Less than 3 months

Vineman is less than 3 months away. 11 weeks to be exact. WEEKS! Spring has finally sprung here in the Boston and we've even had warm days. Its been fantastic for riding and running.

I have feeling more and more comfortable on my bike as the days and weeks progress. I am so unbelievably in control on this bike. I spend about 75-80% of my time in my aero's and that time increases in good riding conditions! Today I averaged 18 mph in my 90 min interval ride and this was after 300 squats. My longest ride of the season is 220 minutes. The last time I did this we averaged 16.5 and I felt good on my run. I am feeling more and more confident that I will be able to average 17-19 mph on Vineman. Running continues to improve too! Dare I say it swimming as well.

The past week my rest day changed from Monday to Thursday. This meant that I had 9 days of tough training in a row. By my Tue evening swim my body was shot! The last thing I wanted to do was swim hard for 45 minutes. But I dragged my ass to the pool with my Masters swim team. The coach, who usually gives us lots of stroke surprised me with a Kristi Ironman workout (her title)! Of course I had to stay for the full 60 minutes and attempt to swim hard. I swam slower than I have been, but I finished the workout, all 2400 yards of it. My mantra for the night was "I am tough, I am hardcore, I WILL be an IRONMAN". The next morning I had a 75-15 brick planned. I slept like a baby the night before and woke up feeling ok. I rode like a machine and ran like the wind. The past two weeks I have gained valuable mental and physical strength. My mind and body are responding the way they are suppose to!

My fear continues to be how I will respond on race day. When it counts. Will I really be able to run 26.2 miles after a 2.4 swim and 112 ride? My mental game plan is to split the race into 6 parts: swim, T1, 56 ride loop 1, 56 ride loop 2, T2, 8 mile run loop 1, 8 mile run loop 2, and the final 8 mile run. I can do this. The visualization has started, especially on those longer rides on tired legs. I am getting more and more excited!

I will be an iron(wo)man.