I am happy to share I had a strong 5-hour workout today. I didn't push hard but finished four hours on the bike and one hour of running feeling pretty darn good. I would love to feel just that way on race day in Lake Placid, New York.
With five weeks to go before Lake Placid, a few topics on my mind....most about last weekend's half Ironman.
- Wisconsin 70.3 was a tough pill to swallow. Let me give an idea of why.
- Generally: I arrived in Wisconsin a bit tired and stressed but also very fit. Race morning was a downpour with thunder and lightning that caused a late start. Issue: felt a little unsettled by this.
- Swim: When I got in the water, I experienced what has become an almost annual freak out with choppy water and some mild hyperventilation. I did some self talk to calm myself, got through the swim about five minutes slower than I had hoped and onto my bike. Issue: the swim is tough for me to feel settled about.
- Bike: The bike is always a strong leg for me and for the first 40 of the 56 miles I was killing it. But then I just started to feel flat and couldn't push. I attribute this to a combination of pushing too hard at the beginning of the bike while going up hill and maybe needing more calories. Issue: I will (need to) learn from this part.
- Run: After getting off the bike and feeling a little disappointed, I really didn't want to push on the run, so I didn't. I just ran. And then I stopped at the bathroom - TWICE - in the first four miles. By that time I was ready to be focused again and starting running close to 8 minute pace :-). Issue: need to get my mind straight and find something to wear that is easy to get off and on.
All in all, I didn't love the results of this event but I did learn a lot:
- Just let the swim be what it will be. Zen Swim.
- Study the bike course ahead of time to better understand where to push, where not to and, most of all, make a plan for how to ride the course.
- Pace the bike carefully. Start off slow especially in Lake Placid as the course starts with climbing.
- Don't get discouraged by perceived failure. I didn't do a great job pacing in Wisconsin but I still was in the top 18% on the the bike...but in my head I felt like I had failed compared to other similar events. Mistake.
- Eat 100 calories every 15 minutes on the bike.
- Start taking salt tablets earlier on the bike. Don't wait for the run.
- Wear a two piece outfit so as to more easily facilitate bathroom breaks.
- Pace the run carefully...just go out easy. It won't be time to run hard until mile 20 of the marathon.
In other thoughts, the Wisconsin 70.3 medals were pretty cool:
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