Saturday, March 1, 2008

Countdown to IMAZ!


Things are moving along for Iron Man AZ. Yesterday I booked my rooms in Tempe, and printed off all the fine details about the race. I am starting to get excited about the event. Only 44 days away! When you say it that way it seems closer than saying it is 6 weeks away.
In terms of work outs it equals 18 more swims, 30 more runs, 24 rides, more or less. Still a fair bit of work left to do, but I feel a lot better than I did at this stage in my training for Iron Man Couer d’Alene. I was starting to get a little tired of the whole thing by this time during that training cycle. I’m not so sure I did anymore in terms of weekly volume, but I know I had started earlier and stayed at a high level longer. This year I started a little later. My workouts have been high quality, and I have definitely increased my cycling volume. The bike has been my nemesis in the past and also my biggest opportunity for improved times. This year my bike training has been done with more purpose and I am hoping to see that it pays off.
I am certainly not nervous about the event, just looking forward to it. I love everything about the actual competition. The expo, the people, exploring the course, it is all exciting to me. This year Angela will be able to come with me which will make the event even more special. Last year due to other commitments she was unable to come to IM CDA and it would have been nice to have someone there when you come across the finish line. I was also very fortunate that I had no ill effects from the race as I was a long ways from home by myself. As it was I felt so good the morning after the race I loaded up and came home even though the plan was to stay another day. Even after a 10 hour drive I still felt great.
Friday’s workouts consisted of a 2,600 metre swim. Nice quiet day at the pool and I was able to settle into a nice steady pace. Unfortunately I didn’t get my normal lane but rather one right up against the wall. Makes the swim a little more like an open water workout as all the activity in the pool makes for some wave action. You have to watch out that you don’t end up with a drink of pool water!
I had great intentions for my run later in the day, but the tank was empty after 27 minutes so I pulled the plug. He who fights and runs away lives to fight another day!
Today’s workout was a bass akwards brick. I ran 18 miles in 2 hours and 10 minutes and then hopped on the bike for 20 miles in just over an hour. The ol’ legs were talking to me after that, but all in all it was a good workout.
I finished up the week with 15 hours on the nose. All in all a pretty good week for having just got back from a week off.
Have a great day!

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