember everything they say (which is why I like to keep this blog) so come race day, I might be just slightly more prepared.
Logan rode with us for about half of our ride, then split off at the Marathon (that is the universal stopping point/water station point throughout the ride- there are 3) to meet up with his friends. From there, Sarah and I rode back, my legs still feeling like lead and my water running low. BUT DONT WORRY... In the distance, we came across our "Water Angel" aka- Bob! Seriously, this guy is an Angel sent from God who seems to magically appear every time we are low on water, food, gatorade or anything, with his SUV and a smile in tow. Really, he is the nicest man on earth and he heads up a group called iamtri.com and they organize large group rides of the ironman course every couple of weeks. But as if on cue, he shows up when we need him! So we stopped about 10 miles out from our finish, chatted with Bob, got some water, then rode on home. By the time we were done, I was tired, but glad to be done, out of my big ring and quickly moved on to a short run. The run was fine, the knee didnt hurt too bad and I was glad the morning was over and I could relax the rest of the day!
After a few hours, the leadness came back FULL FORCE... I never had this feeling with swimming, I guess because when I got sore before, it was all in my shoulders, but now, it is all in my legs. My this goes beyond being sore- I am just tired. I have been slowly working through it, but this week, my mission is to relax, go easy and get ready for this weekend... my biggest test so far!!
Check it out- it will be a great event and they still need volunteers so let me know if you are interested in helping out!
Stay Tuned...
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