A Fortnight To Go

Ah, time is winding down, and the day for the big race is coming soon. We're T minus 2 weeks and counting before the Mercedes Marathon in Birmingham, AL. Yesterday, I went a little outside of my training regime and went a little bit longer than I was supposed to. My program had me scheduled for 16 miles, but it had been so long since I had gone 20 miles that I felt that I needed to get it in just to see how it felt. I decided against doing a big loop around town and either carrying with me or finding drinks and gels along the way. Instead, I chose a rolling five mile loop from my house. This enabled me to come to house, use the restroom, fuel up, and change a shirt from time to time instead. It worked beautifully. It felt so good to put on a dry shirt every five miles. It felt so good in fact, I've talked Lauren into meeting me every five miles or so of the race to give me a new shirt. Sounds silly, but mentally it does wonders for you. It's kind of like a transition of sorts.

Well, the 20 mile run went really well. I actually completed 20.4 after mapping it out in a time of 2:33 which is right on pace. Now whether or not I'll be able to keep the same pace up for the last 6 miles remains to be seen as I was struggling the last few miles. It's going to be a fight, but we'll see how it goes.

So now it's two weeks of easy tapering and healthy eating. My eating plan so far has gone well. I've cut down on carbs at night and am eating a little more protein to help my muscles recover.

Off subject a bit, but if you haven't already seen it, "Dan In Real Life" with Steve Carrel is AWESOME. Take your wife, girlfriend, whoever to go see this movie. Hilarious, but also feel good and cry a little too. I didn't cry of course as triathletes don't cry, but my wife did. So go see it and thank me later.

I'm out!

G.I. Distress

I've been a little off this week as it seems I've developed a bit of a stomach issue. Normally, I have an iron stomach that rarely seems any flashes of trouble this side of extra spicy hotwings or extra greasy food. This week for some reason, things just aren't right.
Good news though, it had zero effect on my 2nd swim of the year yesterday. Contrary to my former posts where I spewed forth my loathing of the pool, I've actually really enjoyed just getting in the pool and putting in some work. I can't tell you how far I went or what my average pace was. It didn't matter. All I wanted to do was get in and go. I loved ever minute of it. Sometimes it takes a little time off from something for you to realize how much you miss it.
This weekend, if all goes well, I have one final long'ish run before the marathon. Hopefully, with some stomach friendly foods over the next couple of days, I'll actually feel up to completing it.

Called Out

Yeah, I know. It's been like a million years since I've posted. For those that are still checking in, I apologize. There are a million excuses, none of which matter a hill of beans when it comes down to it. Thanks to Crash for calling me out and getting my butt in gear.
I have recognized one thing about blogging, especially Tri-blogging. It's a bit like an accountability group. I don't feel like I've been on top of my game as of late as it seems all of my local tri friends have settled in for the winter. I take that back. My good friend Daniel is keeping it strong. Again my apologies. So until the local yocals get their act together, I'm posting my victories and defeats in training on line for the world (all 4 of you) to see.
So what the heck has been going on eh? Work fo sho! Work has been sucking every bit of life out of me during the day. Luckily, I've been doing my workouts before work. My mornings start at 5:30 am for a trip over to the Y for a little pre-work exercise. I've drastically cut down the miles I'm running during the week to give my body some rest for my long run on the weekends. I'm currently 19 days out from my first Marathon on Feb 10th. I have just two long runs left then it's race time! I'm looking forward to it, but a little nervous at the same time. My original pace goal is out the window. It's going to be a bit slower I fear, but no worries. I'm in it for the experience.
During these last couple of weeks, I'm really starting to watch my nutrition a bit more and concentrate on being at race weight come Feb 10th. I have a little work today as the holidays were definitely celebrated here in B'ham.
More posts to come. I promise. Take care.