Checking in 18 days and 10 hours from the big day

It's certainly been a while, but I thought I would take a moment to check in and document some of the training I've been doing and how I feel about it. Bullet points always seem to work best, so here is a smattering of my life over the past few months...

• Personally things have been going really well. Maddy and I are happy and I think there has been substantially less stress in this IM build compared to 2011. I've been enjoying myself and trying not to allow my training to dictate our activities and time together. I think (hope) I'm getting better...
• Swimming has been painfully stagnant - no surprises there. I guess I thought I would be more likely to swim and push through the fact that I don't like it based on how poorly I swam in 2011. I also have a pool 400m from my front door that I can use whenever I want! Still, no motivation. I'm just never going to be a fish. Comparing January-July swimming time from 2011 to 2014, I swam 67 total hours in 2011, I've done only 37 in 2014. I also haven't been doing long sets. I swim 30-40 minutes and get out. The majority of them have been done at lunch. All that being said, the frequency of my swimming has gone up - the past few weeks I have been swimming 4-5 times per week. AND, somehow I have been "faster" in the races I've done. (*Faster is in quotes because I didn't do the same races. I did a half ironman a few weeks ago and had a swim PR, but the swim could have been a little short...) Honestly, I have no idea how I'll do in Lake Placid. I could swim 1:05 or I could swim 1:20. It will almost certainly be somewhere in the middle, but that's the range. Lake Placid also switched to the rolling start swim as opposed to the mass start. I don't know how this will play into the equation either, but I hope it helps.
• The bike has been another area where things are different and, depending on the lens, it could be seen as better or worse. On one hand my volume is down - 161 hours in 2011 vs 153 in 2014. Also, some of those hours this year were on a mountain bike, which is not much at all like riding a road or triathlon bike. My average speed is WAY down on all my rides, but this is due to the new area where I live. I used to do 30 mile rides with 200ft elevation change. Now I do 30 miles and have over 2400ft of elevation. This, however, has to have made me stronger. I had a pretty good block of riding in June and even hit a 313 mile week with 19,000ft of climbing. On the other hand, though, in the half iron I did on June 1, I rode a 2:51, which is my second slowest HIM bike split (but it's also worth noting that it was an extremely hilly course, I finished 5th overall, and only 7 people were faster on the bike). I also have a faster bike this time around with some aerodynamic toys (helmet, wheels, etc.). So I am pretty sure I'll ride faster this year, but I'm not certain. I'd put myself between a 5:15 and 5:40 for the bike if I had to guess.

• The run has been strong, but again, volume has been down. 85 hours running in 2011 and 73 in 2014. I've done less speed work, but more drills. Less brick runs, but more runs per week. In that 70.3 I mentioned, I had the second fastest run split (missed the fastest split by just 3 seconds!) and a personal best 70.3 run with a 1:28. I think my run will be there. It really depends on nutrition and bike pacing though. If I had to give myself a window for the bike it would be 3:10-3:30. 

Here is a look at my training log from the past few weeks and a snapshot of the 70.3 I did on July 1. I did put in some good hours (mostly on the bike). Let's hope it's enough!

And that's about it for now, I think. I'm still trying to come up with a solid nutrition plan. If I think of it and have some time I will write it up before the race. Overall I feel good. And that's even going into the taper when I usually feel horrible and am filled with self doubt. Only race day can show me how I'll do!

Do great work.

PW