S-U-C-C-E-S-S!

Yahoo! Long brick success!

Yesterday was the cap on a very tough build week and my 2nd to last chance to 'get it right' before Augusta. I'm happy to announce that finally, FINALLY it all came together!

4 hrs, 22 minutes on the bike followed by a 40 minute t-run... and I survived!

NUTRITION

Calories in on bike: 1200 liquid cals (concentrate of carbo pro & Gatorade Endurance mix) plus 1 peanut butter sandwich cracker (33 cals) = 1233 cals

Calories in on run: 120 (chocolate powerbar gel)

Sodium: approximately 900 mg per hour

THE RIDE

Scott and I set out at the crack of dawn, which right now is 6:50AM. It was soooo nice out at 76F! Lots of humidity in the air, but as long as long as the temp stays below 85F, I can deal wit the excess humidity. The first 1.5 hours of the ride were bliss. I kept saying to myself, "if Augusta is like this, I'll be set!" Then, Scott got a flat. A pain-in-the-ass one too! He picked up the skinniest shard of metal (almost looked like a super thin staple) and it was stuck in the tire. We spent at least 15 minutes trying to coax this super thin sliver of metal out of the tire... it was really stuck in there. We totally could have used some tweezers! Eventually it loosened up, Scott changed the tire and were were on our way.

At the 41 mile mark, we made our aid stop. It was deep in the 80s now and we were really starting to feel the sun. We loaded up with ice and lots of cold water. Took a quick pee break and were on our way again.

I was still feeling great! The idea of only riding 15 more miles from that point (for the 56 1/2 iron distance) was thrilling! I could do this and do it well! The chant that is heard at the end of the movie, The Secret of My Success kept running through my mind. Over and over, I was saying to myself S-U-C-C-E-S-S! Of course, Scott and I still had 34 more miles to go and we were going to have to battle the sun. It was around the 62 or 63 mile mark when I started to feel my energy drain a bit. Cardiovascularly I was in great shape! I was staying well hydrated and my low HR showed it. It was the muscular endurance that started to let me down.

I was also growing extremely uncomfortable on my bike. The new V-Flow Max saddle was removed at our 41-mile pit stop (this saddle has a great shape, but the cut out isn't substantial enough and it was pinching me) and I put the Adamo back on (grrr). When the V-Flow was on, my neck/shoulders felt great; but as soon as the Adamo went on, I started to feel the tension. An obvious position problem. I WILL get this right before Augusta come hell or high water!

Eventually 75.1 miles rolled around and the ride was over! Time to begin the t-run.

THE RUN

The heat index was 98F when we set out to do the t-run! Good grief! However, aside from the killer tension in my neck/shoulders, I knew I could get through this run. Besides, there was an ice bath waiting for me at the end of it all!

I ran the first two miles without walking. This is progress for me after a super long ride b/c it's always so freakin' hot! However, that's pretty much where the straight-up running ended. After that, I put myself on my "run 2-minutes, walk 1 minute" schedule and finished out the remainder of the 40 minutes. If it's 98F in Augusta by the time I get to run, I'll be doing the same thing. And finally, FINALLY I can say that I'm "ok" with that!

R&R WEEK

This week it's all about R&R! Oh, what am I going to do with myself with such a reduction in volume? Enjoy every, single freakin' minute!!! Next week is the final build to Augusta and then it's taper time! Woo-hoo!

AUGUSTA

Regarding Augusta. I've been keeping a daily watch on their weather for a few weeks now! They are definitely 10 degrees cooler than we are here in the mornings (for example, right now at 8:55AM it's 72F there; here it's already 81F). That's good. If they don't get a ridiculous heat wave at the end of September, it looks like we'll be seeing highs in the low to mid-80s on race day. This is very good. Of course, I am not counting my chickens before they are hatched. It could also reach a high of 92, but at least I'll be used to it. Hopefully (really keeping fingers crossed here), the cool trend that the NE has seen this summer will continue and it will drift further South as the month progresses.

Enough talk about the weather. I'm actually growing excited about the race itself. It's about time! I'm REALLY excited about the swim. My swimming has been feeling very strong lately and b/c Augusta is a point-to-point river swim with the current, swim splits should be super fast for everyone! I do plan to work a bit on the bike (I promise, Coach Jen), but I also plan to bird watch. I'm way too scared about blowing up on the run, so I imagine that I'll have a very conservative bike split. The run, I could give or take at this point. The weather, not my fitness, will be the determining factor for me. Excluding all of that, I'm just excited about getting away for a few days with Scott and seeing some of my tri camp buddies!

Off to work now... and to enjoy the start of the US Open! Tennis time, baby!!!