Coming together

Over the past few month or so I was seriously doubting my training program. I had been very diligent about my base build up and here it was, late April/early May and I felt slow. I also felt like I was still carrying a few extra lbs that I should havealready lost. But then I had the Eugene 1/2. Although the race didn't live up to my pre race time goals, I was dealt a tough card and was able to still put forth a solid effort with a very compromised airway. That gave me some confidence, maybe I knew what I was doing all along?

Fast forward to today. After multiple 40+ mileage run weeks recently and consistent high volume bike mileage the past few months...well, I was starting to feel pretty fit. I went out this morning with Meg for a run. I had 14 on the docket and she had 7. Now let me be very clear about one thing...this was to be Meg's longest run in almost 2 years. This poor girl has dealt with all kinds of injuries to get back to running! She was doing so well that she said she wanted to run a 1/2 on July 4th. I broke open the computer and set her up with a training plan. Today was a big day for her. There was a point after a couple hundred feet of uphill that I put my arm on her back and smiled at her. I was so proud of her at the moment. For never giving up when so many people would have. She is a trooper. She turned and smiled at me and asked me what was up. I looked away and wiped my eyes so she wouldn't see me crying and looked back and said, "I just love you."

Anyways...sorry...as usual I digress! So I turned around with Meg half way through and then went back for seconds. I took off man. I was feeling so good. The first mile is uphill. 7:55. The second mile is slightly uphill, but levels out: 7:45. Third mile: 7:27. Fourth: 8:02 (not sure what happened there?). Fifth: 6:59. Sixth: 7:15. Seventh: 8:16 (cool down). Overall pace for the second half of the run was 7:34. The best part was my average hr for that 7 mile portion was 150. For me to average 7:30s at a controlled HR of 150 for the last 7 miles of a 14 mile run in the mud, gravel, and rolling hills of Forest Park...that tells me I'm fit. I polished the day off with a swim workout and later I spun out the legs on the trainer. To put this in perspective, I was running a little over 20 seconds per mile slower than I averaged at the Eugene 1/2 on a muddy course in the middle of a big training block, at nowhere near the effort I put in at Eugene. This makes Trevor very happy! One of my goals that I have for Boise is to try and put together a run in the same time area as the Eugene 1/2. This will be tough after the 1.2 mile swim and 56 mile bike, but I'm feeling very good as the event gets closer.

Tomorrow should be fun. I'm riding out to Hagg Lake with some friends. 35 mile ride out. Then we are competing in a 4k open water swim. Then we are getting back on our bikes and riding back. I'll be interested to see how I do in the swim. I'm definitely not quite race ready in the pool, but I'm getting closer. Overall, I'm no longer doubting my plan. I set it up for a reason and, as the title of this post states, it's coming together. The great news is my plan has my truly peaking in August for Ironman. Boise in 3 weeks will be great, but my fitness will be even better in 3 months up in Canada. Thanks for reading :)

-T