So we are TWO WEEKS out... taper officially starts right now. I cant believe after all of this hard work, it is coming up this fast! The past couple of weeks have been pretty hard, but as usual, I have enjoyed it all for the most part. There was a 20 mile run that we did last weekend that was pretty rough and gave me a taste for how I might feel 5 miles in or so, after a 112 mile bike. I keep trying to put myself in the race as I train, constantly asking myself, "Is this how I am going to feel during the ride?" "Will I feel better or worse?" "PLEASE GOD dont let it be this hot on race day" (That one is a common theme). In the next couple of days the extended forecast should be able ti give us an idea on the whether. Best case scenario- 80-85 with some afternoon thunderstorms, aka- a shower when I need it the most. In any case, suffice it to say, its hard to think about much else besides the Ironman, training, preparation, etc. My brain needs a break!
We recevied the athlete packet last week... all 28 pages of weekend schedules, rules, regulations, how the weekend will play out, etc. Its scary. One of the marathon rules is that "the only locomotions acceptable on the course are running, walking, and crawling..." Really? Crawling? Surely no one does that right? Wrong. See below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTn1v5TGK_w
I truly hope that isnt me.
So after reading excerpts like that, questions began to float into my head... when is the best time to take my bike down to transition? It has to be dropped off on Saturday. Should I let the air out of my tires or not? How am I going to keep all of these "special needs" bags straight? In al there are five or more, all of which must be packed EXACTLY as they say with EXACTLY what I am going to need on that day. I hope and pray I dont forget anything- not likely.
So another, slightly more fun thing to think about is what I am going to wear that day. Not that I am going to look good in anything, but at least I can think about fashion in these times- I am a girl's girl at heart. So I think I have it down (at least the types of clothing, I might not have it all yet). Regular swim suit for the swim.... run into the transition tent and change into black chamois and a tank top jersey (it will be too hot for a full t-shirt jersey)... off the bike, full change into running shorts (not spandex, they are too hot for me), and another run tank top and running shoes. I am going to pack extra socks, tennis shoes and possibly another shirt for halfway through in my running special needs bag. You just never know what you might need. These things are constantly in my mind.
Off of race prep and back into present day, these past few weeks have been my last push to really get ready for the big day. last weekend we did a 20 mile run downtown, over the 2nd St bridge and back, back to River Road all the way to the end at Wolf Pen (part of the bike route) and back to our cars. We tried to start early to beat some of the heat (hey, I know we need to get ready for heat, but we wanted to survive our first 20 mile run). The entire run (insluding stopping and walking, which was about a mile total) took us about 3:45. Probably too long, but I needed all the help I could get towards the end of that run. it was hot, humid and my body was screaming ("Will this be how it is on race day?" Probably so.)
The next day consisted of what should have been a pretty easy 1.5-2 hour ride. Instead I rode with a large group of guys who thought it would be a good idea to race a lot. That hurt. I ended up doing pretty well and felt good about doing a ride like that, but I definitely needed to recover after that!
This week was pretty uneventful- lots of training and I kept my hours up- 16 hours. This week will drop down dramatically. I did decide to ride Brians Zips (wheels) for race day, so I have been practicing on those and they do make a difference! They sound pretty cool too. Rest assured, my bike looks like a pro's, but there is a true novice riding it!
As i said before, taper starts today and I am ready for it- my legs are tired and I am getting excited for August 30th! Below are some fun and inspirational videos that were sent around this week. I liked them... enjoy!
You will do this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh1yMnrby3w&feature=channel
Rick and Dick Hoyt Story
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDnrLv6z-mM&feature=channel
Performance, it's the name of the game...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn29DvMITu4
14 days...
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