Vacation, 3GO, and Total Failure...

I'm getting pissed....I am going backwards (at least I feel that way). This is a "get it off your chest entry," so please understand I am fine, I will figure it out, and all will be good, but right now I am caught in failure and yesterday was 13 weeks to race day.
Yesterday marked my third recent long saturday ride where I had issues, and they aren't getting better.  I've been riding with Kenny Steil---and if you don't know him, well, he had the fastest amateur bike split at IM AZ by TEN minutes, and I just learned yesterday that he was the AZ state TT champion 2 years ago.  I am not a boisterous one, but I have been completely humbled "trying" to ride with him.  I am not kidding when I say this, but he can ride faster uphill into a headwind than I can on the flats--it is ridiculous!  Some people are just born with ability, and Kenny makes it look like I'm riding a tricycle.  So I have learned to "ride my ride" as he can put me in the hurt locker in a matter of minutes, and he is learning that I am just plain slow!  So here are my last few long saturday rides in order:
Ride 1: I bonked at mile 70 (and was dry heaving on the side of FLW) and took an hour to ride 13 miles to get back to the car
Ride 2: I actually held it together and got in a good brick run as well
Ride 3: I bonked again, at mile 50ish, requiring a ride home from my brother in law (thanks Kev!) from Mesa.
Ride 4: I held this one together as well, getting 96 miles in on a solo mission, and ran/walked my brick run as it was 108 out.
Ride 5: I was "decent" till about mile 60, but then the wheels fell off, and was full-projectile vomiting on the side of the road on 9 Mile Hill at mile 75ish--this time Jenny had to come pick me up at the site of my crash last year---thanks as always Babe!
And then today: swam 4,600 (didn't get the earliest start as I wanted to make sure i got my rest and somewhat recovered from yesterdays debacle)---all was good in the water and swam very comfortably under 1:30 per 100 through the four 800's in the set.  Out of the pool, it was time to run, but still felt the effects of yesterday, so I threw down a handful of pretzels infused with peanut butter (in a word: awesome snack food!), Honey Stinger Chews, almonds, 24 oz of water, and grabbed 2 Gus for the run along with my fuelbelt with 2 flasks of PERFORM.  Started the run, and was downing the first Gu in the first 7 minutes.  Polished off the 2 flasks, refilled them with water at the fountain at Market Street (finally fixed!  and cold water as well!).  I got to about mile 3.5, and my body starts to shut down again, so I run/walk back to The Village taking a shorter route home that usually takes me 40 minutes (was supposed to be an hour run), and it took me an hour anyways.  UGH!!

So what am I gonna do about it?
Well, every ride we have left as early as possible (5-5:30) to keep out of the heat..check that off the list.
Pre ride nutrition:  I can eat an even bigger dinner and breakfast---gonna try that.  I try to hydrate as much as possible--will work on that as well.
Ride nutrition/hydration:  I think I have set myself up for disaster making that a bigger issue than it really is to the point that now i am over hydrating (yesterday and today).
Ride pace:  I have been using an SRM, and ever since we made this change, I have ben falling apart.  Chris has me doing steady efforts for 3 hours continuously in my 5 hour rides, and my HR is up there----much different than when I trained based on HR last year and earlier this year.  With the higher heart rate, my body is not liking anything i put in it because it is sending all that blood to my muscles which are working harder than they should.  Add the high temps into the equation, and there I go---I can mess it up in an instant.  I think it may be time for me to go back to what worked and train via HR---seems pretty obvious to do so.

So what AM I gonna do about it?
I'm gonna eat A TON, I'm gonna lay out my ride nutrition for the long rides like I do for a race:  300 cals an hour max, while keeping a balance between over and underhydrating, and focusing A LOT on when and how much to drink.
I sweat---no question about it...more than anyone I know, and even the "high sweat rate" guys look at me in disbelief---here's proof

Salt buildup from saturdays ride...

I think some trips to cooler weather are coming---I am yet to run on a treadmill, but that may be coming as well.

I've waited what seems like half my life to get to this place---and it has been eating me for dinner so far.  Yeah, I'll have plenty of miserable days to draw from on October 8th, but I need to start nailing these rides and runs--the swim is there (I can't believe I'm writing this!).  I will get through it, maybe have an epiphany or two, and cross that line!

My next post will be about how happy I am since this one---time to study exercise physiology, but some new things in play (thanks again Kenny!), and make this a personal battle that I won't lose----13 weeks to go!!!!

Also, below is an entry I never entered in here...it is about our trip to Show Low camping, and some other cool stuff...

Sunrise Ride....Beautiful!!

I just spent that past 6 days in Show Low, elevation 6700+, with the family.  I got to train a fair amount, but it was an "active recovery week," which was sorely needed---I feel great now, and having been away from the heat for those 6 days, I feel refreshed, by body almost feels doped from the recovery and the altitude training I got in up there.  After a decent "bonk" last saturday morning that lead to my body not only shutting down, but also missing my good friends' wedding in Seattle, I needed this week dearly.  So, what was my "active recovery week?"  I swam T, TH, F (4500, 3500, 2500), biked Sun, W, F (35 mi big gear low cadence reps, 75 mile Aerobic) and ran M, TH (90 EZ, 90 Steady).  The altitude was a non-issue really, and the cooler, less dry weather really allowed me to recover---not to mention all the R & R around the campsite with family.  Jenny's family has camped at the same spot almost every year since she was a "wee pup,"  and now it was Sophia's turn to get into the family tradition--she had been there before, but now she "get's it."  Watching her grow is amazing---there are no words to explain it, and if you have kids, you know what I mean.  I ended up in a tent for my sleeping arrangements, which I really enjoyed, until maybe night 4, then it got to be a bit of a "mess."  We hiked, swam in the creek, fished (Sophia caught her first fish!), ate, had s'mores---all the good stuff that comes with camping!

I was also recently approached by a newer triathlon magazine 3/GO  for an article about me and the whole IM/Kona thing...I was of course more than happy to oblige, and spent some of my time up there writing a ton for the article---it should be out in the "Kona" edition, which comes out in October (of course)...keep your fingers crossed!

So that's it for now---all kind of thrown together, much like my performance lately in training!