It is down to the wire. Less than two weeks of training until race day. Instead of 15 to 20 hours of training every week, a cycle that began about ten months ago, the next two weeks will include approximately 15 hours, less frequency but with good intensity. My program is divided between shorter bursts of training and lots of rest in between. This week includes three full swim sessions, about 4 hours of biking, and 3 hours running. The following week includes 2 swims, 3 short bike sessions, and 3 runs. This of course is just the lead up to the final day, Saturday Oct. 8, which should be a very long day.
In addition to training I'll be organizing my gear for the trip. Planning on boxing up the bike at Snohomish Bicycle on Wednesday. I've got a ride to the airport arranged but have yet to get one home when we get back. We decided to skip the car rental since most of our friends and family will have cars. Not sure how we will actually get all our gear from the airport in Kona but have faith that everything will be fine. Just to drop a word here, between my own meditations each morning and Maureen's constant reminder, faith is what has brought us here, and faith will see us through. Lots of details as I start stacking piles of supplies and clothes for the trip, still need to be resolved. I've got a plan and a good checklist so everything should be fine.
This coming Saturday is our travel day. I will be glad when we arrive and all our gear is off the plane. Once on the ground in Kona I think any issues we might have we will be able to deal with. I know I will be more relaxed there focusing on the race. We've been to Kona this time of year and it is usually very relaxed and the weather is good. Our family and friends will be arriving at different times but by Friday we will all be together for the big day. As I get closer and closer to the race I will probably become less social but will try to let the celebration of the event keep me positive. I'm sure race weekend with all the competitors, friends, family, and other visitors, will be crazy around town. Kona is not very big and the numbers of visitors will make it seem even smaller.
Anyone who wants to follow the progress of the race can do so on the Ironman site. There is live video and you can follow everyone on the athlete tracker. During the day it will list times as the athlete completes checkpoints during the race. Also in the later part of the race long after all the pros and highly capable racers have finished, the finish line is broadcast live so you can see all the finishers cross the line. I'm hoping to be done around 10:30 HST. This will be after a day that will start around 3:00 a.m. with breakfast; 4:45 in the body marking line, then get the bike ready in transition; line up to get into the water around 6:00, it is a deep water start about 40 yards from shore;then at 7:00 a.m. the cannon goes off and the race is on.
I've been asked about goals for the race and as you can imagine I have visualized the race daily it seems for months and as I have trained attempted to develop time goals for each part of the day. What follows is my best guess for each segment, that is without any kind of mishap either human, mechanical or environmental. I feel very comfortable in the ocean swim, I have the patience for the bike which will be long, and hope to have the mental courage at the end of the day to run the longest distance of my life. These benchmarks do not include time in transition. There are also time cutoffs for each part which if not met eliminate you from completion of the race. Cutoffs from 7:00 a.m.: swim 2:20, bike 10:30, and complete the race before 17 hours total.
Swim: 2.4 miles 1:30; bike 102 miles 6:30-7:00; run 26.2 miles 6:30. These are my most generous estimates.
If by some chance I end up on the video slated to air in December, I'll be wearing my Snohomish red kit from the Snohomish Bicycle Shop. In addition to Martin and Brian who have helped me with all kinds of real support and encouragement, everyone on my tri-team, all of my Monroe Family Y team supporters, all my friends and family, the SCC family, Head 2 Toe Chiropractic, Jason and Bob my riding partners for the last month, I will be thinking of you all everyday from here on out. There is no possible way I could be contemplating this with out all of you.
Training summary for the last week: swim 5.4 miles 3:45; bike 75 miles 5:30; run 14.25 miles 3:05. Total miles 94.6, total time 12:20, plus 3 hours with chiropractor, trainer, and Pilate's trainer.
For the next two weeks I intend to focus on my training, rest when I can, stay healthy mentally and physically, and maintain a positive attitude. In case you haven't heard me say this before, God has placed this desire on my heart and I am grateful for it. So till the next post, a hui hou, see you on the road.
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