Well, as my friend Leishia has told me..."trust the plan, the breakthrough will come, I promise." Week 7 was full of ups and downs, but it ended with this becoming a reality. The past what seems like months have been full of challenges I have lost on both the bike and the run...unable to finish rides, runs; bonks, vomiting, the shakes, night sweats, unable to really control my body temp,unable to produce ANY power, and walking versus running. I've been patient (somewhat), but I have also had my "moments." The ones where I wonder why I am doing this to myself, why I am taking myself away from my family daily to train for something that seems almost impossible.
This past wednesday was a perfect example---here's the day in a nutshell: up at 5am, worked from 6:30 to 7:30 straight (patients/meetings at lunch, and after work), rushed home, visited with Jenny and Sophia for no more than 5 minutes (feeling horrible to run right back out the door...again---apologizing, and swallowing the grief that comes with it), then loaded my fuel belt while driving 2 miles to meet Kenny who had been waiting for me for 90 minutes, and eating a Clif Bar. Then, running 2 hours until 10pm, eating as much as I could, showering, and jumping in bed at 10:45pm. That's a 17h45m day with literally every minute accounted for----nothing more to say there other than the stress that accompanies it is overwhelming.
Friday was a big day as well, but for different reasons: Blood Lactate Testing in Tucson...the graph is a comparison from my testing in April versus fridays. Not what I wanted to see, but Chris sounded like this is what he expected, and things are going well according to his plan, so I am happy with that! I am not dwelling on it, especially after this weekends workouts
Saturdays ride: the toughest of the year...5h45m riding until I output 4000 kJ of power. In a nutshell (again), this was my best ride of the year, even with the heat hitting 123 on the Powercontrol, and having to ride for 6h30m to reach the 4000. We averaged 19.2mph while keeping the effort "mild"...in a word...AWESOME! I got in over 125 miles, heat was an issue, but never crushed me, and I came out of this elated (and tired!)...my mind has done a 180 since the wednesday run and the previous failures that were bogging me down. And with a killer 2 hour run on sunday, I am no longer thinking I am going to Kona "just to finish respectably," but to race, drop the hammer, and crush it (whatever that means, it's a good thing to be thinking). The 12 hours of training over the weekend completely changed my mind about Kona and whether I am ready yet...I am!
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| After 125 miles...can you see the strain??!! |
So onwards and upwards...there's no holding back. I'm ready for any amount of training volume...39 days, 12 hours, and 34 minutes from RIGHT NOW to go. How hard can it really get from here? Next weeks log is a doozy---let's see if I say the same thing at this time, next week!
Quick note: key things from this week in addition to above: switched from a 175mm crank to a 170mm crank = game changer. Started using Salt Tabs...life changing!
Last weeks workouts:
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| Type | Distance | Duration |
| Bike | | 10:15 |
| Rest | | |
| Run | | 05:00 |
| Swim | 9100.0 yd | 03:20 |
| Total Duration: | 18:35 |
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Swim
Bike
Run
Rest
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