Jun 2009
Four Months to Zero Hour
If you want to make four months seem like a blink of time, put an Ironman at the end of it. My body is definitely responding to my training. Last night I swam 2600 yards and quite honestly I didn't feel any more tired after the swim than I did before it. I'll take that as a good sign that my body has its sea legs (even if those legs don't seem to be pushing me through the water any faster). But in four months I'll be swimming almost double that - 4200 yards (2.4 miles) - and following it up with a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 run. Will I be ready?
Each week I'm consistently taking my long rides beyond 50 miles, and in four months I'm pretty confident that I can double that. I'm also talking with a Cannondale rep right now about getting an upgraded bike that will make those 112 miles even easier. As for the run, or in my case the run/walk, it's going. Last week my long run topped 7 miles and this Sunday I'll push it up to 10. By July 19 that distance will be up to a minimum of 13.1 miles, since they're not likely to change the finishing leg of the Vineman Half-Ironman to accommodate me or any short-comings I may still have on the run.
The best news on the run front is that I didn't want to kill anybody during my 7+ miler. Typically thoughts of homicide swirl in my head during the torture that is running (way worse than water boarding, if you ask me). But this time out I actually got into a decent place. Perhaps it was the course I ran; maybe it's just that finally my body has stopped fighting and has now acquiesced to the reality that running is a part of the routine; or maybe it was the soundtrack I ran to on my ipod. In case you're wondering it was Les Miz. That's right, I ran to show tunes last week. It actually kept me much more distracted than regular music. I'm currently deciding which Broadway show is going to get me though 10 miles on Sunday.
So back to my question, "Will I be ready?" At this moment the answer is "Yes." I'm sure over the next four months there will be times where the answer to that feels like a resounding "no," or "hell no," or "not in this lifetime you idiot who did this to yourself." But come October 10 my body, my mind, and most importantly my heart, will be ready.
Go Kona!!
Each week I'm consistently taking my long rides beyond 50 miles, and in four months I'm pretty confident that I can double that. I'm also talking with a Cannondale rep right now about getting an upgraded bike that will make those 112 miles even easier. As for the run, or in my case the run/walk, it's going. Last week my long run topped 7 miles and this Sunday I'll push it up to 10. By July 19 that distance will be up to a minimum of 13.1 miles, since they're not likely to change the finishing leg of the Vineman Half-Ironman to accommodate me or any short-comings I may still have on the run.
The best news on the run front is that I didn't want to kill anybody during my 7+ miler. Typically thoughts of homicide swirl in my head during the torture that is running (way worse than water boarding, if you ask me). But this time out I actually got into a decent place. Perhaps it was the course I ran; maybe it's just that finally my body has stopped fighting and has now acquiesced to the reality that running is a part of the routine; or maybe it was the soundtrack I ran to on my ipod. In case you're wondering it was Les Miz. That's right, I ran to show tunes last week. It actually kept me much more distracted than regular music. I'm currently deciding which Broadway show is going to get me though 10 miles on Sunday.
So back to my question, "Will I be ready?" At this moment the answer is "Yes." I'm sure over the next four months there will be times where the answer to that feels like a resounding "no," or "hell no," or "not in this lifetime you idiot who did this to yourself." But come October 10 my body, my mind, and most importantly my heart, will be ready.
Go Kona!!
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