As I sit here today, the weather is supposed to hit 99 degrees! It looks like it will be next week before we break the 90+ degree weather. It's been a very hot summer so far.
Speaking of hot, our group went down to Louisville to swim and bike the course last Saturday (Ginger, Joe, Raj, Mark, and coach Whitney). The temperature went over 100 degrees! We got the opportunity to swim the beginning leg of the swim course. It was good to see and touch the water (for familiarity only, as the Ohio River is not necessarily clean). We ended up swimming one loop of the course that was available to us and then headed out on the bike.
I bought a hydration system that mounts to my bike. I had it put on prior to Louisville, but did not have time to secure the hydration tube and it got caught in my front wheel, and down I went! Fortunately, the bike was okay and I did not get hurt - the tube got cut and I lost one of my major sources of hydration for the bike. This happened on mile 5 of 80. Crap! Fortunately, we stopped at the sag locations on the course to help my hydration. You didn't feel the heat as much when you were on the bike, as there was a breeze from riding; you could really feel the heat when stopped. I ended up pouring water on my head and putting ice down my shirt and shorts, all in an effort to cool down my core. We were all trying to stay cool.
Mark had not had his daily Dr. Pepper, so we stopped at a gas station along the route and Ginger bought him a large cup of pop. We decided that Dr. Pepper was a great fueling drink for Mark. He had another one at one of the later stops. At the sags, there was water, Gatorade, orange slices, bananas and even pulled pork (at one of the stops). The fluids and food were a welcome sight!
There were many people who said they were going to bike the entire 112-mile course, but the heat altered many of their plans.
I learned during the ride that potato chips tasted good. I even had two pieces of beef jerky after the bike; never had it before - it tasted really good! I learned that my body needed even more salt than I had consumed, due to the heat.
They will have what is called special needs bags that we will have available for the bike and run. In these bags, we put things in them that we might want or need while on the bike or run (to eat or drink). Volunteers will give them to us during the bike and run. I am definitely going to put potato chips and beef jerky in there, among other things. It is amazing what tastes good when exercising as hard as we are.
I incorporated coach Sean's suggestion to pedal down the hills and not to coast to conserve energy. It made getting up the next hill much easier with less effort. That's why we practice and train.
I am definitely glad that I was able to swim and bike the course. I can now visualize it and know what to expect.
I was definitely glad for our group on Saturday; we endured and succeeded together through the heat. Mark and Raj jumped back into the river after the bike - they said it should be part of the Ironman event.
Ginger, Raj, Hank, and I did the 5k Morse swim. Well...they did...I got through 4k before I had to get out. I was disappointed that I did not finish the 5k in the allotted time, but was able to swim the entire Ironman distance (4k or 2.4 miles). I had issues with sighting the bouys, as they were a considerable distance apart. I am thankful that the Ironman swim course is not technical (it's pretty straight) and the bouys are easier to see and to sight. As has been the case with other things we have done, I learned things that I need to know for the Ironman. While I was pacing myself for the 2.4-mile swim, I needed to swim at a quicker pace in order to make time limit for the swim (2 hours, 20 minutes). The other good thing that came out of the swim event was that I felt good coming out of the water and would have been able to get on the bike and ride.
Our family went on vacation to Lake Geneva, WI last week. While I was on vacation from work, I still had workouts to do for my training. I was able to get a 15-mile run and an open-water swim in while we were up there. I got in my bike workout before we left for Wisconsin. I had planned on getting another swim in, but it was very windy and the water way too choppy to swim. While I was disappointed to not get that extra swim in, I was glad for the rest.
This Saturday is Muncie 70.3, which is a half ironman distance (1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run). We will have familiarity of the course, as it is located where Muncie Man Triathlon was held. It is a good training event to help prepare for Louisville. It gives us another chance to practice our transitions and nutrition/hydration. Coach Sean and I discussed what we want to get out of the race. I am going to focus on picking up the pace on the swim and to see what I can do on the bike, and then run well. It is supposed to be in the upper-90's again, so hydration will be important.
Ellen got done with school on June 15. It has been nice having her home. She has taken some of the pressure off of me, as she is going to the store and she and the girls are making dinner. I am thankful for that! She has been a great support to me during this process. It will be good to see her on race day. My family has been a good source of support, and I am grateful.
Race weekend is getting closer and closer. We are less than 8 weeks away. I have been training since the beginning of January. One of the things (not sure if it is good or bad) about training for an Ironman is that the race and preparation hang over your head all of the time...you know there is another training session coming the next day. I have also learned that it is okay to skip a workout if I need to. I do not like to skip workouts, but life and tiredness get in the way. It is important to rest, so as to not get run down physically and emotionally. That is definitely true this week, as we have been feeling the effects of our Saturday long workout. I want to have good energy for Saturday's half ironman race.
It will be good to see friends at Muncie on Saturday that are doing the race as well. (good luck to Sam, Katie, and Carla!)
I continue to work on my race nutrition and am learning what is working and what I need to change.
The learning never ends. I am okay with that, as I want to be as prepared as possible for race day. Thank you to my teammates and everyone that has shared information and support!
Time to go do my swim workout and then relax and enjoy the rest of my 4th of July. Happy 4th of July everyone!
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