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| A training ride on a heavier bike with the tag a long Yes we had one "training ride" for donuts too. :) |
Those who know me know I need to have a fitness goal in the hopper or I get really lazy which is really bad for my MS maintenance. Well, it is just ten days until race day. My second half ironman triathlon (that’s 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run). My first one was in 2011 where I learned a lot and you can read the race report here.. I had hopes for an Ironman the next year but then struggled with health issues for a couple of years. Last year I had a great season with five shorter triathlon races so I decided to give a longer race a go. I did an indoor sprint triathlon in January but this is my only big triathlon of the season. I found I have volunteered at more races than I am racing in this year. It will likely take me just over six hours to finish this one.
My trainer/coach (the "Stronger with Mongar" program) assures me that I am ready. When he said get in more run miles I did. When he said add bike miles I did managing all the details in a Google Doc. We’ve been working on my strength since the beginning of the year. My distance totals from 2011 at about the same point in my training.. swim miles 20, bike miles 687, and my run miles 322 (I over trained on the run a bit that year.)
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| A training ride with Joe on the trails |
As of today I am at 51 miles in the pool on the year which is what I use to shake things loose when I am having a tough day physically, mentally, etc. I am at 752 miles on the bike which I was a bit under trained for in 2011. I am at 252 miles on the year running which feels about right.
I’ve had several conversations about what I might have done to better prepare myself. Things like more speed work on the run, more high intensity cycling, etc but really I feel like I got done what my body would let me do. I recently red the blog linked below and will note this is generally how I race, in the moment, dealing with what the day delivers.
I have to say since my MS diagnosis, I went into some of my races last year with worry, but I am hoping to go into this race, the biggest physical challenge since my diagnosis, with an open mind and a body that is willing. I have “practiced” resetting my chain on a hill and changing bike tires as I trained this season. The weather could be anything in Minnesota in early September but I have trained in the heat and the cold, humidity, rain, and wind to build some mental and physical toughness so I feel like I am ready for anything at this point.
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| A family 5k training run because you have to have a little fun working out |
My coach says I have done what I needed to do and has been wonderfully optimistic even when I am hard on myself. My husband has been great about making my training schedule work for everyone in the household. My kids are getting excited with me.
So as I wind down my training intensity and duration the next ten days (with the exception of another really windy bike ride this afternoon) I will continue to check in with my body, try to get restful sleep, have a little labor day fun with family, and finalize my race plan, gear, etc. I have some goals that range from “happy to finish” all the way to “wow I crushed it” but I will share those in the post race recap. I am racing with five awesome teammates and that has been a great part of training for this race. So for now I am grateful to be ready and able to race. If you are in the upper twin cities and looking for something to do September 13th I’d love a cheering section up at Square Lake north of Stillwater. Wish me luck!
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