Work / life balance. I hear that phrase a lot at my place of employment. Over the last 12 months however I have modified the phrase to Work / Life /Ironman balance. As you know by now for the last 12 months, I have been training for my first Ironman triathlon and the event draws ever closer. Twenty one days from today the juggling act of balancing work, family and ironman training will be put to the final test in the desert of Arizona. After this week of training I can only tell you I feel as ready as I am going to be for the journey called Ironman.
This was my biggest week of training so far and I feel really good about my state of prepardness. Over the remaining three weeks I need to keep working on visualization and relaxing my mind. I have a tendency to over agitate my thoughts during training and racing. I need to practice my mental containment and slow myself down for this distance. If I get too caught up in the swim or the bike, my run will suffer. I don't want to self sabotage my journey so I will work on relaxation techniques to keep me focused on the overall event and not just one discipline.
This weeks training consisted of 3 miles of swimming, 153 miles of biking and 27 miles of running for a total of 183 miles. My longest swim occurred on Friday morning. I had a great 2 mile swim workout and the reason was I remained focused and calm in the pool, keeping the distance in my mind and visualizing a relaxed efficient stroke.
My longest bike ride in a number of weeks took place today as I rode 93 miles over varied terrain. Here again it was almost as if a lightbulb went off in my head as I kept telling myself to relax and enjoy the ride. I didn't focus on pace today at all and had a great ride. My nutrition plans on the bike are pretty close to being nailed down as everything I consumed on today's ride was spot on. The caloric intake and lack of any intestinal discomfort was just what I was looking for. I felt strong once the ride was over.
My running was a mixed bag this week. I had a couple of really good weekday runs including a night run comprised of laps around my block that simulated the run at Ironman and was 8.5 miles in length. Just short of one lap on the IMAZ course that I will be running at night. Again a very focused and relaxed run. Saturday morning I planned on going 20 miles. At the 10 mile point, that rain rolled in and for the next 3 miles I was completely drenched. Conditions were miserable. Considering it was Halloween and the kids had a party to go to and they were so looking forward to trick or treating, I cut the run short at 13. I called Tina and her and the boys picked me up. I had to sit in the back of the van on the way home I was so trenched! The kids had a great Halloween.
Over the next couple of days I will make sure all the final logistical information and check list items are covered and before I know it, I will be on my way to Tempe for the big show!
Now I am off for some well deserved SLEEP!
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