Another race countdown & October training stats

By this time next weekend I will have completed my first international distance event. MiamiMan International Triathlon is a .6 mile swim, 22 mile bike and 6.6 mile run. A slightly shorter swim, but longer run than a true Olympic distance. I feel capable of completing, but not truly racing this event like I would a sprint. I guess that feeling is par for the course since this is my first take at a longer distance. Of course, let's not kid ourselves... everyone has gaols. My goals are basically the following:

1. Finish (most important) in around 3 hours... plus or minus 10 minutes. This should be achievable.
2. Complete swim in around 20 minutes
3. Average bike speed over 22 miles = 17 to 18 mph
4. Run at 10 min/mile pace or better over the course of 6.6 miles (I think this is going to be the tough goal for me)

Today was really my last 'push' before the race. Sondra and I completed a 30 mile bike with 1 mile intervals thrown in this morning and later in the day, I put in a mile at the pool.

I plan to focus on speedwork tomorrow (run & bike) and again on Tuesday (swim). The remainder of the week will be light, recovery efforts. I normally take the day before a race completely off; however, this time around I plan on doing an easy swim on Saturday at the race venue. There is a swim clinic that is being held by an area 'stroke doctor' so I might as well try to take advantage of an expert eye.

Training notes: This past week I have been practicing my dismount. Last Tuesday I got out my hybrid and practiced swinging my leg over and coasting to the dismount and going straight into a transition run. Today I practiced on Pixie. Much more difficult when having to deal with the cycling shoes in addition balancing and bringing the leg across. I did it though... and didn't fall once. I'm not quick at it yet, so I don't know how beneficial a race attempt would be at this point. Mounting the bike with the shoes already clipped in... well, that's far off in the future somewhere. For some reason, the dismount just seems more achievable at this point. Any mount/dismount suggestions out there?

My blisters are healing. I had no problem using just a band-aid on the bike today. I'm curious to see how my interval run will feel tomorrow. I'm hoping that by Saturday I'll be able to just use band-aids and not have to worry about any extra wrappings. My knee is still giving me some issues. I ordered a Cho-Pat Dual Action Strap. Hope it helps.


October Training Stats
Swim: 9.1 miles (16,136 yards)
Bike: 118.4 miles
Spinning: 125.5 miles
Run: 61.6 miles (talk about an injury prone month)
Strength/BodyFlow/Yoga: 5 times

I'm happy with October's stats despite my lower than usual running mileage. Alas, there's nothing I could do about my knee and heels other than to rest. I'm hppy to see my outdoor cycling stats go up without a drop in my indoor spinning stats. If I am able to continue this trend, I should see my cycling proficiency improve. My swim increased by a good 3,000 yards. Another plus.