The Eagleman Half Ironman is in three weeks. The closer I get to June 10th, 2012, the less prepared I feel I am. But to put things in a bit of perspective for myself, I have overcome a foot fracture from earlier this year to go on to complete the Monticelloman Olympic Distance Triathlon on May 6th in 02:50:41.496. This was my first Olympic Distance Triathlon in about 25 years! Today, I completed my first EVER Half Marathon – 13.1 miles – by finishing the USMC Half Marathon in Fredricksburg, VA (an AWESOME race by the way!). My time was 2:08.59. I did not complete either event very quickly, but I finished them both strong. Moreover, this particular athletic training journey has been very beneficial to me at this point in my life.
During the Half Marathon today, I tried to imagine myself continuing the run to complete 26.2 miles. It was difficult to contemplate. I found it equally uncomfortable to contemplate starting this Half Marathon after having completed a 1.2 mile swim and a 56 mile bike. That’s alot of ground to cover in one race. The key is going to be pacing, hydration and nutrition. I really need to start focusing on fluids and fuel, I think. I tend to not want food or drink until after the race is over, but that’s not going to cut it for a Half Ironman Distance race.
The following chart depicts the total amount of minutes of training per week I’ve logged in the last six weeks. At the same time, it feels like alot and not enough! And I still wish I could lose about 10-15 more pounds, but the more I train, it seems like the more I eat! Anyway, the blue represents swim times, the orange bike time and the yellow run time. Starting tomorrow, I begin my slow taper to the start of Eagleman – my first ever Half Ironman.
Last Six Weeks of Training