I actually missed it yesterday, but I wanted to start a series of these posts so I can look back and see my progress. Yesterday marked 8 months out from Ironman.
Biggest Challenge This Month:
I think the biggest challenge in October was simply getting back to training. After Muncie, I took a fair amount of time off other than a little pre-Reach the Beach training. Swimming, especially, has been tough to recover; my form left me quickly after a couple months of neglect, but is starting to come back a bit now.
Biggest Success This Month:
Since there haven't really been any "epic" workouts or anything so far, one success has been building up a little bit of a base without the usual nagging injuries I seem to get when starting out.
However, the biggest success for me has been finding some mental toughness to get in nearly all my workouts. I'm usually pretty bad at this, but maybe the magnitude of the race has scared me into it. Other than the week I was sick, I've only missed one workout without making it up later.
How I Feel About Training:
Pretty good so far! I'm really excited to be working with my coach Liz, and look forward to seeing what's next. I'm starting to feel my body adapting to the training, and not just by being hungry and sleepy. :)
How I Feel About The Race:
It's still a long way off, and doesn't seem very real at this point. The longest I've ever trained for anything to this point is probably about 4 months. Watching Meredith train hard and speed through her race has inspired me to want to be faster, and not just plod across the line. That said, I'll gladly accept a 16:59:59 finish if that's what it takes.
What's Next?
Heart rate training next week. I've never done anything with a heart rate monitor before, so I'll be really interested to see how it goes. I'm also trying to convince my coach to let me run a 4 mile race on Thanksgiving.
Also very important: finding a place to stay in Coeur D'Alene. If anyone out there has a good recommendation for lodging for two (hopefully not excessively pricey), let me know!
8 Months Out Theme Song:
"Eight Days A Week", The Beatles
Chosen because it is also the answer to the question, "How often will Dave be swimming/biking/running from here on out?"
6 comments:
Hey Dave,
Thanks for stopping by my blog! I have another one to add to my list of those I read daily. :)
Look forward to reading about your progress - and Meredith's too! She is one fast chick!
Andrea,
She certainly is! Much faster than me, at least on the run. :)
I'll be reading yours as well - it's fun to connect with more of Liz's athletes.
I think this is a great idea for a series.
Keep it up and we'll all get to look back and say
"Ha! 16:59! And now look at you finishing in 12:xx!"
Looking forward to racing with you!
Way to step up the mental toughness. That does help!
And thanks for the outfit name idea in my last post! I linked you from my newest post...
I love his idea of "checking in" each month and may have to steal it!
Go for it!
Just drop me a note when you need to know where to send the royalties... :)
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