My good buddy, Mr. Tapir, is back again, and starting to feel good. I spoke to my coach on Thursday, and at that point I wasn't feeling particularly rested. We had the "talk," which by now I am all too familiar with, about race execution. My objective for Ironman Brazil is to pull off a good run. PERIOD. No matter what my finish time is, if it ends with a good run, then I did what I needed to. Of course, a decent swim and bike would be icing on the cake.
Friday, I did another 3-mile swim. My 2.4-mile time was the same as 2 weeks ago. I wasn't able to reschedule my massage, so I had it Thursday evening again, and my upper body felt sore in the morning. No matter. I swam strongly the entire time.
I went into the office nearby (I can go either to the Sears Tower or to my former office in Westchester) to do a few admin type things. I stopped in my former work health club to visit with the manager, who has given me most excellent strength training in the past. We measured my body fat, and it is about 10% (depends on what age you punch in for me and how hydrated I was). I'm calling it 10%. The last official measurement I had was in 2004. At that time I was 114 lbs. and 13.4% body fat. So I had a lean mass of 98.7 lbs. At my current 112 lbs. and 10% body fat, my lean mass is 100.8 lbs. So I've added 2 lbs. of lean mass and lost about 4 lbs. of fat. And I have become stronger on the bike, and faster on the run. This is good stuff! I have upped the weights and time that I spend doing strength training, and it has paid off. Too bad I miss those 4 lbs. of floatation in the pool!
Friday evening I felt pretty wiped out from my swim. Something about 3-mile swims just makes me very tired. But I looked forward to my last "long" ride on Saturday.
Saturday dawned cool and windy, completely opposite of the forecasted weather. Oh well, at least it wasn't raining! So with day-glo green jacket on, out I headed. I felt a little sluggish (normal for a taper), but in the end, I generated the required watts on the day for about a 2:30 ride. My :30 transition run was at a peppy pace, and I envisioned myself beginning the Ironman run as I did it. Of course, I hadn't ridden 112 miles, so of course my legs didn't feel bad at all. I didn't feel tired at all the rest of the day, and that was when I knew the taper was really taking effect
Yesterday was a full rest day, and I used it to do some yardwork and get my bike packed. How could that take all day? Oh yeah--I also made myself a race week schedule, did a pile of dishes (I won't say how many days' worth were waiting to be washed), did laundry, read the Sunday newspaper, washed my bike and relubed it before I packed it away, and had a few emotional moments (more of those to come, I'm sure!).
Today I work a little, pack my clothes and other stuff, do 3 short workouts (swim, abs/core and bike), and then I'm ready to go on my big adventure to Brazil.
Thanks to everyone who reads my blog; whether or not you actually comment--I know you're there! I will not be blogging while I am away; but I'll keep notes on things and will surely have a lot to report when I'm back.
God bless all of you, great training, peace and serenity!
Weekly Totals 05/15/2006-05/21/2006
Swim: 9500 yards in 3.18 hours; 28% of weekly workout time; approx. 1129 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 74.67 miles in 4.27 hours; 37% of weekly workout time; approx. 2004 calories burned
Run: Approx. 19.62 miles in 2.94 hours; 26% of weekly workout time; approx. 1515 calories burned
Strength: 1.12 hours; 10% of weekly workout time; approx. 280 calories burned
All Sports: 11.51 hours; approx. 4928 calories burned
Sleep: 8.75 hours avg./night
Stretching: 1.32 hours
Season Totals 09/12/2005-05/21/2006
Swim: 308100 yards in 108.43 hours
Bike: Approx. 3127.25 miles in 179.97 hours
Run: Approx. 1034.24 miles in 162.03 hours
Strength: 54.21 hours
All Sports: 504.64 hours; approx. 224599 calories burned
Stretching: 55.53 hours
Season Weekly Averages 09/12/2005-05/21/2006
Swim: 8558 yards in 3.01 hours
Bike: Approx. 86.87 miles in 5 hours
Run: Approx. 28.73 miles in 4.5 hours
Strength: 1.51 hours
All Sports: 14.02 hours
Sleep: 8.5 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2.14 hours avg./week
Goals from Last Week:
Accomplishments This Week:
- Kept a positive focus.
- Made it through a taper week with no weird physical things at all!
Goals for Next Week:
- Race well, as defined by solid execution: Swim strongly with good form. Bike according to wattage guidelines just as for my race rehearsal. Run strong and tough, dig on the opportunity to be 100% in the moment, and enjoy the incredible gift of fitness that I have. See you all at the finish line!
