Why hath I forsaken thee?
I thank that was blasphemous. Oops.
It has been 2 months since my last post. Helllllooooo (ooo) (ooooo) (ooooooo).
Anyone out there?
I gave up on you for two months. Work got crazy, I amped up the training. I stopped blogging. I doubt anyone cared, I’d bet most of you cancelled your Reader subscriptions. Sorry I suck.
Let me double space this whole blog so that those of you who are still there get thoroughly fed up and never come back.
Kidding.
So in 10 days I will be finishing a Half Ironman. My first. I’m scared, under confident in my training, and worried about my injuries. My goal is to finish in under 7 hours. Last year when I was training my goal was 5.5 hours. Oh how the times have changed.
What is most scary is that the part I’m most concerned with is the bike. How has it come down to that? After the ride Aaron and I took out to Floyd, VA 5 weeks ago (95 miles in 95 degree heat), my bicycle riding has been, um, intermittent. Let’s see. Since that day, I’ve ridden, oh 4 times. Maybe 6. And since that time, I’ve started having intense pain in my left knee, only when riding (not running, not swimming, not walking or sitting). I’m worried about making it 56 miles. How sad is that?
How do you ever know if you’ve trained enough? I really started following my training program completely about 6 weeks ago. Prior to that, I was training (swimming and running), but not necessarily following a training plan. I approximated it, with long runs and long bikes on the weekend, and shorter stuff during the week, including weight training 2x per week. But you know, it was kind of haphazard. I know there are people out there who train without plans, but how do you know if it has worked? How do you trust your training if you haven’t been following a plan?
My longest run was 2 hours, and it was fantastic. I finished strong, felt good, and was excited about running. That was 2 Saturdays ago. I also had an awesome swim that week, finishing 54 laps in under 45 minutes and feeling great the whole time. But since then, I’ve felt like crap. My legs have been heavy, my swims uninspired. So was that it? Did I peak 2 weeks ago, never to be heard from again?
I know taper is supposed to feel like crap, but I don’t even feel like I’m tapering. I feel like I’m lazy. Like I couldn’t do more if I wanted to.
It’s the promise of an Ice Cream Sundae at the end of the race that’s getting me through. I’m ready for training to be over.
