Week 30: Wedding & Race Preview & Predictions!!
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| Congratulations to Matthew & Macey Curtis! |
A few days later than usual, but here is the weekly blog....
Wow! That was a week! Travelled 1,300 miles from Kansas to Delaware, dude time at the beach, rehearsal dinner (we were in charge of that), wedding, and training! Had to work around all the plans to get my first taper week training in and I can say I did OK with it. The wedding was great, and such a great day to celebrate Matthew and Macey as they begin their lives together. So happy for them, but it's nice to be able to breathe some right now. Here are the weekly stats before I get into the 70.3 Eagleman race preview and predictions….
Weekly Stats:
- Swim (2x)
- 2.16 miles (3,804 yards)
- 1:16:19
- Bike (3x)
- 80.51 miles
- 4:27:40
- Run (3x)
- 13.68 miles
- 2:18:05
- Yoga (2x)
- 56:12
- TOTALS:
- 10 workout sessions
- 96.35 miles
- 8:58:16
Training Notes:
This was a tough week to get my training in. Lots of miles driven and a flexible routine. Family priorities take first place, so of course any of the wedding festivities would trump any training. All that meant was that I had to work around those to get my swim, bikes and runs in. Here are a couple of the highlights since my normal schedule was all out of whack.
Our AirBNB in Lewes, DE, was right on Love Creek coming
off the Rehoboth Bay. Ever since I
booked the place, I was hoping to get a swim in on the creek. On Friday afternoon after the rain let up,
Rylan went out on the paddleboard and I hopped into my wetsuit and I swam 2,000
yards from channel marker to channel marker.
Just fun to get out in the water, but I won’t lie. I was still a little nervous as it had a
tidal flow (going out) and was salt water.
I don’t have a lot of practice in that, but it was great! So glad I got that swim in, and I felt really
comfortable in the water. I’m ready for
the Choptank River this Sunday!
I had mapped out several bike courses in the surrounding countryside near our AirBNB, but am always leary riding new roads. But the area around where we stayed was very similar to what the course will be next week in Maryland. I was able to get a couple of rides in and I was very happy with the times and speeds I could produce on a flat course. I did an hour ride and a 90-minute ride and both of those were faster than I do in KS with the same amount of effort. It helps when the total elevation change is just 500' over 27 miles.
One of my runs on Saturday (after the 90-minute ride) I was able to do on the beach. The last time I ran on the beach was a year ago at the same location, but I did it then barefoot. This time I still wore my running shoes as I didn't want my feet and calves to hurt like they did before. The night before the run was a big storm that washed THOUSANDS of horseshoe crabs onto the beach. It was like dodging landmines and it was incredible to see that many all over. Even with running in sand, my pace and HR stayed true (maybe a bit slower with the sand movement), so it was good end to taper week #1.
Race Preview:
So here is where I make my predictions. Just a quick run-down of what the course entails and what my goals are for each discipline. I will be putting this out there publicly, knowing that they are goals and not concrete finish times. I may exceed them, I may fall a bit short of them, but based off where my training has been, I feel good about it. And knowing I put my goals out there will keep me pushing.
Nutrition... In my previous half-Ironman races, I didn't have a solid nutrition plan. I knew I just needed to stay hydrated on the bike, and take the gels when I needed to. This time, however, I have it much more detailed. I plan on taking a Maurten gel right before the swim, then again as I get into transition before heading out onto the bike course. Once on the bike, I will take 6 squeezes of my water bottle every 5 miles (around 13-15 minutes). These bottles will have Tailwind nutrition in them, with electrolytes and carbohydrates. That will put me at 3 bottles over the course of the 56 miles. Also I'll have my aerobar hydration bottle that will have just water to sip on when I need. At mile 54 of the bike course, I will take another Maurten gel to prepare for the run. I will have a disposable water bottle with me on the run to sip as needed, and will take a Maurten gel every 30 minutes. If I need to grab any on-course hydration, I can do that, but I want to have my water bottle handy for right when I need it at any time and not have to wait for the aid stations.
Final Time Predictions... Here are my predictions for each discipline, including transitions.
- Swim--39:23
- T1--4:16
- Bike--2:43:25
- T2--3:26
- Run--2:09:32
- TOTAL TIME--5:40:02
This is a pretty bold time for me. This would be just shy of a 25-minute PR from my best half-Ironman distance. I'm actually pretty nervous as I know what my training has prepared me, and I want to be prove that my training is accurate and I know what I'm capable of. So many things can affect minutes here and there--long transition areas which might add a few minutes, strong winds that can slow me down, and warm humid air. The biggest times that are up in the air in my mind are the transitions. I'm not sure how long the run will be coming out of the water, and it really depends on where my bike is staged. Add a few minutes, subtract a few minutes. But I'm sticking with between 5:35 and 5:40 for my final time. Whew. That's a scary number.....No matter what happens I want to enjoy the race, the experience, and the locale and see the efforts of my training pay off!!
Life Application:
For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die.
Philippians 1:20 (NLT)
Currently I am sitting at the counter of Julie's maid of honor (thanks, DeAnn for the hospitality!) Watching Matthew and Macey's wedding on Sunday sent me back 27 years to Julie and my wedding. I was thinking how that related to my triathlon. Because of course triathlon does not get turned off in my head. Here's what I came up with--it's not very deep, so be warned!
Just do the right things everyday. It doesn't have to go perfect--marriage isn't and training isn't either--but the key is to do my best every single day. And don't let the days build on top of each other where I either don't work out for several days (or weeks) or don't work on my relationship. My race day coming up and the wedding on Sunday is and was the culmination of a lot of hard work leading up to those respective days. Little things might not go exactly how we want, but trust the process and I have to know that my work in the previous 17 weeks will pay off on race day. And I know that the little things I do to make Julie and me stronger in our relationship even after 27 years will pay off. Because everyday is race day in our relationship. And I trust the process.
Final Thoughts:
Oh boy! Only a few days left before I get to see what I can do! I will be sending out a Ironman Tracker link so everyone can track me on race day. Thanks, as always, for following along with my on my journey. Eagleman is just one step in my path to IM Florida in November. I'm loving the journey though!
For the next few days--and beyond--I'm going to:
Keep Fit, Stay THE Course, and Keep Moving Forward
CPC
Olathe, KS (via Lynchburg, VA)
6/4/25
91 hours, 58 minutes until 70.3 Eagleman
3,597 hours, 58 minutes until Ironman Florida
You are going to crush it.
ReplyDeleteYou are so well prepared. You’ll have a great time!
ReplyDelete