Week Thirty-Five

Week one of taper is over, and I am exactly 2 weeks away from my ironman.

At the start of the week, I still had a low grade fever. I ended up resting on Monday and Tuesday, telling myself that after last weekend, I definitely had to hold off until the fever went away. By now, I am much better. My voice is still scratchy, and I'm still a bit "sinus-y," but I feel like I'm at the end of it all.

The "long workouts" are definitely not long anymore. On Saturday, I had to bike 90 minutes (hilly) and run 30. I was so glad to be joined by my friend Mimi, who was trying out her new bike. We rode up Empire Grade and then rode around the university a bit. For our run, we kept up just about a 10 minute mile pace, with a 9/1 run/walk interval. I couldn't believe I was done with training by 9:15 in the morning!

On Saturday night, my friends from a former TNT run team (Team Flash!) got together for a little send-off for me. It was so nice for all of us to be together. I got an ironman visor from Mimi, and "when pigs fly" socks from Cristina. The funniest thing that happened that evening was when we were looking at the dessert menu. I intended to say that I didn't need dessert because I was so full, but I accidently said, "I can't. I'm so hungry!" It was hysterical, because I realized that I was so used to saying "I'm so hungry" that that's what instinctively came out of my mouth. :-)

On Sunday, I could have either slept in to run my 10 miles by myself, or get up at 6 AM to go to San Jose and run with the team. I am so glad I ran with the team! I love running with Christina K, Christina D, Afi, and Sheri! They were going 16 - 20 miles, so I ended early, but it was great to be with them. I have been feeling a bit of anxiety building about this upcoming adventure, and being around others who are training for the same thing definitely gave me a sense of comfort.

I talked with Coach Mike after the run. We talked about how it's normal to feel really emotional during taper, have "phantom pains," and still be feeling tired, as though the workouts are still hard. I'm glad to hear that all of that is normal. I haven't had any phantom pains, but I've definitely been feeling emotional, and I had been worried that the workouts were feeling hard, despite the decrease in training hours. It'll be interesting to observe what I experience this upcoming week with taper.

When I got home from the run, I was exhausted. I don't know why, but I slept a long time. When I got up, I felt just lethargic. I never did get out to the pool for my 2000 yard swim. :-(

I have to say that it's a weird feeling to know that I'm going to do an ironman in two weeks. It's not the same feeling for me as before a marathon or any other triathlon. The anticipation doesn't compare to the anticipation of climbing Mt. Shasta, or walking El Camino De Santiago. It's just so much bigger. It feels a little surreal; almost as though I'm in denial that it's finally here. There is a huge part of me that's excited, don't get me wrong.... it's just that when I think of it, I get hit with such a barrage of conflicting feelings that sometimes even thinking about it is overwhelming. Lots of people ask, "Are you getting excited?" To which I generally respond with something like, "Yes. That is one of the things I'm feeling right now."


THIS WEEK'S SUMMARY
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Run 6 miles
Thursday: Bike 40 minutes, run 40 minutes
Friday: Swim 3400 yards
Saturday: Bike 90 minutes, run 30 minutes
Sunday: Run 11 miles (the extra happened accidently)