Stop! Taper Time.

Last week’s workouts:

Mon:  Rest

Tue:  Bike 80 min. + 10 min. transition run

Wed:  Run 7 miles

Thu:  Bike 80 min.

Fri:  Swim 3,000 yards

Sat:  Run 18 miles

Sun:  Bike 101 miles

Total mileage:  167.36

Last week was #17 of the 20 week training schedule for Ironman Louisville.  It was the peak week of mileage, which is followed by the taper.  Aaah, yes – the taper.  That sweet word which means it is time to pull back on the distance to get healed up, strong, and healthy for race day.  Judging by the fact that I feel like I've been hit by a truck, it's right on time.

You will notice that there was only one swim workout last week.  There are two reasons for this – first, I am still in limbo in terms of the (self-diagnosed) swimming induced pulmonary edema that I have experienced in 2 recent open water swims.  Second, I was tired and worn out, and couldn’t will myself out of bed at 4:45.  I meet with my cardiologist this week to get checked out and see what advice he can give me about training, minimizing the chances of this happening again, and if there is any risk in moving forward with this race.  I am expecting him to clear me to race with the caveat that if this happens during the race, I need to pull out.

The weekday workouts were pretty standard (other than the fact that I didn’t swim).  Due to scheduling conflicts with our century ride and getting in the pool, I had to move my long swim to Friday night instead of Sunday morning.  I also had a short time span in which I could swim (about an hour) due to the pool schedule, so I ended up getting done what I could (3,000 yards).  I focused on starting my work out slowly to give myself a chance to warm up, get my heart rate up,  and acclimate to the water (to avoid the pulmonary edema).  I then got into a 3-stroke, bilateral breathing pattern, and I worked on form.  I feel like I got my mechanics back on track, and I worked on a mental checklist for when I hit the water in Louisville.  Since we literally jump in and go, I will either need to do some sort of warm up to get my heart rate up while on the dock, or I will have to start very slowly with some breast stroke.  Or better yet, some of each.  

Honey Badger Power!

Saturday morning brought the scheduled 18 mile run.  I was happy to have some company from the Honey Badgers.  Most ran 8 miles, but Dale (also going to Ironman Louisville) was in for the long haul.  I ran my typical 9:1 intervals, averaging between 10:00-10:30/mile.  I fueled with Gu every 5 miles, and around mile 14, my stomach had enough and threatened an “active revolt.”  Since I didn’t feel like throwing up in someone’s bushes, I started the dreaded walk/run back to the start.  I generally have a pretty solid stomach in terms of fueling on the run, but something just wasn’t right on this day.  In fact, the whole week my stomach wasn’t all that happy.  Dale refused to leave to finish his run despite me telling him to go, so he pulled me back to the car.  After I got home, I realized that aside from the stomach issue, I had become pretty dehydrated, cramping for an hour or two after the run.  This was disappointing because I’m smart enough to know how to manage my hydration!  One of my keys is salt stick capsules - forgot to bring those.  Let’s just say I won’t be making that mistake again!

Good morning, St. Louis!

Sunday called for our century (100 mile) bike ride – our first and only one on the schedule.  We chose a TrailNet ride in Mascoutah, IL so that we would be guaranteed of course/sag support if needed.  My IML training partner Kelly, Dave, Elyse, and Kenny Mac all rode the first 56 mile loop, which featured 10-ish miles on gravel (ugh) and a wipe out (Kelly's).  After the first loop, we said goodbye to Elyse and Kenny and went out to ride the short course of about 24 miles.  We came back to the start and finished up with a 10-mile out and back to round the day off to 100 miles.  Dave gets the insanity award for the week - doing a century ride just for fun.

Kelly has rocket fuel and is ready to ride

Mechanically the ride felt fine.  I was tired from the run on Saturday, so I found myself sitting up more than usual which led to some numbness in my hands that continued a bit today.  It was hot out there, but I forced myself to eat, and I also managed to stay hydrated with salt sticks, lots of Gatorade, and lots of water.  We took longer than we thought to get the ride done because we stopped at a number of gas stations for cold fluids.  Thankfully there will be volunteers handing these things out in Louisville!

If it worked for Kelly, I figured I'd try it.  I have to say, the cold jolt of sugar and caffeine is pretty awesome

Mile 73 - Mountain Dew and pickle juice.  It's getting serious now!

Century Ride - check

So for this week - I have my cardiologist appt. on Wednesday, and if cleared I'll be heading to Louisville for a "swim meet" which will just be an opportunity for me to swim in the Ohio River to get acclimated (2.4 miles).  Then we plan to ride a loop of the course (about 70 miles), and I have a 60 minute transition run to do.  Some taper, huh?

In more exciting news, my race number tats came in the mail today!

Sorry I don't have more to say - I'm out of time.  This is my "rest" day, which means pay bills and get caught up on all the other things I've been ignoring for the last week.  Time for bed!

19 days, 10 hours until showtime!