Biggest Weekend for Ironman Florida Training...

...Has now been completed! Besides my left knee feeling unpleasantly tight and sore with every pedal stroke on the bike today, this weekend went without a hitch (and besides running out of ice cream sandwiches before the end of Sunday night). I did my 24 mile run yesterday and felt pretty okay during most of it. My pace was in the 8:40s (I think, but I'm too lazy to get up and get my workout log to actually check) but I wasn't doing a great job at keeping my heart rate in zone. I finished in under 3:30. Oh well, I just wanted the run DONE! And then today I got up at 5am to drive 1:15 outside the city to Maryland's Eastern Shore with Bryan and Scott for the 120 mile Team Z ride. We got there on time (I NEVER get to rides on time!) and did two rounds of the 54 mile loop that has two turns (and those turns are in the first/last two miles of the loop), so you don't even need a cue sheet. You just put your head down and ride. It's nice and flat. But it is ALWAYS windy, no matter WHAT direction you are going in. You almost always feel like you have a headwind. There were times during the ride today that I was just cursing out loud. That's when you know you're having an awesome ride - you're by yourself, surrounded by wind (phantom wind because none of the leaves are blowing on the darn trees - you really start to wonder if you're just making the wind up, if 120 miles have simply made you delusional) and talking to yourself. Ohh, and your face is covered with bits of PowerBar and peanut butter from your peanut butter and jelly sandwich. All that's left to do is pee on your bike and you are officially a complete mess (I refrained - I only pee on my bike during Savageman). But I'm getting off-topic. Started the ride out towards the front, jumped on the Kate Green train for a little bit, went off and got in my extra 12 miles (the two loops were only 108 miles) in the middle of the first loop, and then ended up riding solo for the rest of the ride because I wasn't catching up to anyone who was riding my pace. It was a beautiful day for riding, it was great to see friends that I hadn't seen in awhile, and there was pizza and homemade heart-shaped brownies waiting for us at the end of the ride. I did the 120 in 6 hours and 36 minutes, averaging 18.1 mph (definitely did not negative split the bike). I did a short 3 mile run after the bike just to see how I felt. My sore knee did not affect my running, fortunately. For the first half mile, I was running REALLY slow and felt really sore and stiff and told myself that it was probably not a smart idea to ride as fast as I did today at Ironman. But by the time I hit the first mile I had loosened up, my pace had quickened, and I did the three miles with an 8:34 pace, staying within Zone 2 for almost all of it. I have more confidence for Ironman Florida. I have time goals for all three disciplines and an overall time goal in my head, but I am not ready to share them. Perhaps after the race :)

Training was good this weekend. And now I'm off to sleep!