2021 IRONMAN CHATTANOOGA TRAINING

WEEK 13 – May 30, 2021

I snuck into last week’s post that I have signed up for a 100-mile ultra marathon, and I did that on purpose so to downplay it somewhat.  For some reason, I am reluctant to discuss a big event like that without first doing it.  I felt the same way when I did my first Ironman in 2013.  Sure, I told people, but I felt that until I finished the race I wasn’t comfortable talking about doing it because I wasn’t sure that I actually could do it.  Ironman has taught me a few things about myself, and it’s motto of “Anything is Possible” is something I have learned to apply to myself.  Ironman gave me confidence to tackle some things that once seemed improbable or impossible for me, but until I do it I don’t want to make a big deal about it until it’s done.  Even these weekly training posts come after I have finished them, not before.

I did make some posts about the Big Hill Bonk Last Runner Standing event I am still planning to do, but that seemed a little different to me.  It’s open-ended as far as distance is concerned, and I really just wanted to do enough to get me into that rare ultra finisher area.  My goal is seemingly attainable and I don’t fear failing.  100 miles of running, however…  that’s new territory for me.

I told my number 1 fan Carl that I was trying to keep that I am doing this race on the “down-low,” mainly because I fear that there may be a chance that I fail at it.  But what is worse, saying that I was going to try to do it and fail, or not do it at all?  I guess there’s no harm in saying that I will be in the field and attempting what most see as a pretty impressive feat, but I would rather brag about it afterward rather than build it up beforehand.  There’s a saying in Ironman, and I am paraphrasing:  Swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, run 26.2 miles, brag for a lifetime.  The bragging comes at the end, not at the beginning.

My plan is to keep training toward the goal, and when I get more confident through training and closer to the race, I may open up a bit and talk about it.  I find the thought process of training for an ultra to be interesting, so I may want to share those experiences.  But until then, I’m shutting up about it until it’s actually time to pat myself on the back.

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I got my first swim of 30-minutes in this week, and it reminded me that swimming is my worst portion of triathlon.  I need to slowly build to getting some swim conditioning back, and now that the pool is open that will happen.  Just need the weather to stop going from 80’s to the 50’s, which is what kept me out of my planned Thursday swim.  Brrrrr

My back has still been problematic.  It will get better, then I will overdo it and have it get sore again.  This week ended with a trip to my lake home, so I was a little worried about overdoing it with the yard work that needed to be done. I skipped the Saturday workout and did it on Sunday. It was nice to do some biking in a different location for a change. The ride resulted in a big bonk and I struggled a bit, but I got the 3-hour ride and 30-minute run done. I will do the 1.5-hour run on Monday Memorial Day but that run will be in next week’s totals.

Swims:  1 – 1400 yards

Bikes:  3 –  74.5 miles

Runs:  3 –  10 miles