Wednesday, August 1, 2012

August: The Final Month

Welcome to the beginning of the end of the world! of my training season. I can't believe it is already August and I am racing my 2nd Ironman in less than 3 weeks.

For those seasons where my season ended either in August or September, I always remember that physically I feel like the King of the World, but mentally I feel like a scared timid little child not wanting to jump off of the diving board at Mr. Switzer's for the first time.

Have I done this before? YES! Why does it seem so so hard to get through the final 3 weeks of the training cycle? I think it is because of anticipation.

Ever wonder why the first 5 miles of a 10K zooooom right by and yet the final 1.2 feels like it takes a friggin marathon of time to complete?

Anticipation.

You want it over SO badly that it won't come soon enough. I liken this to watching a kettle boil or for Christmas to arrive when you were 6. It would never happen!!!

So! I gotta stay mentally sharp.

This morning I took my 1 trillion x 400 workout on the track and turned it into a 60 min easy run. I felt guilty. My coach, without even telling him I did this, sent me an email with the following:

"Be very smart now with the last 2.5 weeks....So, whenever you feel as though you may be going a bit too hard between now and race day, chances are you probably are. Back off and ease up."

Boy did I feel relieved!!! And.......CONFLICTED!

When should I slow down? When is it ok to keep going hard despite it hurting?

I think the fine line rule here is this: STAY SHARP!

I have done this before. With less than 3 weeks left, my Ironman fitness is in the bag. I may add to it slightly, but the bulk of everything is done.

We are determining my race wattage. My swimming pace. My running pace (until my legs give out).

Now it is time to cement those paces and practice them and know what they feel like, and make sure my fueling supports it.

I have been here. I have done this. I have followed through with it.

Now I just can't fuck it up.

Happy August!!!

8 comments:

  1. My solution to this is to stay away from myself. Other than a few swim and some spins on the trainer I will be going to group workouts. Run club, group rides, masters class.

    Jason is coming down this weekend and we have a packed couple of days. the weekend after that I am doing a group ride and a group run. Basically, the plan is to not give myself time to think - stay away from my own head and just show up and train when everyone else is showing up to train.

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  2. Welcome to the home stretch. Glad you listened to your body and adjusted on the fly. Sounds like you have the right kind of plan for these final weeks - just practicing those paces and so on. Love Jeff's idea!

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  3. Ohhhhh the homestretch!! LOVE it! Now is the time to opt for rest and taking it easy if your body is screaming for it - you've done the hard work, now all you need to do is absorb it all. I felt like my recent taper for IMLP was the best one yet - I slept SO much and SO hard and just ate a ton of food because I was still starving at the beginning, as though I was still training hard. You're almost there, sleep lots and eat!!

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  4. "Now I just can't fuck it up." - Easier said than done. haha

    I'm so ready for taper. I have one last week of solid training and am half-assing a bit because I don't want to mentally burn out.

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  5. Man, we are rowing the same damned boat!

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  6. You've got this, and I think you'll be surprised how different this race is. You're an expert and not a novice anymore. I think you'll race it totally different. You're going to do great!

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  7. As they say, the hay is in the barn by now so backing off is fine. I also found I didn't have to be so serious the second (and third since they were back to back) time around and I set a massive PR. I totally agree about the longer season! I can manage September, but not sure I can ever do AZ or anything later. Talk about anticipation!

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