Journey to Kona Day 104: Ready to Race!

I'm three weeks to IM Boulder and 20 weeks to Kona.  Yesterday, I rode 5 hours and 45 minutes with nearly 5,000 feet of climbing (88 miles).  I was supposed to do an Olympic Tri today, but decided last night to do my own for a few reasons.  First, I needed the sleep, and getting up at 4:30 am didn't make sense to me. Second, the water quality of the race was going to either be dangerous or they'd cancel the swim. Third, it was raining.  I trust myself, but not everyone else.  So, I did my own Olympic Tri!

Slept in, woke up feeling refreshed from yesterday's bike ride.  Went to the pool and did a 500 yard warm up.  Then, swam comfortably hard for 1500 yards.  I wore my trisuit and my swim skin and I felt great!  My form felt locked in and I felt like I was consistent throughout.  Looking at my splits, I essentially kept the same pace the entire time.  When I got out of the pool, I felt good.  I couldn't be happier with where my swim is right now.  Oh, and, my pace was 1:40/100yds, which meant that I did the 1500 yards in 25 minutes.  Going a little slower at ironman would still give me a solid swim time, but I actually felt pretty good at this effort and pace.  And, I've three more weeks to work on my swim fitness!

I drove home and got on my bike.  It was still misty with a little drizzle, so I was on the cautious side, especially on downhill sections.  I rode the 11.3 mile loop that I ride regularly (850 feet of climbing). I rode the first loop with a solid effort, leaving something for the second loop, but never going to easy.  I stopped briefly for some fluids and a gel and then did the loop a second time, going as hard as I could.  I've done this loop more than a dozen times in the past month.  The first loop today was actually my second fastest time 44 minutes and change.  I just put my head down and rode the second loop hard.  I was surprised to find that I crushed it!  Three minutes faster than the first loop and two minutes faster than I've ridden this loop.  Considering that I rode nearly 6 hours yesterday and did this  within 25 minutes of my swim, I was quite happy.

I quickly transitioned to the run.  The 10K run is an out and back that is quite hilly with nearly 500 feet of climbing.  It starts with a pretty solid one mile climb (after a short steep downhill).  I ran the first 5K comfortably, settling into my breathing every 4th step mode.  When I got to the turnaround, I picked up the pace, initially increasing my breathing every 3rd step.  I did this up the long climb back, and when I got to the crest, I went all out downhill for one mile, doing the mile in 7:31.  This achieved a couple of things.  First, it got me one hard downhill mile to trash my legs a little further three weeks out from Boulder.  Second, it showed me my fitness level and made this Olympic distance training session just that much more valuable.  I finished my run off going all out up my 0.2 mile steep climb back to my house.

I'm really not sure what else I need to do to prepare for Boulder.  I'm going to keep working on my swim volume, as I can taper my swim the last week before the race.  My run is fine.  No need for more long runs, though I can "play by ear" what I do this week depending on how my legs feel.  I'll just keep cycling, and I'm planning to get some more volume in once I'm in Colorado.  No need to push it too much, though I'll defer to my coach.  I've felt remarkably well the rest of the day today.  My legs might finally be feeling a little of the downhill hard mile tonight.  Most important, I'm ready!