near the end

I went to Jorgensen today for likely the last time. There was an aquatic ZUMBA class going on...so I was stuck on the wall with a fairly good high school swimmer sharing a lane. A less than ideal final swim. I'll swim two more times before next Sunday.

I ran 6 miles yesterday morning and rode 25 miles after work - left from my office and went straight into the country. It was a beautiful, windy ride. I paused for a moment to coast, something I rarely do on the bike, and let the last few months run through my mind as I watched the clouds race along. Working toward high level fitness takes a lot of time - its worth the time. I truly do feel blessed to be able to train and approach something like Ironman.

I went to a couple bike shops today to pick up some last minute items. Some liquid calories, another 160mm valve inner tube that will fit my Zipp 808's, a tire iron to change flats...and I bought a new helmet. I've worn my helmet out - the strap is broken, the inner padding has had a bit too much sweat. Isn't that pretty? So, there goes another $150.

Here's my race plan: swim easy, bike easy, run solid. The swim is a mass start. 2,500 people in a lake, a rectangle swim, big cannon fires off and everyone starts pounding it. My plan is protect my face...I'm going to wear contacts this time...and clear out from the crowd. No kicks to the teeth. The goggles have to stay on. If I lose them, and lose a contact, so be it. I'm planning to have my glasses in my T1 transition bag. The last time I did this everyone it in was considerably larger than me, from Germany (or some other country), and they all seemed to be physicians. The medical community sees the benefit of having a well conditioned heart I guess. Out of the water in 56 minutes or less?

The bike: settle in, take in calories, and get ready to put in my time. I wouldn't mind trying to hold 20 mph. The Madison course has lots of hills, some very similar to southern Indiana. I like hills, like to work them, and coast down fast. So this suits me well. I've never ridden hills like this on a time trial bike though where all the shifting is done up front, in the aero position. I don't climb well in that position - I like to be out of the saddle. So, I may have a bit of a learning curve with all the shifting between big ring and small ring. I'm going to go light on calorie intake. Slightly less than 100 per hour. I'm going to start out with 3 bottles - two of HEED and one water. I'll drop one mid-way and snag another water from the aid station. I'll have the opportunity to hit my BIKE SPECIAL NEEDS bag at mile 56...maybe some rain gear. I could be pouring and cold.

Run: Only 10% of Ironman participants finish the marathon in under 4 hours. Most have to walk. I fall into the most category. At least I did in 2008. So - we'll see. The marathon starts off ugly and just gets much worse as the miles pass by. If I can keep my glucose and hydration right I think I can plod along. RUN SPECIAL NEEDS: spare shoes...nice to change into dry shoes if it's poured rain the first 13 miles. Nothing else really - maybe a Snickers bar. Of all the high tech nutritional supplements I always crave and seem to perform well on straight-up sugar. Maltodextrin has it's place but a Snickers bar taste pretty good at mile 130.

And then it will be over. What then? I don't want it to end really. Which is why I'm thinking of signed up for next year. I'll be turning 40 years old next year. I'd prefer to keep in shape, all tuned up and ready to go, for as long I as I can.