Rx: Ironman

I Did The Big Nasty Three Times

...um hill that is. I found out that its official name is Myrtle Hill, but I think The Big Nasty is more fitting. It's the type of hill that you have to ride your brakes all the way down for fear of death (especially since it takes you straight into downtown Stillwater), and on the way up, you feel like you'll die for a different reason. It's practically straight up, and it's 0.6 miles long. Every time I went up it, my average dropped about 0.3 MPH. We won't talk about what my average was at the end of day.

Thursday was my big ride of the week. It was my comp day for working last weekend, and since I had family coming to town this weekend, I thought it would be a better day for a ride. Ninety-five degrees and humid are perfect conditions for 106 miles of solid hills, no? Well, apparently not for me. I had a few nutrition issues, which is out of my norm and could only manage a meager 2 mile run after it was over. I was afraid that I was drinking too much on the bike, but when I weighed myself when I got home, I was 2 pounds down. I think I need to rework the enduralytes and water plan for next weekend's 112 miler. I I'll be doing the same course with another loop to hit up Big Nasty 4 times. The whole darn ride is hills, but I know I'll need it in 4 weeks.

Last night Steph and I went on a 20 mile run. I wore my GPS but kept having to mentally recalculate how far we'd gone because the miles flew by. My body felt like it normally does after hitting the pavement for that long, but mentally, it was the easiest run of my summer. Today I have that calm sense of quiet peace that comes with a physically tiring workout. And for some reason, soreness after running is my favorite kind. Maybe it's because it's the most familiar. I've been doing long runs for longer than I've been doing long bikes or swims or weightlifting. Even though it hurts, it feels good in some weird twisted way, more than just a "I must have gotten in a great workout yesterday" kind of way. I'm pretty sure this makes me crazy.

Other highlights of the week: Monday's 3 mile swim went really well, aside from the foot cramps that plagued me off and on. Does anyone else get these?

Last week of full training! This both excites and petrifies me. Parts of me know that I'm ready, but parts of me could use, oh, say another 4 months or so. I remember being at this point last year, having put in the training and going over the "what ifs". I guess you just never really know until you've crossed the finish line.