Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Ironman Mt. Tremblant Countdown




It's closing in. I knew it would, just not so fast.
I have one more heavy training week, and then it's
TaPeR TiMe

I'm feeling tired, but not so beat down that I've
dug myself a hole that I can't get out of. I'm injury free and that in itself
is a miracle. My theory of skipping the 9-month training plan for an ironman 
seems to be working for me thus far. I'm in this to finish and avoiding a 26.2 death march on the run would be a nice little bonus.

I've gotten in 4 really big rides with the most recent, 4 of  the Vermont Six Gap Ride.
 You can go look it up if you're really curious 6 Gap Ride  but long story short (and freakin' steep) Lincoln Gap 
has sustained grades of 20% to 24%. To add to the excitement, there was a significant amount of
construction we had to contend with like doing a little hike-a-bike to even get to one of the climbs.
 Another included a 10-mile stretch of gravel not quite ready for pavement on 12A before
getting to our last and 4th climb, Rochester. I was never so happy to see pavement in all my life after that.
We left off Brandon and Middlebury Gaps (2 of the easiest) due to all the construction.

Anyone who rides with me, knows I'm a sucky climber. With that, I have done ZERO flat
rides preparing for Mt Tremblant. I don't ride a ton, but every ride is a quality ride.
Sure, I could throw in one or two super ez rides/recovery spins during the week, but
time is money.  I'd rather use the time to recover properly so I can hit it
hard the next time I head out. My perspective is a bit different with the running but I've been very
careful to keep the frequency, duration and build up in check as to not get injured.

All in all, I'm doing the best I can  toward preparing for Ironman within a 4 month window.
It's not an excuse I will use to fall back on if I have a shitty day out there, but more that my focus is on toeing the line void of the self induced pressure I would always put on myself,imperative I accomplish very specific goals that come with no guarantee for success no matter how much time, money,or energy is put forth. With age, comes wisdom and the ability to just let things go. I laugh at some of the silly things I used to obsess over and dwell on for days that I had no control over. Ugh. What a waste of time and energy I can never get back.
The plan: Lots of smiles and thumbs up and no whining. Anyone reading this
 planning to be there, you have complete discretion to call BS on me for not following my
own mantra for the day. 

27,26,25,24,23............