Tuesday

Hope it's not like this Nov. 1

Good morning! This photo was taken by Roy, back in November, when a few of us went down to volunteer at Ironman Florida 2013. Here is my account of that weekend. Even though I swam the 2.4 Iron distance on Sunday, I look at this picture and am reminded the Gulf is not Kenray Lake. Work, boy, work!

I got the week off to a good start yesterday morning with a decent 10 miler. It went well. I'm still not going very fast, but I am getting some decent distance. School started in Mitchell yesterday, so I was aware of the increased flow of traffic. I did my best to avoid most of it.

I have pretty much decided to not do the Columbus Tri. It would involve moving lots of things around and ultimately getting less training. One of my main motivations was to undo my panicked swim in Terre Haute, but I think I will deal with that in a different way. There were lots of factors that day contributing to my panic, including other panicked people. Something tells me the ocean itself will create more fear than 1000s of other nearby swimmers, so I have several things to work on in my mind, literally in my mind, for mostly it is a mind game.

Today is Tuesday, so tonight is our hard workout night. Rain is a bit of a threat this evening. I hope we can manage to get the ride in. I plan to do the Double TT Trouble workout, but I hope to do a little pre-ride, moving the evening's total up to 50 miles. I'm looking for a big week, north of 16 hours, I hope. Last week I surprised myself a little on the Double TT Trouble Segment. I was simply looking for a steady effort, not pushing too hard. I thought 18.5 mph would be it, but I ended up at 19.8 in very windy conditions. Of course the wind helps before it hurts.

Three months out, actually a little less than, from Ironman, I am feeling pretty good both physically and mentally. I am pleased with where I am in all three disciplines, hoping I can speed up on the run. I am feeling confident, which is a switch from a few weeks back. Doubts were swirling around in my head. I wasn't riding well, not swimming well, and running with lots of pain. Perseverance is the key. Just keep pushing and working, and often things will change. I have learned that lesson over and over in several areas of life.