IRONMAN CHATTANOOGA 2019 TRAINING

WEEK 15– Monday 6/10/19 – Sunday 6/16/19

EMBRACE THE SUCK!

The weather was finicky this week, forcing me inside for one ride and soaking me on another.  The soaking came on the Saturday four-hour long ride.  As I headed south into the wind I knew that I might need to ride a little farther than two hours before turning back home because the headwind would become a tailwind and the trip back would take less time than the trip out.  But at about 1:45 into the ride I could see the dark storm clouds getting much closer.  I made the choice to try to outrun the storm and head back home and make up any extra time needed to complete the four-hour ride closer to the safety of home.  It didn’t happen.  At the two-hour mark, the sky unloaded on me.

 

As it just started to rain, I stopped and tossed on the lightweight cycling rain jacket that I decided before the ride that I might need.  I’m glad I brought it along, not that it was really going to keep my dry, but it would keep me from getting cold.  I rode in this hard rain for about 30 minutes.  Thankfully, the very strong tailwind had me flying along at around 23 mph or so, and the rain wasn’t pelting me in the face.  When it let up from the hard rain, I just dealt with a light drizzle, wet roads and gunk getting all over me for the remainder of the ride.  But as I rode I almost was having a great time.  I felt like a kid again.  It was fun.

There’s a saying in triathlon – “Embrace the suck” – meaning that things aren’t always going to be perfect, and dealing with these miserable moments can only build confidence.  It’s easy to move a ride to another part of the day when you know a storm is coming at your planned ride time, or to run inside on a really hot day.  But race day won’t offer you that trade-off.  After finishing the ride, I ran for 30 minutes in light rain with my feet squishing and reminding me that it will be worth it.  You can be physically prepared for an Ironman, but being mentally prepared is also a huge asset.

 

WRAPPING UP THE FIRST 15 WEEKS

Any milestone in a journey can be notable, and when you are on another 30-week quest to be prepared for an Ironman finish, getting halfway through the training plan is certainly a worthy accomplishment.  I’m not fooling myself though, through 15-weeks I have finished 10-weeks of the base phase (pretty easy) and half of the build phase (getting tougher each week) with the rest of the build phase and the endurance phase yet to come.  But this is my fourth go around training for an Ironman and I know from experience to put my trust in the plan, follow through with the workouts, and I should be more than ready on September 29th.  Time to look back on the first 15-weeks of training! (Click on the link if you want to read the original post.)

Week 1 – Ironman Chattanooga Training Begins! I started with some excitement about chasing Ironman for the fourth time.

Week 2 – Attitude is Everything I was struggling with this week, and complaining too much.  It was time for an attitude adjustment.

Weeks 3/4 – Two For One Training Update A busy two weeks doing some college visits with my daughter Rebecca and wife Kari and trying to keep the training going.

Week 5 – I’m My Own Worst Enemy I found myself doing dumb things in training that could easily sabotage my plan, like racing the local high school track team up a hill during their hill repeat workout.  It wasn’t my fault, I can’t shut that off.

Week 6 – The Comparison Trap In Week 6 I once again realized how important it is not to compare myself to others.  I have to relearn this every time.

Weeks 7/8 – I’d Be A Horrible Judge Another twofer update from me, pondering whether I like the idea of relay teams in Ironman races or not.  Truthfully, I don’t, but whatever.

Week 9 – Week 9 Wrap-up A somewhat boring week with wet weather forcing me inside.  But I did play around with my new Fly6 and Fly12 bike cameras and started designing a new tri suit for our team.

Week 10 – Wrap Up: Fear… Parts I & II It was a weird week and I got a little freaked out by a storm and a creepy guy admiring my bike.  I survived both.

Week 11 – The Uneasiness of Being Comfortable I  became aware that I was being a little lackadaisical about training and losing focus.

Week 12 – Swimming Sucks A reminder of my love/hate of swimming.

Week 13 – Bike Helmets are Instant Dork Makers I bought a new helmet that looked great online but made me an instant dork.

 

 

Week 14 – Sun Tans, Group Ride, & Racing!  I wrapped up Week 14 with a great ride with teammates and a 1st place age group finish in my sprint race!

Here’s to the next 15 weeks!

 

Week 15 Training Totals:

Swims: 2 total / 4200 yards > Rides: 4 total /  108 miles > Runs: 5 total /  32 miles