Feeling Good
“It’s a bird… It’s a plane… It’s SUP… oh wait. It’s just me.”
Well, I’m just about done here with my last BIG week. Tomorrow, I’ve got my final training century of the year and hopefully a six mile run afterwards. And then… ahhhh, the taper begins. *phew*
I’ve been feeling strangely good this week. Starting Tuesday, I did my last LONG run of the season. I think it was around 16 miles (although my Nike+iPod combo thingie told me it was 17). I got done and other than my stomach wanting to eat itself alive, I felt pretty darn good! I felt like I could have run more, and that may be the first time in my history of triathlon training that I can say that after a run of that duration!
I had good, 30 mile rides Wednesday through Friday. Thursday’s ride was the best. It was just one of those no-chain rides and I felt like I was pushing hard but my HR just wouldn’t leave zone 2 no matter what. By the end, I had averaged 20 MPH (I think for only the second time this season on a training ride) with an average heart rate of 133.
So the body is giving me good signals - very good ones. I almost feel guilty since I think I’ve worked harder in the past two years than I have this year. I think my running has improved largely because I’ve lost the excess around the mid-section recently; running is a whole lot easier not having to carry around a 12-pack of soda all the time (a 12 pack is 9.8 pounds - I weighed it the other day and I’ve lost more than that!). I’m sure the weight loss has helped my power to weight ratio on the bike as well. But I guess I’m finally starting to believe now that real progress at this long distance stuff takes years to develop. You read all the time of folks saying that if you want to go to Kona, it takes five years of commitment. Well, I’m not Kona bound and am only into my third year of this long stuff. But maybe… just maybe my body is starting to finally adapt? I don’t know. I don’t feel deserving to have a PR year since I haven’t put in as much work, but I suppose the past two seasons of work doesn’t just get erased because there is an off-season in the middle. I’m not saying that I’ll PR because you never know what you’ll get on race day, but I can’t remember feeling as good as I do now in seasons past. So… we’ll see! I certainly don’t want to count my chickens before they hatch, but I’m in good spirits going into my taper.
One more century. It sounds odd to say, but I think I’ll miss these routine centuries on the weekends. At this stage, 100 miles is just another another ride. I’m going to miss being in this kind of shape in the months to come post Ironman.