All done but the event.

I'm checked in. Bike is checked in. Equipment checked in. Less than 24 hours to the event. I'm a wee bit tired and stressed as we went the meal last night and the water is 61F which is quite chilly. When I survive that Ill be on a winner.

The meal was fun I am one of one 6 people who lost over 50 pounds for this. I thought there would be tons of us! I didn't lose enough for a prize but it was cool none the less.

My number is 890 and you can see me on Ironmanlive.com.

The wait.

This wait is killing me! I feel I am putting on weight and I just want it over. I have my numbers painted on and I am registered. I will head over to the event again today just to check it out with a little more time and then its the meal tonight.

I did a small bike yesterday and a small run the day before. Im off to run a mile and just keep the joints ticking over for the weekend.

In Arizona!

Well Im here and looking forward to signing in tomorrow and getting my swag etc. The drive down was uneventful. We booked my room today at Aloft. The price was twice the regular price, I got the "special" Ironman rate.

So I need to get in a small run, swim and nap today as the drive down was a bit tiring. Im probably over sensitive but hey its my first Ironman so a nap will be good.

So far I know to follow me is at www.ironmanlive.com and you can watch me run across the line. My number is 890. Thats all I know for now.

and its done...

The training is done. A few small swims, bikes and runs left and then the event. Happy Days. "Studies show that now activity the week of the event is best." However I need to keep my knees, shoulders, ankles and hips oiled and moving!

My run today went well a "small" 13 miler. I did blow my nutrition as I thought the smaller events this weekend didn't need Gatorade, Bars etc. I was slightly off and did run out of energy at mile 11 but I was able to make it.

The swim went brilliant! I had to do only 2600yds and so I timed the main set of 80 lengths. 42 minutes to 76 lengths (1mile) and 44 for the 80. This made me feel really good. My times in the pool have looked bad but this was after a 13 mile run. The last training event of 9 months went good. This give me good vibes for the event!

A slight change of plan on our trip to Arizona. My friends are sick and I have a low immunity due to the Arthritis so we are heading down Tuesday so one more cold work out!

David is excited as the whole thing is drawing to an end and he is excited to get his Dad back. I told him once this is done we can bike to school any time and do things at the weekend. He has known this for months, what a great, patient boy!

Quicker bike ride

I only had to cycle 50 miles today. With the weather a trip to the bike shop was needed to get warmer socks (I found some fun ones) and covers for my shoes. My shoes are very cold so I needed something. The bike went well. The wind was all over the shop today. The trip down was mostly into a head wind and got a bit hot with all the layers I had on. At about mile 22 the wind became a tail wind and the sun disappeared. At mile 25 I turned round to a head wind and it was freezing. It looked like I was heading into a storm. By mile 45 the sun was out again and I had another tail wind. My goal was an easy 15mph average just cruising along. To some extent I got that but I had to work a little harder.

I was only out for 3 hours which was really nice!

What a day.

I got the 3 mile run in late this afternoon and swum 4 lengths and my shoulder hurt so I gave up.

My mind isnt in it. I woke up to shitty day and seemed to get crap all day.

More snow!

Well more snow today. I woke up to an inch on the ground and its still snowing. I hoped it would clear up in the afternoon and it did. I had some more coaching from Heather before heading out for the cycle. The swim went well I think. I learned some more technique on the pull through and I swam a length on the 3 breaths as I wasn't thinking about breathing.

Its Colder than a cold thing from coldville that's cold! I wrapped up well for a bike ride and headed out. My gloves and socks weren't thick enough but I headed round and was debating a climb or a head home. I headed home. Just as well as it was dark when I got home. The time change is really messing me up. A couple of guys leaned out their car up at Stadley lake and shouted some stuff. I was hoping for a red light at the bottom so say hi but no luck.

I kept the tempo low as I was struggling to go fast in the cold and it was recommended in the training book. When I got home the thermometer said 30F and I headed straight for the shower as I was a bit cold.

Solid Run and Swim.

The run went well. I had a few beers with a friend the night before and boy did I feel it on the run. However 7 miles in (About 3/4 of the usual distance).

The swim went well too. Im getting the hang of some of the things Heather has been telling me and its amazing. I feel I'm not working as hard but Im going the same or quicker than before. I cant sustain it for a great deal of time but its a hell of a lot of progress. I usually take 2 strokes and breath but 3 strokes and breath is more natural and you will go faster. I think I will do ok on the swim.

Stress

Well I didn't get my bike in today. Bad weather was forecast for the afternoon. However my bike was in getting a tune up. I got it back at 1pm and was going to head out when it started raining and snowing. So out came the trainer. God do I dislike that thing. So after a few miles I'd had enough and was heading out but the weather had got worse. Back on the trainer. I did 6 miles and gave up. Not the best but it might be good for me to take it easy.

