At the beginning of the year I set a goal to go sub six hours at the Door County 70.3 this weekend. Well, in the last month, I've realized that goal isn't the right one for me right now. With my knee injuries in April, I haven't done any interval training. It's all been at a slow steady pace. That fact coupled with my knees feeling just like they did before
my injury, twingy, slightly swollen and sometimes hot to the touch, I decided to remove that goal from the list. I've also had some rough times after my long workouts (in which I have lost a lot of weight training in this heat wave) where I'm dizzy, and feel like I'm going to barf, similar to what I felt like after
NOLA 70.3. They posted a heat advisory for the race too. "It's probably not a day to set a PR, folks," says race director Sean Ryan. That said, I've been running in 95+ degree weather, so mid 80's shouldn't feel too bad for me though I have shortened my runs due to the heat.
New goals:
1. Don't permanently damage my knees.
2. Take in enough nutrition and fluid to stay out of the med tent and hopefully feel good after the race.
I've had some serious thoughts this week about DNS and DNF. Not a good mental place to be race week :-(.
Random updates:
My pool shoes came in! Should help avoid my
athlete's foot moving forward :-).
For nutrition I plan to go with Maltodextrin, salt capsules, and lemonade flavored Crystal Light. I tried using powdered Gatorade for the flavoring and while I liked the taste better, it gave me acid reflux like symptoms on a long ride.
I washed my bike for the first time in like a year. The bike shop guys gave me crap about it the last couple times I brought it in.
I'm looking forward to taking a week off of training and thinking about what to do next. This is my last scheduled tri of the season.
Anyway, I'm in full stress out mode yet I haven't started gathering gear and packing for leaving in 36 hours.
Posted with Blogsy
I hope you have a great race this weekend Mike. The heat kills me as well... I'd just make sure you are forcing yourself to take in enough liquids from the very beginning. 80's are hot to run in; but like you mentioned, you have been training in 15 degrees warmer so your body will like the 'cooler' temps.
ReplyDeleteScrew those DNS/DNF thoughts... you WILL finish :)
Have a great race. Stay in touch with your body, and you'll get through it.
ReplyDeleteMy body doesn't like gatorade either.
Good luck in your race! Have fun!
ReplyDeleteGood luck and have fun! Can't wait to hear all about it!
ReplyDeleteBest wishes for safe travels and a great race that meets your new goals and maybe even gives a nod to your old ones. Can't wait to read all about it.
ReplyDeleteDude!
ReplyDeleteBarfing, dizzy, pain, twingy, feet swelling, knees ache, ya that's the FUN part! :-)
We will chill, drink beer, and laugh about all this after we finish! ya ya
There will be pain, but not suffering!
Stay safe and healthy! That is the most important thing for sure. Good goals. Have fun and hope the heat isn't too bad.
ReplyDeleteAwwwwe, it's going to go well. Just stay level-headed and don't be all badass in this crazy heat...save that for another day. Just experiment with your "things" and have an absolute blast! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm assuming I missed it? The race was this past weekend? Hope it went well -- way better than you expected!
ReplyDeleteKnees are way more important than a PR. Have a good race. This may be more enjoyable now that you have decided not to go after the PR. But, then again, meathead syndrome may have you burning up the course. I guess we will just have to wait for your race report to find out.
ReplyDeleteSo, how was it?
ReplyDeleteStill waiting for your recap!:)
ReplyDelete