Final touches

Well, the last big volume weeks are now behind me. The process of finishing the preparation for Ironman Couer d'Alene has begun. It's funny, I've been so damn busy the last 6 months I still feel like the race is months away. The nice thing is...it's not. It's just over 3 weeks away! So this week Muddy and I backed off the volume and intensity a little which was nice after we really finished last week with a bang. I have another relatively long ride this weekend and then my final long run this Sunday. The week after the foot goes back on the gas with high intensity and then we taper. It is really amazing how fast the time has flown by.

So what goes into these last few weeks? Well, whenever I have a big race coming up I concentrate on my plans. In triathlon you need a plan. At least I do. And my plans need to have back up plans. Ultimately you are required to make "on the course" decisions (especially in long course racing), but you need to have a plan to accommodate the change. Here is an example: I have a very defined nutrition plan. Let's say for whatever reason I'm not taking the calories in properly. Well, you can't race without calories. So, I have an A and B plan to survive. Trying different food, more sports drink, less water, backing off the heart rate to help the digestion, etc, etc. I have pace and heart rate goals for both the bike and the swim. What happens if the heart rate is too elevated on the bike? How do you react. Keep it rolling or back off? I have a plan depending on when in the race this potentially happens.

Why do I concentrate so much on the what ifs? Because, 1) what else are you going to think about when you are training so much :) and 2) this race is important...I want to be prepared for anything. And most importantly, I want to truly enjoy this race. If I know that I have a well thought out game plan then it's much easier for me to go out and simply race.

Speaking of racing. This will be my return to racing in a way. Two years ago I was coming off a pretty good year. I had a couple top 3 age group performances at Olympic distance and had debuted with a 5:01 at the half iron distance while being sick. So going into that summer I was feeling good. I did a tune up race a few months before Ironman Arizona after having a disappointing start to the year (sick again...seeing a pattern?). At this Olympic tune up race (it was a small, local field), I led out of the water and set out onto the two loop bike course. I remember it was raining buckets out there so I had to take the cornering easy, etc. But I remember the main competition that day was this ex pro cyclist. He finally caught me at the halfway mark of the bike, but I had a decent bike and gutted out a tough run for third overall. This was at the end of a large training block and I have to say...it felt great. It felt great to be truly racing out there. Racing for podiums.

Since then I've struggled some. I have fought over-training. I have had some disappointments when it comes to races. Sure, I am proud over going sub 11 at the Ironman distance in my first two attempts. And I'm proud of running sub 4 hours at Ironman Canada this past year. But in each of those events I was capable of more. I promised myself after Canada that I would remove the work behind the sport and hire a coach so I could just enjoy training and racing again. I did. I vowed to get a proper bike fit to help eliminate all this back pain when racing. I did. And ultimately, I committed to embracing and enjoying the process of preparing for a Kona attempt. I have. As Muddy and I put the finishing touches on the preparation for IMCDA, all I can say is...I can't wait.

-T