Tired and Taper!

Im dead tired at the moment. Its been getting worse over the last couple of weeks. However its taper time! The hard work is over and its time to take it a bit easier.

I got the information from Ironman today and boy are there a lot of rules. If I break 3 I get DQ'd whats that all about! Its a new rule for Ironman this year. The intro goes: Welcome from the race director, Welcome from the Mayor of Tempe and then a welcome from the head referee. There are a lot of ways to get DQ'd especially if you are new to the event. I am concerned about 4 bike lengths behind the bike in front. That's hard to judge as a newbie. It used to be 2 lengths but a professional complained a few years ago and now we all have it. Then you have 20 seconds to close that gap and complete a pass.

I'm not really competing but rather participating in what I hope is a fun event. Here is hoping I don't fall foul of a rule.

A lot more info in the document but in the first 5 pages its loaded with how not to finish that Ill read the rest later. Im specifically interested in. Changing rooms and special bags.

Good run and Birthday Party

The run went well today. I ran 21 miles and upped the tempo for the last 2 miles as I had run out of time on running any further due to Isla's birthday party. The only problem was I couldnt walk very well. I could have done with a sit down. So Ibu-profen and a shower and out to the party. I just sat at the side for quite some time as I was in no shape to move around. It was great to watch Isla having fun with her friends.

The swim went fairly bad at night. The first mile took an hour and the second 45 minutes. Im putting it down to being tired. Its a concern for the event but not much I can do now and I will be doing this first not last on the day.

Great Bike

So according to the book I should cut my effort by about 25% for this bike ride. I spoke to a friend too who said he did a 100 2 weeks before the event and it didn't do him any favours. So 75 it is. I did another in and out ride down through Chatfield Reservoir and back. I would have liked to go further but I didn't want to risk it. I ate less this morning and only took 1 bar and 3 Cliff bloks. It went well and I felt great! I even got a respectable speed going. The chatfield reservoir "hill" was a breeze too.

After the last month I have been getting worried but this went well. I used the top cog quite a bit. I have found it a bit tiring at times but it went well and using it keeps your average speed higher. Although high reps are better sometimes its nice not to worry about that.

As this is my last big bike ride I think this helped my mentality and helped me go further.

Good run and no swim

My plan is to go fast on the run on a friday. A short run at a high tempo. The last few weeks this hasn't gone well. I dropped a mile off the distance and ran at a 10 minute mile. My HR was well up! This explains why its been so hard over the last few weeks. The Heart Monitor doesn't work for the first 2 miles so its hard to figure out. However this time the HR stayed in the 150s. So I got in the 5 miles and felt better.

No swim as I got the pool and I had a short malfunction. Cant say I'm disappointed as I'm a bit tired.

Easy bike

I got on the bike and everything hurt. I wasnt looking forward to this bike ride. Maybe it was mindset or I was tired. Anyway I just went for a bike ride. The constant training is making me strongly dislike it all. So I biked at an easy pace and just took in the scenery. The nice thing was I took a new road and got up to a fast speed and it was fun.

Run and no well

I'm no well (said with a very whiny voice). It was on the NyQuil last night and that helped a bit. The run was to be a 10 milers at just above a 11 minute pace. Work was a bit stressful and I didn't get going till late in the day. At mile 7.5 I had to give it a rest. I checked the level 1 training plan and I was still above that so I'm doing OK there.

Then it was swim time. I just went to the pool and got on with it, at some point I felt a lot better and the lurgy is gone! The swim went very well too.

I seem to spending a lot of time checking and double checking myself now. Its only 3 weeks to go. The cold freaked me out a bit but I'm confident I can do this thing. A friend advised me to start tapering this week and not wait till 2 weeks out. Although the book doesn't say taper I notice this week they are doing less too. So I'm hopefully on course.

I am really excited about the light at the end of the tunnel.

Uh oh... That sick feeling

I have been feeling a bit sicky today and last night. Thats a worry. So I psyched up for a 30 mile ride of which I hoped to get a record in. No luck, it was a fairly average ride in the end. It was just good to get out on Tuesday and finish a ride after the last few weeks!

No dogs today and 3 miles less climbing. You cant beat it!

Good Run and swim

Well its Monday and I am running and swimming. We realized late that Kathleen had to go out at 7. I thought I could fit in my run and swim before hand but I had a meeting at 11 and that blew everything. So I got running and did 18 miles plus a 2 mile walk. My feet were killing me! Thats not a good sign but I will be taking pain killers so Ill be fine.

Kathleen rearranged her meeting so I could get a couple of hours off before my swim then it was off out for a 2 miles swim. Happy days. I got it all in and got to spend Sunday with the family. That hasn't happened in a while.

We started talking about whats next. I think that what's next is a few weeks on the couch.