IMAZ Week 16: Race prep.

16 weeks down, 8 weeks to go. 6 weeks until taper starts!

As previously posted, this week was a bitterly cold week in Austin. Getting up and running outside in the cold weather took a little bit of determination, but I surprised myself with how much I enjoyed my Thursday night pre-trainer ride run around Town Lake, and how fast and easy it felt! The only regret I have this week is that I didn't get up and swim at Barton Springs on Friday morning - from the few other T3'ers that swam there it sounded like they had a blast, a chilly but fabulous swim. I knew that would happen, and I'm a bit annoyed that I missed out but my bed sure was nice and warm and cozy on Friday morning and that was also fabulous! I was hoping to do a make up swim on Saturday afternoon, post-ride, but they had to close Barton Springs for maintenance late Friday and it won't re-open until early March.

Saturday I woke up to glorious sunshine and the promise of temp's in the 50's. Now that's the kind of weather I want! Unfortunately, the "gotcha" was that this weather brought 15mph winds from the North with up to 25mph gusts. It was fantastic riding South down to Hays - I felt so fast and easily averaged 18.7mph without any effort. The ride out there took 2hrs 5min (for 39mi). The ride back was a tough slog in the wind, and at times I (and others) nearly got blown off the road. It didn't help that I had my race wheels on, which typically are harder to handle in windy weather, but it was great practice to teach me how to handle my bike in windy weather! By the time we got back to the car, the average had dropped to 16.5mph for a total of 78 miles (2hrs 37min for 39mi). The best part was that although cycling in the wind was a bit tiring, I felt great for the entire ride this week and finished feeling strong. I think I've really got my nutrition down and I'm good at pacing myself on the bike, and the last month of long rides has really improved my cycling.

My tag line for the week "Race prep." has everything to do with the bike. Two years ago at Ironman Arizona they had 20mph winds and gusts up to 30mph, so the weather on Saturday was a perfect training ride to be able to confidently handle this type of weather on race day. I hope the weather isn't so windy for this years IMAZ, but if it is then I'm prepared!

The week finished with one of my best long runs ever. This morning we ran with a few others from T3 and did 20 miles around Town Lake. I pushed pretty hard today and managed to keep pace with Chrissie and Maurice (who are faster than me!). It felt great up until about mile 16, then it started to hurt but I pushed through and kept running. It was a glorious morning for a run. Perfect weather. After finishing the run we all went up to the AT&T Austin Marathon finish line (Gordon and I did an all-out sprint to try and catch our friend Mike cross the finish line, but unfortunately we missed him) then we went and got some coffee, a bagel, had a chat, then walked two miles along Town Lake back to the car. It was so NICE to walk Town Lake! The sun was out and felt warm and it was just gorgeous out there. It also felt good to do a recovery walk, and I'm counting it towards my hours this week!

Seeing all the marathon finishers started to get me thinking about my own race in 8 weeks time. The finish line announcer at the marathon is the same person who will be doing the Ironman Arizona finish line in 8 weeks time... "Amanda McGregor, you are an Ironman". I can't wait to hear those words!

Okay, now I need to check my excitement otherwise it is going to be a really, really long 8 weeks and Gordon has already told me I need to calm down :)

This week's training was a bit different - I had 3 off days (should have only been 2 except that I missed a swim), but doubled up workouts more than usual. I think it worked out well but it's a little freaky to see 3 off days. I will aim for less this week.


Mon - OFF
Tue - Run (0.75h) + Swim (1.25h)
Wed - OFF (Valentine's Day)
Thu - Run (0.75h) + Trainer (1.5h)
Fri - OFF
Sat - Long Bike (78mi/4.75h)
Sun - Long Run (20mi/3.5h)

Weekly Totals:

Cyling: 6.25h / 108mi (Goal: 6.5h)
Running: 5h / 32mi (Goal: 5h)
Swimming: 1.25h / 2mi (Goal: 2.5h)