Race Coverage

All About Challenge and Trust...

Thursday, 11 November 2010 03:45

difficult. For me it was all about the challenge. I trusted my abilities and never doubted whether or not I could finish, the real question was how fast?

The timing of the race was ideal as I was fortunate to enjoy many beautiful Fall days, perfect for endurance training. My training regimen was not what most people would call perfect, but after years as a competitive cross-country skier I know my body and my base is solid, allowing me to get away with a bit less than the traditional IM training plan may call for. As they say, 10% undertrained is better than 1% overtrained. I felt comfortable with the swim, and was careful to not over-do-it during my long runs to keep a nagging hip injury at bay. Prior to IM training, I had limited my running to races which consisted of short races and half marathon distances, so figured it was a good idea to get some miles under my belt and managed to work in two 20 mile runs early-on. Cycling in Minnesota is lovely, but a bit different than the hilly course that awaited me in Nevada. The elusive century ride was one training goal for which I fell a bit short. I attempted the 100 mile ride 3 times, but circumstances never seemed quite perfect. I did, however use these long rides to test different nutrition strategies during which I discovered peanut butter and honey sandwiches, although slightly sticky did the trick! I do realize that less than a dozen swim workouts (including races), and never testing the full run or bike distances may seem a bit scary going into an Ironman. Again, this strategy wouldn