Kona countdown - 86 days!!

After the race on sunday, I took it easy on monday and went for an easy 1 hour spin on my road bike. So the hour race on monday wasn't hardly a warm-up if you are talking about training volume, but in reference to intensity, I raced at my max and I took it easy after the race. I don't race a lot because of my heavy volume of training on the weekends, but when I get the chance to participate in a local race I really enjoy it and I want to stay around and socialize rather than bolt out to get some training in after the race. Tuesday morning was a light swim, followed by a tough treadmill run workout. I was really focused for the run because all I could think about were the 4 girls who "ran" me down at the race. The set was intense, fast and challenging (3 x 3:45 desc 1-3 w/ 1:15 recovery between each 3. Then repeat same set for 4-6 descending). In total it was a little over 7 miles with warm-up and warm-downn and I felt strong throughout the set. Now if only I could hold that pace for a marathon!!! haha-maybe one day, just maybe. Tuesday evening I went for a spin on the tri bike and felt really good. I ended up with around 30 miles. I've been falling asleep exceptionally early (around 9:30-9:45) and I feel sleeping a sound night has really helped me recovery. Of course I am good with my recovery nutrition and I rarely have sore muscles the days after hard training sessions. Wed. morning, normal wed - spin, lift/core and swim. I haven't been napping at all during the day and I am going to make myself turn off the computer on the weekend (except to keep track of athletes in races) and rest my mind and just be lazy. Wed evening was brutal. A VERY tough ride with the guys. Celia and Roberta weren't there and even though they are fast enough to rotate, the intensity was high for the workout that evening. Karel seemed to lead the pace for the workout and when I noticed I was hanging on at 25-28mph I was really pushing myself to stay anyone's wheel. I was right behind the rotation group on the 4th loop when all of a sudden, some of the guys stopped rotating to have a break. In other words, I lost a wheel to draft off of and when the guys were ready to get back into the rotation, I was not strong enough to accelerate and catch the group on the 5th and final lap. One other rider and I pulled each other for the last loop (around 3 miles) and we both sprinted to the finish to catch the other riders. Karel said he felt really strong and fresh tonight and spun easy gears all evening. I just laugh as I push heavy gears with my sky-high elevated heart rate. I think I looked like death as I pedaled home with Karel and of course the ride wasn't over when we were heading home. Karel wanted me to push hard for another couple miles. He said I needed to train my mind for in Kona, I can't give up even when my body wants to stop. With tears in my eyes, I tried to stay on his wheels. I will cry tears of pain before I complain so I was relieved when we finally slowed down the pace. The post race smoothie never tasted so great and the stage for the TDF was awesome. Let's say it was a great evening. This morning I woke up tired (body was tired) but had an awesome 3600 yard swim. Swim pace is finally dropping but still have a long way to go. 1 hour run after the swim and I finished up the day with my bike-open water swim-bike this evening. As I sit here waiting for karel to come home from his ride I want to thank my friends and family for their support as I train intensly for the Ironman World Championships. Ironman training is long, lonely, tough and did I say long???? Thanks again everyone...these next 12 weeks are going to be tough!