It seems really hard to believe, but here we are. The final countdown. (Note that would have also made a good title). This is the wrap up of block #6 of my 2022 Ironman training....the final block of build, which was a standard 3 week block that's now moved into a two week taper to the big dance, coming to you in nine short days (holy shit!) on June 12.
I'm sort of at a loss of how to blog this one, so we will go for the standard navel gazing crap I favor. (As if you thought I would ever revert to anything different).
It's funny, this final build was not what I expected (also a theme for this whole Ironman training!) I started off week #1 with an early week build to a crap race (See Fly by Night race report). I wasn't inherently bothered by the crap race, as the conditions were rough and I was in no way training for speed, so I moved on pretty quickly, chalking it up to a fun experience and a wake up call to sort out my bikes di2 issues for the big race! Which thankfully, were taken care of early on in week #2 of this block - apparently the wheel swap to race wheels messed with the limiters of the shifting mechanism, causing it to auto shift down to protect the bike (if you understood that, I've got a cookie and a kudos for you) - basically, in English, the shifting got too close for comfort to the bike, so it saved the stress by adjusting downward. Great for internal safety, not great for a former masher who is trying to get out of the habit!
The good news is, we have *hopefully* sorted that so my bike works just fine, which means I'll have to work a lot harder to prepare some good excuses for a shit bike split. No worries, I have hours at DSM to think about it, so you know I'll come up with something special.
Week #2 was pretty uneventful in terms of physical build - I nailed a long ride of 5 hours and hit my longest run at 22 miles. The run surprised me - I have actually had amazing luck at these 20 mile plus runs. My nutrition feels right, the distance is doable, and I find that I enjoy them. It occurred to me that the last time I ran 22 miles was during my last marathon - in 2019- and it was wild to think about all that has happened since. I thought, more than once during this week and in week 3, about how "the next time I hit this distance, I'll be in Des Moines" and honestly got downright sentimental about the whole process of the training and the journey of it.
Week #3 brought much of the same, with a successful long run, swimming the Ironman distance (in 1:06, a time I would absolutely kill for) and successful bike nutrition. The biggest snafu in week #3
came in with my one brush with a shit driver during the process, where I was run off a country road and ended up in a ditch. Note that I bike on Lake Rd 99% of the time and the drivers are EXCELLENT - I have a Garmin varia that has a bright light and alerts me when cars are coming - I bike to the far right in the shoulder and am a very careful biker in traffic (to put it nicely) so this was straight up an aggressive, shitty person. I managed to get their plate and called it in, which does little on paper but flags them as an aggressive driver. Ill admit that I cashed in that ride and rode long on the trainer the next day, but went back out to nail a tempo ride later that week - gotta get back on the horse! This was truly a one off, and while it pissed me off majorly that day, it reminded me that obstacles are the nature of the beast and overcoming them, especially in long course, is the name of the game. On the plus side, I managed a ridiculously fast 10 mile run off the bike fueled by rage, so that's a plus (though not one I'd like to repeat!)
With a successful final block, I rounded out the last day with a sixteen mile run that I enjoyed immensely, a nice open water swim, a recovery bike, and a BBQ and drinks with friends. Monday started my taper and it still seems surreal that I'm here, nine days out from racing 140.6.
Ironman training isn't sexy. Its not flashy. Its the steady build of workout upon workout, day after day - every morning, getting up and doing it all over again. Of the constant miles. Of the residual fatigue from yesterday, and pressing on from it. Of dusting it off, taking a deep breath, and continuing the long haul. Of the tired days, the sore legs, and the balance of this insane hobby around the more important things in life.
This time around was....bigger than most. It was the culmination of six months since I pressed "submit" on the sign up button on acvtive.com. But really more...of a year since I toed the line at Eagleman and the seed was re-planted. But even more so....of three years since I had the courage to attempt another Ironman (when optimistic me signed up for Ironman Mt. Tremblant 2020). But honestly....of four years....since 2018 Lake Placid, when I almost threw my bike at a volunteer coming into T2 and vowed never to ride it again. All toward one goal. The rebirth. Can I do it? I'm certainly going to give it everything I have on June 12th.
How do I feel? Right now, a mix of grateful and disbelief. I cant believe the process is almost over - it doesn't seem real. And while I have 9 days for the taper crazies to kick in (they will) right now I just feel incredibly grateful. That my body lets me do this, that I have so many wonderful supportive people in my life that are helping me get to this goal. You know who you are. And if you don't, I certainly will be letting you know this, as I tend to get even more introspective and sappy during taper. I'm gonna make it weird, folks.
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