Journey to Kona Day 132: Father's Day

I had a really great Father's Day.  I got to see my grandson yesterday, and while we didn't see him in person today, we did get to Face Time. We saw my daughter's Improv show today, and she was spectacular.  Then we spent time with my parents.  I finished off the day just hanging out with my wife and watching one of our favorite old t.v. shows.  I rode my bike 45 minutes this morning, and my legs are already feeling like they're coming back solidly.  In fact. I rode my 11.4 mile hilly loop.  I didn't ride easy, and I didn't ride too hard.  I just rode steady, and it was a solid 45 minute ride.  This loop will become my best friend over the next 15 weeks.  As I've told my coach, and myself, I plan to work my way up to riding the loop 10 times in one day.  That should probably take about eight hours to do.  When I do that, I'll be "bike-ready" for Kona.  I'm also planning to run the same loop regularly, and work my way up to running the loop twice.  Then I'll be "run-ready" for Kona.  I restart swim lessons on Tuesday, and my swim plan is to work on my strength and speed.  The distance isn't an issue, as I've already put in greater swim volume than I have in years.

Since I'm sixteen weeks away from Kona, it's ok to start setting my goals.  My simple goal is to finish in under 13 hours.  Since my typical ironman has taken me somewhere in the 12 hour range, this should be reasonable.  I'd like to finish in the top 60th percentile of my age group as well.  Considering that Kona is about the best in the world, I'd be very happy with both of those results.  In looking at last years'a results, the guy who just beat me by 14 minutes at Boulder actually finished Kona in under 12 hours.  Hmmm.  One step at a time.  I'll be better able to gauge where I'm at in six weeks when I do the Santa Rosa 70.3.  In the meantime, it's all about training.  Results don't just happen, you have to put in the work.

My goal this week is to start putting in solid bike and swim volume.  Running will just be about getting my running legs back and not doing anything stupid.  When I woke up this morning, I was a little tired, and a little down.  By the time I got off the bike 45 minutes later, I seemed to have some energy back. I had a full day with my family and I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep and starting a fresh new week of training tomorrow.