T103 - Tapering with Trainer Trance - Bike (Trainer), Swim

Gainesville

After three days off, I began my last tapering week before Race Week. Tapering is where you actually decrease your training hours, although the way I'm going it I still have some long workouts, just more days off. I'm not sure if this is the best method, but I've found my motivation on the shorter ones to be lacking, so I try and create a situation where I can maximize the training value.

Bike: 60 minutes (Trainer)
wu: 10 minute RPE3
main: 40 minutes RPE 7
cd: 10 minutes RPE 3

2 Lipodrene
I opted for the trainer since I did this workout on Wednesday, and Wednesdays don't leave much room for me to train before dark unless I want to wake up super early. And that wasn't happening. And given that this was a tapering week and I had 2 other bike rides scheduled (including a long swim/bike brick) I thought this would be a good time to use the trainer. It is still hot as fuck in Gainesville, and more humid that some parts of the summer. So this evening session on the patio was still especially sweaty.

I used the iPod and after the initial 10 minutes spend the better part of the 40-minute interval in aero with my eyes closed trying to get into the trainer trace. the trainer trance is pretty awesome because you really don't even feel your legs working at all, but you still go a lot harder than you would if you were looking up. I broke the trance several times, but the middle 40 felt strong. I still had some problems with saddle sores or hemorrhoids or whatever they are, and found myself shifting a lot every time I stood up in the saddle. but at the end I ended up averaging 18.8 for the hour. And even though Trevor says that's a meaningless stat, I really have nothing else to go by. One of my faster trainer sessions and despite the sweatiness and monotonousness, it was a good workout.

Swim
main: 200, 2x100, 200, 2 x 100, 200,
long intervals at RPE4, short at RPE 7-8

2 Lipodrene
I actualyl went pretty much straight from the trainer to my car and headed over to GHFC. I really should have looked up the warmup before I left, because the first 200 felt a little labored and my lats felt really sore. In addition, it was getting late and as such I started feeling dizzy and overheated. I have noticed that those symptoms really aren't too bad until about 7 or 8 at night, so I'm trying to avoid training that late the rest of the cycle. And fortunately, the race starts early.

Anyway, I wouldn't say I exactly crushed this swim, and I felt short of breath a LOT. the water also felt expecially cool, meaning I was getting that overheated feeling again. I took long breaks betwen sets and managed to get the workout done in the manner prescribed. But I did not feel good during most of it. I am learning how to manage whatever this weird illness is, and working out earlier seems to be a good solution.

I then proceeded to miss Thursday's workout, meaning I have 3 hard workouts in 3 days in Miami. And as we all know, Miami workouts tend to suck. Hopefully, I can reverse that trend in my last real week of training.

T100 - This is Just How It's Gonna Feel - Bike/Run Brick

Gainesville

Bike: 60 minutes at RPE 4-5

2 Lipodrene
Still not feeling well. But given my lackluster bike performance on my previous couple of rides on 441, I thought this would be a good opportunity for a little confindence builder on Hawthorne. The goal was to make it to the 30 minute turnaround from that first strong ride I did with Trevor, and I figured I had enough in me to do that and the long run. Didn't quite happen.

I won't say this ride was bad, but when it took me over 8 minutes to make it to the trailhead I knew I wasn't setting any records Thursday. Again, I was able to get into aero and I didn't feel particularly bad, but places where I had been doing about 21-22 a few weeks ago I was now doing about 20. Every spot was about a solid 1.5 mph slower than I'd been doing. Didn't even make it to nigbridge in 28 (I had been doing sub-25 my last rides) and fell well short of the turnaround when I turned around.

I thought maybe this was a case of having some sort of headwind, or maybe one of those times I just needed a warmup. And while I did make in it back 30 seconds faster than I'd made it down (pretty good considering the return incline on Hawthorne) my average speed somehow went down. Yeah, my computer is once again jacked up. So I will be taking it in. But despite that, this ride was better than the last couple, but still disappointing to basically have regressed back to where I was in June.

Run - 2 Hours

1 Lipodrene
I read in the Ironman athlete's guide that they will be providing chocolate chip cookies at the aid stations on the run. I believe they did this at the Half in Orlando too, but I was always skeptical to take them for fear of getting a sideache. But this, friends, is why we train. So I bought a box of the CVS Decadence cookies and put them in the Saturn Aid Station for the run. I even had one right before I started and felt fine. I think the motivation chocolate chip cookies may play a major role in my making my way through the marathon.

Run started out feeling good, but by about the 3 mile mark I again was feeling light headed and dizzy. I thought I was slowing down, but actually found myself ahead in the music on the iPod (and I've started to freeze the buttons on it in the hopes of keeping it from freezing up, so I don't skip any songs), so I guess I wasn't going any slower than before. But I just felt soooo lethargic and tired. And dizzy. And a few times just wanting to take a nap.

I got through the run fine, and did it in abut my usual time. Or so I could tell. I had cookies both times I stopped at the Saturn Aid Station, and they were delicious. And didn't hurt my stomach nearly as much as the Gatorade did.

Because I've never pushed my run much, it really hasn't bothered me. Like I never hurt that much, I just get used to a constant dull pain from about mile 5 on. And the difference for me between 13-18 miles isn't a whole lot. 18-26, though, I'm thinking might. Point is, because I go slow and steady, I think I can keep it up longer even feeling like I have. So I have come to accept that dizzy and short of breath and tired is how I may well feel through the entire Ironman. It'll suck, and I'm pretty sure it's gonna cost me some time. And while that is disappointing, I've now felt like this for almost a month and really see no imminent signs of improvment. Just gotta play the hand you're deal, I suppose.

A friend, who I passed on my run, texted me later that night and I told her about how I'd been feeling like shit. She mentioned a lot of her friends had been coming down with mild cases of mono. Great. That's just what I need. But, it's not going to stop me either. Slow me down, sure, but not stop me. And hey, I'm training with that feeling. So come race day, dizziness and lethergy will just be a part of it I'm used to.