Week in review Monday 10-24-2011 to Sunday 10-30-2011

Week 35 of 36 was my first of two taper weeks. This week had 10 hours 55 minutes on tap. Given this is my first ironman event I had no idea how the taper weeks would treat me. I knew I was going to face a reduction in workout hours but, had no idea that I was going to struggle with the thoughts wrapped around my upcoming event.

I spoke with several people this week, three of which are also doing IM Florida. Two of my friends had already completed an Ironman and had already been down this path once before. My other friend and I are first timers and this is a discovery phase for us. I am full of different emotions. I’m glad I did not have too much extra time on my hands to dwell on them. I’m nervous and excited for myself and the other three friends who are also racing with me this Saturday.

I had several questions running through my head this past week. Have I trained enough? Is my nutrition right? Am I eating right or too much? I had put in hours upon hours of working out and I still was left to question my conditioning. Taper week one was really messing with my mind. I was really concerned about putting on weight before my event. I’m okay with putting on a couple of pounds but, nothing more than that. I also wanted to go into the race feeling fresh and ready.

I was fortunate enough to I get some advice from a local tri pro. He shared a list of things I should consider doing leading up to my event. I read through the list and it made a lot of sense. The prep advice was something I needed not only to help me prepare but to also help calm my down.

I did feel a little sluggish during a couple of my work out sessions this week. My swim has improved some but, not much. It was hard for me to gage where I was on the bike. I was fighting lack of sleep and fatigue. Those are two ingredients which can really make for a bad work out session and will leave you with questions. My running this past week felt pretty good.

I know I should be thinking about anything other than IM Florida right now but, I’m eager to start racing in running events. There is also a duathlon I have my eye on at the end of November. Speaking of duathlons this will be the first year since I started doing triathlons back in 2009 in which I will miss Bronda’s Du. The event is one week after IM Florida and there is no way I would be recovered to race in that event. I wish that wasn’t the case but, it is what it is. I love that event not only does Jack with Ironhead productions put on a great race but, it’s also at the Texas Motor Speed way which is very cool. I’ll have to be patient and wait until next year.

As I sit her on a Monday night trying to reassess where I am and how I’m feeling I’m very confident that I’ve put in enough time to get me across the finish line. I do have some goals set for IM Florida but, my main goal is to finish. I’ve been asked what distance I would like to race next year. I honestly do not know. I want to get a taste of a full Ironman. Once I’ve completed this event I should be able to set some triathlon goals for 2012. All I can say is that I feel like I’m just getting started. I’m really excited about my upcoming marathon training and my off season cycling and swimming training. I’m going to try and set some higher goals for next year.

I’d like to end this blog entry by wishing everyone racing this weekend the best of luck. If you are a resident of the DFW area there is plenty of opportunity for you to get involved in an event. Don’t take where you live for granted. It’s still mind boggling to me to see all the events available for us to participate in. You can find a 5K, 10K or ½ marathon without trying too hard. Where I come from that isn’t the case. When I go home for vacation I would be lucky to find a 5K to run in.

As always feel free to email me of you have any questions, comments or random thoughts. If you have a story to share I’d love to hear about it.

..ej
ej@trilifeblog.com
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