Three weeks out from the Muncie Endurathon

Looking forward and back over my prep for this race and here is what I think.



I've gotten behind on the speedwork necessary for the run. I've just haven't been able to get to the gym or track for those sessions. I have done tempo, farklet and pickups but no real intense foot-speed work. I'm concerned that I'm not going to be as efficient as I could be at higher speeds. The Asics DS Trainers are very fast for me, probably about 20 seconds a mile faster than my Kayano's but I haven't been able to run a lot of long miles in them. I tried that a few weeks ago and my arch on my left foot started to ache a bit. I went back to all of my running in my Kayano's and the problem went away. I have no problem running in them once or twice a week or racing in them but not everyday training.



I'm not as strong as I feel I should be riding hills on the bike. My flat speed is good but I seem to suffer on the hills somewhat. I'm still better than last year but not up to my expectations. Since Muncie is so flat, it's not a big concern. I will be in the weight room after the race preping for Pineman, I want a bit more strength for that race.



My open water swimming is behind where I feel it should be. Although my pool swimming has been great, open water hasn't progressed as well, or maybe it has and I've been too tired to use it effectively. Last saturday (without a wetsuit) I felt pretty good in the water and swam as fast as many did in their suits, it was a confidence booster but the dissapointment from the Ann Arbor swim is still lurking with me. I'm very straight in the water and the bilateral breathing is working very well. Sighting every 12 strokes seems to work well too, in the beginning of the swims I will sight every 6 strokes. I've been getting into more speedwork in the pool for the last 2 weeks and my stroke count has come down 2-4 strokes per 50yds also.



I've got about 3 weeks 'till Muncie now, 10 days of real training left and 10 days of tapering. Next weekend will be my last hard weekend and will do Gordo's HIM workout again but probably a little bit longer. Looking at a 5 mile run warm up, 56 mile bike, 7 mile run at race pace with a short, race-like transition. I will also work on the race day nutrition at 400cal/hour. I still have to make up the taper/race week's training schedule and will need some help with it. I'm thinking of keeping the frequency of exercising the same, reducing the volume and increasing the intensity just a little bit.



Finishing in the top 20% in the 3 races I've done this year has been a pretty good confidence booster too. That's much better than the top 40% from last year and a lot of it has come from the run training. Just a few minutes has made a big difference.



Edit: 10am

I also wanted to add that I feel very healthy this year. I don't have the aches and pains from the last 2 years. My knees feel good as well as my shoulders. I feel much stronger than before and am thinking that another Ironman wouldn't be out of the question now. I believe that I'm finally in good enough shape to train for an Ironman the way that I want to race it. 10.5 to 11 hours would be a reasonable goal for next year. 1:05,5:30,3:45 plus transitions. After Pineman in September I think I'll ramp up my run training to see how I feel going long.



Thinking of next years plans allready. Looking at 4 HIM's next year. Little Smokies (Triple T), Muskoka (close), Muncie and Steelhead. If for some reason I could qualify for Wisconsin at Muskoka, I would go for it.