12.
Yes, you read that right. 12 short days lie between me and my second Ironman (ok, ok, iron DISTANCE if you will.) And this week, it starts to get real as I begin my taper.....gone are the triple digit bike rides and the double digit runs....gone are the 4-7 hour workouts. I have 7-8 hours of workouts TOTAL this week and then 3 next week....then...it's time to dance.
Enough. The physical work is done. I can't do anything swim, bike or run wise now to make a difference positively, but I can hurt myself if I don't rest.
Those last 5 pounds to get to race weight are there. Time to step off the scale and feed my body with whole, good foods until race day.
But there IS still work left to do. Something that's very important for the success of any long course race that most people tend to forget. And I wouldn't want to go into a race without it, ever.
Yes, you read that right. 12 short days lie between me and my second Ironman (ok, ok, iron DISTANCE if you will.) And this week, it starts to get real as I begin my taper.....gone are the triple digit bike rides and the double digit runs....gone are the 4-7 hour workouts. I have 7-8 hours of workouts TOTAL this week and then 3 next week....then...it's time to dance.
I'm not good at rest. Taper is usually the roughest time for me. Did I do enough? Enough long rides? Enough long swims? Enough speed sets? Why didn't I watch my diet closer in the last 3 months and drop those post IMLP 5 pounds? Will it make a difference?
Enough. The physical work is done. I can't do anything swim, bike or run wise now to make a difference positively, but I can hurt myself if I don't rest.
Those last 5 pounds to get to race weight are there. Time to step off the scale and feed my body with whole, good foods until race day.
But there IS still work left to do. Something that's very important for the success of any long course race that most people tend to forget. And I wouldn't want to go into a race without it, ever.
It's the mental piece. You can train for the "how" of ironman until you swim your little arms off, bike your little legs off and run your tooshee off, but if you don't address the "why" of Ironman....you won't get far.
Why am I doing this? What do I hope to get out of the day? What happens if something goes wrong on the swim and I can't breathe....or I get a flat....or I crash (Which actually happened during my first Ironman!).....or I throw up...or I can't run anymore?
No amount of physical prep can help you with this important piece of triathlon prep. For my last race, I worked with a series of worksheets on course prep, training review, and prepping myself mentally for 140.6. Here are a few takeaways I had that helped quite a bit.....
1. Visualizing the race. Not just...ok, I'm going to swim 2.4, bike 112, then run a marathon. Go through the day before. The morning of. Each loop. How do you feel? What are your challenges? What does it look like?
2. Be prepared for the best AND the worst. Of course everything could go right. But I've never heard of a race where it did. 140.6 is tough. It's a long long day. How are you gonna deal at mile 18 when your legs are saying no No NO!!! Your mind is gonna need a darn good reason to keep them moving forward!!
3. Arm yourself. The series I worked with included things such as drawings describing your "own worst enemy". Last year I was so nervous, I drew a picture of an energy vampire spitting out insults. (You can't do this....you're just a chubby, non athletic kid...who are you kidding??) Then I arrived with my magic dust....HEY, I did a half Ironman 6 weeks after getting hit by a car....I did a marathon in a heat index of 110....I DON'T GIVE UP. Take THAT Energy Vampire!!! It might sound hokey, but it worked at mile 95 of the bike as the last 17 crept up on me. I laughed, embraced my pain, and moved along.
1. Visualizing the race. Not just...ok, I'm going to swim 2.4, bike 112, then run a marathon. Go through the day before. The morning of. Each loop. How do you feel? What are your challenges? What does it look like?
2. Be prepared for the best AND the worst. Of course everything could go right. But I've never heard of a race where it did. 140.6 is tough. It's a long long day. How are you gonna deal at mile 18 when your legs are saying no No NO!!! Your mind is gonna need a darn good reason to keep them moving forward!!
3. Arm yourself. The series I worked with included things such as drawings describing your "own worst enemy". Last year I was so nervous, I drew a picture of an energy vampire spitting out insults. (You can't do this....you're just a chubby, non athletic kid...who are you kidding??) Then I arrived with my magic dust....HEY, I did a half Ironman 6 weeks after getting hit by a car....I did a marathon in a heat index of 110....I DON'T GIVE UP. Take THAT Energy Vampire!!! It might sound hokey, but it worked at mile 95 of the bike as the last 17 crept up on me. I laughed, embraced my pain, and moved along.
4. Know that it will Hurt. And be as ok with that as possible. Ironman is tough. If it wasn't everyone would do it. One of my favorite quotes....(MLK) "If you can't run, walk. If you can't walk, crawl. But whatever you do, keep moving." Exactly.
5. Surround yourself with those you love. Yes, Ironman is a individual race. But you still can have those you care about with you. I wrote up a card and laminated it to carry with me in my run jersey, dedicating each of the 26 miles of the marathon to someone I loved. When I got low, I would pull out the card and think, okay, this mile is dedicated to so and so. And I would remember all the fun times I had with that person.....before I knew it, that mile was over. The last .2 miles? That was all about me :-).
Just a few tricks for the big day...or any big race, really. In my mind, it was the difference between spending 13 hours in misery, or 13 hours enjoying life and remembering how truly lucky I am to be able to swim, bike, run, and be alive :-).
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