Blog #3 for EndurancePlanet.com - originally posted on 7/31/2009
Ten weeks to Kona. Should I be in panic mode? Is that plenty of time? Am I on schedule? Behind? Ahead?
I don't really know the answers to all of these questions. In two weeks I'll be racing at the Utah Half-Ironman, and perhaps that will give me some answers. But as I look ahead to that race, and train to be at my peak for Provo, it sometimes feels that my training -- just ten weeks before Kona -- isn't that different than it was a six weeks ago.
Maybe that's a good thing. Hopefully it's just a sign that my body is getting more equipped to handle the stress of hours in the saddle followed by miles on my feet. Perhaps it's also a sign that mentally I'm getting more equipped for the stress, the strain, and the agony that is sure to come. I was giving an interview to a writer this morning and she asked me what was the one thing about Ironman that I was most nervous about. And honestly I had to stop and think, not because everything makes me nervous and I needed a moment to qualify "most nervous." But because really, when you break it down, it's all very doable.
Swim 2.4 miles. Well, I've gone nearly two miles in training right now and I still have 10 weeks to add to that. It won't be a problem. I won't be fast, but I'll be fine.
Bike 112 miles. Sure, this is a long long day in the saddle. But I'm riding 50 to 60 miles in training right now, and if I absolutely had to add to that I could. And certainly after getting a handful of 80 to 100 mile rides in before the race I'll be able to do 112. It will be tough. Kona has its winds and it has its heat. And I don't exactly have the full box of tools that an Ironman typically has to work with. But I'll be fine.
Run 26.2 miles. Yes, this intimidates me a little. I am not a runner. But as I look ahead to that day in October I'm picturing relief at being off the bike, at making that cutoff, and being just a few hours and 26.2 miles away from the finish line. I'm picturing a surge of adrenaline knowing that even though I'm staring at a marathon, that's all that I'm staring at. I know plenty of people who've done marathons and they are far from great athletes. I can do this. Again, I won't do it fast. I will definitely be doing a lot of running in the dark. But I can do this.
So what does make me the most nervous? Maybe it's the spotlight. As a heart transplant recipient I'll definitely be in the camera's eye. There is media stuff going now, so I can only imagine what it will be like in October. But I signed up for this. I knew what I was getting into. So that's not really it.
Maybe it's the possibility of failure. Great athletes have bad days. They have problems, both physical and mechanical. I'm certainly prone to a bad day or two. (I can think of a few diagnosis days that I'd qualify as "bad days.") But I also know that if I do fail to finish...that if something does happen on October 10 that prevents me from finishing the race, I'll still wake up on October 11 and life will be good.
So really, as of this moment, there is nothing that makes me "most nervous."
Of course I reserve the right to change that answer at any given moment between now and the finish line.
Kyle
I don't really know the answers to all of these questions. In two weeks I'll be racing at the Utah Half-Ironman, and perhaps that will give me some answers. But as I look ahead to that race, and train to be at my peak for Provo, it sometimes feels that my training -- just ten weeks before Kona -- isn't that different than it was a six weeks ago.
Maybe that's a good thing. Hopefully it's just a sign that my body is getting more equipped to handle the stress of hours in the saddle followed by miles on my feet. Perhaps it's also a sign that mentally I'm getting more equipped for the stress, the strain, and the agony that is sure to come. I was giving an interview to a writer this morning and she asked me what was the one thing about Ironman that I was most nervous about. And honestly I had to stop and think, not because everything makes me nervous and I needed a moment to qualify "most nervous." But because really, when you break it down, it's all very doable.
Swim 2.4 miles. Well, I've gone nearly two miles in training right now and I still have 10 weeks to add to that. It won't be a problem. I won't be fast, but I'll be fine.
Bike 112 miles. Sure, this is a long long day in the saddle. But I'm riding 50 to 60 miles in training right now, and if I absolutely had to add to that I could. And certainly after getting a handful of 80 to 100 mile rides in before the race I'll be able to do 112. It will be tough. Kona has its winds and it has its heat. And I don't exactly have the full box of tools that an Ironman typically has to work with. But I'll be fine.
Run 26.2 miles. Yes, this intimidates me a little. I am not a runner. But as I look ahead to that day in October I'm picturing relief at being off the bike, at making that cutoff, and being just a few hours and 26.2 miles away from the finish line. I'm picturing a surge of adrenaline knowing that even though I'm staring at a marathon, that's all that I'm staring at. I know plenty of people who've done marathons and they are far from great athletes. I can do this. Again, I won't do it fast. I will definitely be doing a lot of running in the dark. But I can do this.
So what does make me the most nervous? Maybe it's the spotlight. As a heart transplant recipient I'll definitely be in the camera's eye. There is media stuff going now, so I can only imagine what it will be like in October. But I signed up for this. I knew what I was getting into. So that's not really it.
Maybe it's the possibility of failure. Great athletes have bad days. They have problems, both physical and mechanical. I'm certainly prone to a bad day or two. (I can think of a few diagnosis days that I'd qualify as "bad days.") But I also know that if I do fail to finish...that if something does happen on October 10 that prevents me from finishing the race, I'll still wake up on October 11 and life will be good.
So really, as of this moment, there is nothing that makes me "most nervous."
Of course I reserve the right to change that answer at any given moment between now and the finish line.
Kyle
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