With just five days and 4 workouts left before my final triathlon of the season, I’m finding it increasingly difficult to focus on work, and really anything other than racing. I try, but I am easily distracted by just about anything. So today, I reduced to a rambling series of thoughts for my entry.
I had another super weekend of training. It was about half the load of the previous weekend so I could be fresh Sunday, but it left me with extra time and feeling like I hadn’t finished my training. This week is going to be hard with more easy workouts leaving me wanting more. I’m not sure what I’m going to do when the season is over!
I’ve been waiting for this last race for so long, looking forward to the post race break I plan to take, and now I’m second guessing that idea. Maybe I could get in one more half Ironman or half marathon in November and then take a break?
Last week Ironman, the company, announced a new race series called 5150. It is all about the Olympic distance race, with 12 races and a championship in the US, and 3 races overseas. I was originally thinking that I should target that next year and attempt to make the championships, but that might not be very realistic. The only close races are in Galveston and New Orleans. The other races are a bit too far for just a 3 hour race. I also question whether I could really qualify for the championship. These races will probably draw a large crowd, and I would probably have to finish in the top 5 to qualify. They should be announcing the qualification rules in a couple of weeks, with registration opening in December. I’ll probably do Galveston, and maybe New Orleans, but that’s it.
Saturday was my first bike ride since getting a new fit. It is going to take me some time to get used to the new positioning and the different muscles being used to hold up my head. I still had some neck pain, only with different muscles that I now have to figure out how to stretch. The good news is that my power meter worked great. The bad news is that my bike developed a creak in the crankset area whenever I apply serious pressure such as standing up for an uphill ride. I took my bike in for a race check and told them about the noise. Of course they were less than thrilled that someone else had worked on my bike. I’ve got three stores that each think are my only bike shop. What’s a person to do?
This weekend I spent more time in front of my computer watching the Ford Ironman Championships than I did training! The last couple of miles of the men’s race were very exciting, and I was pretty happy for Miranda. I stuck around to see coach finish in 15th place. It was nice that they showed and said a few words about about her because I don’t think they did that with everyone. I read where a lot of people were motivated by the coverage to attempt an Ironman; I’m not one of them. Seeing some of those people unable to walk after crossing the finish raised some red flags for me!
I’m definitely ready for this weekend. I feel like I’m in the best condition of any race so far, though I wish I was a few pounds lighter (yesterday I was at my lowest weight in years, so I’m not sure where this is coming from). After great workouts the past few weeks, confidence is not a problem. I’m getting a better handle on the required pacing and have been feeling good on my runs off of the bike. I know it’s going to be hard and expect a serious battle in my mind telling me to stop. I’ve got a few motivational tricks up my sleeve and with any luck I could have a GREAT race!
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