Single digits

Yes, I'm down to 9 weeks, to be exact. There's something about going from 10 to 9 weeks left that makes Ironman feel quite imminent, like I need to be ready next week. When I exhale, I remind myself that there are still over two months to go. And I need every day in those 2+ months!

This was a "light" week for me--a week with planned reduced volume to give my body a break but still maintain my progress. The week's totals:

Total time = 10:25
Total mileage = 85.50
Swim = 1:30, 2.40
Bike = 4:20, 66.00
Run = 2:50, 17.10
Other = 1:45

And yet these totals would have been higher, had I completed every workout on my plan. But on Friday my body protested. And I listened by taking a self-imposed second day of complete rest. This sustained high volume of training had caught up with me. It's not so much that I'm doing too much...rather, it's I'm eating too little. With my ever-increasing intensity in training must come a corresponding increase in eating and drinking. This I'm not used to, and I suffered the consequences this week: low energy, slow recovery, physical fatigue that even sleep couldn't cure, and mental sluggishness. All signs of impending burnout.

So I upped my caloric intake and was conscious of drinking more water and in a matter of days, felt 100% better. As I write this, I'm fully aware that always being hungry is something many people see as a good problem to have. It is and it isn't. It is when caloric output is low. It isn't when I need those calories to simply function, to say nothing of carrying me on a 5-hour bike ride. Improper or insufficient nutrition at this point could spell doom for my dream.

On another note...I'm starting to do workouts that simulate race conditions. My long bike ride on Saturday was followed immediately by a 6-mile run. I need to learn how my legs will feel after riding for over 6 hours straight and how to adjust my run pace appropriately. And on Saturday? I felt so-so when I first started running and felt better the longer I went. That's a good sign.

My run today was an 8-miler done mid-afternoon, at just about the same time I'll start running the marathon in the race. This helps me get used to running later in the day after being active for already many hours and during the warmest part of the day.

One final note: As I'm sure you're all well aware, May is just around the corner. I meet with my coach tomorrow to plan my May workout schedule. Several big things happen in May. The reservoir where I do my open-water swim training opens May 7th. I have a century ride in Santa Fe on May 15th and my weekend rides from that point on will hover around 100+ miles. The whole month of May is will see my highest volume yet, and at the end of the month, my training will "peak." 

In the meantime, my new cruiser bike sits patiently in the house still waiting for her inaugural ride. She understands that we'll have loads of fun come July.