So Ironman Texas is coming...
And like death and taxes, it's inevitable.There's so much going on with life in general it's been hard to focus on training for 140.6 miles, let alone a hot day in Texas. Training has been my stress relief, but it's felt a little hit or miss as far as the whole training plan coming together for a great race day.
On one hand, the temperature have warmed up in Kansas City, allowing more time to train outdoors. That's been great for running, but biking has been the achilles of this training cycle. It's just a huge detriment to my schedule to get long rides in and they usually fall into being broken up over several days. It's been more about survival with bike training.
I did have a great weekend training with Tim at the Ironman 70.3 Kansas course. We had a little Set The Pace training weekend where we rode all 56 miles, ran some of the course and got some swimming and logistics addressed. Tim is ready and I was happy to get a long day on the bike.
Someone was watching over me as we pulled in from our 56 mile ride and 50 yards short of the cars BAM! My rear wheel blew out and I was done. This was after I burned up a new tire on the trainer a few days before and not adjusting for a new tire depth and frame rubbing, and then replacing with a new tire. Found a tiny rip in the tire after replacing the tube and having another blow out even before I got the wheel back on the bike. 3 days, two tires and 3 tubes down the tube...
I did avoid a major setback Sunday on a long run with race pace miles at the end. After the kids went down, I headed out and towards the last mile, the left calf started twinging and by the time I was home, it was achy and painful. After 2 days off running and stretching, it's back to normal and I'm taking it easy on the run to allow full healing for TX. Avoided a buillet there!
I swear, training for IM TX is the prime example of how NOT to train for an IM race. My work schedule has had me traveling a lot, both my wife and I started new jobs in Jan, the kids are in school, family emergency medical issues, stress, distractions, lack of sleep and anxiety about making my fundraising goals are the antithesis of proper training conditions.
The big red flag for me is the Texas heat. I've proven over and over that when the heat is on, I sweat out a lot of fluid and salt. I need to be very conciencious during the race to take in plenty of fluids and dance the line between a sloshing gut and adaquate hydration and electrolytes. That's going to result in slower run times and a long day out there. I'm prepared for that, but there's just a lot of wild cards for race day that I'm going to have to be ready for.
I'm excited and nervous. I guess you could say most triathletes are always worried about adaquate training. I'm I ready? I know I have not spent enough time on the bike, but I'm hoping to survive the bike with enough hydration and nutrition to get through the run.
It could be worse... I could get this worked up over a haircut.
Bring it on, Texas!
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