Top of the Key

So Friday was a pretty solid day.  Fatigue is settling in with every passing hour, but somehow, someway, I’m still pushing along.  I ran early, some hill repeats up NCAR at ‘out of breath’ pace.  Ran downhill to recover.  Swam at lunch to loosen up.  Then biked 15 miles at night on the PowerCranks to dig into my goal mileage on the bike a little.  I have this new strain in the right glute area, and Jess was right on top of it after my run.  I don’t know how she doesn’t mind working on me after working on 17 clients  this past week.  But I’m thankful.

Saturday was HUGE, again.  Woke up early, biked out to Longmont to meet up with Craig, logged a good 20 miles.  Swam 4300 yards with him, learned alot as usual, and felt exhausted at this point.  Still with 97 miles left, had to dig in and just get through it.  Rode home, another 20 miles, with a backpack too, and decided if it was going to happen, I needed to eat and sleep.  So I ate, then crashed hard for about 45 min.  Woke up with a renewed mental state, ate some more, then hit the convenience store down the street for a  GoFast and dark snickers bar.  This store only sells the larger sized cans, so it loaded me up good.  After a 3 mile warm up, I was off for 49 miles of z3.  Rode all the way to St. Vrain canyon, further than I normally do to get some climbing in, then headed back down through Lyons back to the Hygene Store, which was the perfect 49.  I was toast.  I sat there, again downing another GoFast and a peppermint patty this time around, thinking, ‘How the hell did I just ride that’.  I know I blog about my thought process alot, and lately it’s been about questioning the completion of my workouts.  How am I doing it? Why am I able to do it day in and day out?  Thinking about it alot yesterday, as I was tested mentally again, it’s my wife Jess.  She has been the truest meaning of a supportive spouse to the tee…From her smiling face, to her ‘harden the fuck up’ attitude, to her magical massage hands.  I am where I am today because of her.

Over the last hour or so on the bike, cruising around, I was thinking that it would be really cool if Jess would be home, and wanted to ride alongside me as I ran 6 miles.  And upon entering the house after my 117 miles, dragging, she was there, on the phone, motioning to me that she would ride alongside….SWEET!  Just what I needed.  Otherwise, I really would have bailed on it.  Even on the run, we were approaching 2.5 miles and I said, ‘5 miles, good enough for me’…but Jess quickly said ‘let’s go to the gate’.  The gate is just under 3 miles, so how could I go to the gate, and not finish the 3 miles out?  So we did it.  I ran to the bridge, the 3 mile turnaround point, and then headed back.  I needed her there more than ever yesterday.  When I race IMAZ in less than 2 months, I’ll think about this day as a defnining moment.  Not just in accomplishing the mileage, but for having the most supportive wife.

While we sat and relaxed for once, in our Skins, having a self-care session, Jess again helped me out.  She worked my legs, flushed them, and feet as well.  I’ve had small signs of foot pain, and whatever she did, today it feels phenominal.  Again, Jess was there for me. Today, Sunday, I had to ride 38 miles to reach my goal mileage, and she came out and rode with me.  Seeing she hasn’t been on the bike much since Ironman, she was there for moral support…again.  We rode together, caught up on lots of things since we see each other in batches, and got it done.  With the help of Jess, this is what I accomplished this week:

Total Hours Training: 30
Total Swim Yards: 10,500
Total Miles Biked: 300 (new personal high)
Total Run Miles: 57

I’m not sure if I’ll hit these numbers again, it took alot out of me.  To hit 300 miles on the bike takes alot of time.  About half my weekly training hours.  Time to regroup this week now that’s stabilizer.  My goals are to get in all my swim yardage, recover the legs and mind, and start fresh come next Monday when I’ll start my last week fo Build.

Thank you Jess!  and Harry, Lhasa and Weke.  I can’t forget giving them some credit too.  Weke is sentenced to the downstairs at night, and i’m usually the first person up in the morning, and the first person he sees.  We sit and hang while I drink my first cup of coffee, think about the day and what needs to be done.  Harry and Lhasa are just the perfect napping partners too.