I'll be using this blog to document my journey to Ironman Wisconsin which will take place 9/11/11. I'll address nutrition, training, and general issues from my perspective as a beginner triathlete. I will also use this site to document the trials and tribulations I will face in these next nine months as I prepare to become an Ironman.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

38 days and counting….

I hit the two months to go mark a few weeks ago and I almost instantly felt overwhelmed. I realized that Ironman was fast approaching and I still had lots of travel arrangements that I had to figure out. I decided to save myself the stress later on and get all these things figured out right away. I spent the last couple weeks getting flights and hotel accommodations in place as well as figuring out how to get my bike to and from Wisconsin. I find it funny that I’ve been more stressed about trip logistics than the actual race. Training wise I am feeling very well prepared and ready to take on Ironman.
So far I’ve got my nutrition plan pretty well figured out. I’ve had lots of long weekend rides to play with different food and hydration options on the bike. I know that I get much hungrier on rides than on runs so I’ll plan for that on race day. I’ll probably rotate between shots blocks and LaraBars on the bike and stick with Gu on the run. I just got some salt tablets which I’ve heard can be very beneficial for endurance athletes so I’m looking forward to testing those out and probably adding them to my race day nutrition. I like Gu Brew so I’ll stick with that for my main hydration on the bike. There are a few more products I’ll try out before race day (Gu Roctane, Bonk Breakers, and EFS liquid shot) but right now I’m pretty well informed about what works and what doesn’t work for me.
My training is at about 12-14 hours a week and I’ve actually grown to really enjoy it. The only negative is that I have to give up basically all other social activities (haha, but it’s only for a short period of my life so it’s alright). I used to look at my June, July, and Augusts workouts and think “How am I going to ride for 5-6 hours every Saturday and then go for a run and still have another long workout on Sunday”.  I find it truly amazing how our bodies can adapt to anything we throw at them. I’m still struggling with keeping up with my swim training. Now that I’m in the home stretch I know that I’ll have to focus a little bit more on swimming and a little less on running and biking to make sure I’m ready for race day. I plan on doing a swim close to 2.4 miles in the next few weeks just so that I can see what it feels like and so I feel a little more prepared on race morning.
It’s going to be very weird when my training is done and I can go back to having a normal life. I complain a lot about not having any free time right now but I know that I will miss this phase of my life. I’ve lived and breathed Ironman Wisconsin for the past 6 ½ months and it will be weird when the race is over and I’m no longer working towards that goal. I’ve been excited about the race for most of my training, once in a while I’ll feel anxious and under-trained but I my emotions mainly stay positive towards the race. I’m really looking forward to race day and putting all this hard work to the test.