And it was EPIC...

This past weekend was our EPIC TRAINING WEEKEND of Ironman training! I completed the following EPIC training:

Saturday - a 15.5 mostly trail mile run. This run was mostly a success. I ran with two Iron friends – Carol and Pam – and we did a 6/1 run/walk. I did great till mile 14.5, when I tripped on a rock and went down on my right knee and hands. Fortunately I was wearing gloves and capris, so nothing too horrible happened. I did scrape my knee through the capris, but no dirt or debris got on the wound. Success! (And yay for capris!) Had no nutrition issues, either.

Sunday – a 126.57 mile bike ride. It was supposed to be a 120 mile bike ride (I made no wrong turns but we had cue sheets for the additional mileage. I’m not sure why they added extra mileage though...) followed by a 5 mile run. But...after 126.57 miles I decided I was DONE! (Not to mention I had to get back to the dog!) But, I have to say I felt great! I did a 50.96 mile loop then went back out for another 75.61 mile loop. The first 5-10 miles of the second loop were a bit hard, but then I started feeling better. I rode with great company of Kathy and Greg, and later joined by Euge and Sara.

So, all in all my weekend training was a complete success! And more success was that my nutrition – especially on the bike – was spot on (for a change) and today I feel fantastic! And I left little miss Riley uncrated the entire time I was gone for the ride – she was out and about for 13 hours with minimal damage. Minimal = she pulled up the carpet for some carpet padding fun, but that was it! Whew!

I am now officially in taper mode, with actually less than 27 full days till race day! (omg) This weekend we have an 80 mile bike ride with subsequent distances of 50 and 30 miles. This should be a piece of cake, right? Haha – two years ago after this point before Ironman Lake Placid I thought the 40 mile bike ride would be a piece of cake. It felt like the hardest ride. Ever!

Happy and Healthy Training!

Next Up:

November 12 – Richmond 8K (This will be an easy training day as I’ll be in taper mode. I really wanted to do the Richmond Half – which is sponsored by McDonald’s – but I see from the race literature I do get a complimentary McDonald’s coffee...so it looks like I won’t be missing out on any fries!)

November 20 – Ironman Arizona (This is it!)