One week to Ironman

Well, the big day is almost here. Back in early June, when I decided to sign up for an Ironman, November seemed so far away. Now we leave in 4 days!  I'll be racing at this moment in 7 days!   Eeek!

All of our travel is planned and should be easy (save for that tight first connection in Houston - 50 minutes!).   We will be gone Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, through the following Thursday Dec. 1. Flying directly in to Cozumel island, so we avoid the dreaded Cancun airport bus to Playa del Carmen then ferry to Cozumel.   My bike is already on its journey - I dropped it off here in Atlanta yesterday and I pick it up at the race expo.   Our hotel, the Iberostar Cozumel, is booked and should be pretty nice, so says Tripadvisor. Looking forward to enjoying those beaches a few days post-race.

I am feeling pretty good. Mentally feeling really positive and physically feeling rested and that my knee is getting stronger.  I've done most of what my training plan called for. I'm not worried about the swim - I've done the race distance easily almost weekly (2.4 miles).  One the bike, I've done 6 centuries including one 113 miler.   Each time 6+ hours in the saddle got easier.   Now that my bike has been re-fit, I feel like I'm getting much more power for the same effort. Hopefully that will give me a MPH or 2 over the race distance (112 miles). Let's hope that's true, and that changing my entire fit 6 weeks before the race doesn't do more harm than good. 

The run is the wildcard.  I have not done the run training needed to run a marathon, much less an IM marathon (26.2 miles).  I started getting knee pain due to IT band syndrome in early August.  Up until then, I was steadily running 10-14 miles every weekend at a strong sub-9:00 pace, and some faster 5-7 milers during the week.  Then the knee pain started and I couldn't run for 5 minutes.  It has been a real struggle for 3 months.  Visiting the doctor 1-2 times every week.  They were stumped. I even had an MRI, and it only showed inflammation (no tears or fractures).  I had pretty much stopped running and was still getting the pain.  After going through all of my bio-mechanics and clearing all adhesions/knots (which was not pleasurable treatment!), we finally determined that cycling must be causing it, because I was still cycling a ton.  I went to a different bike fitter than where I had bought my bike, and he completely refit me.  My bike was way too small and my position so compact that it was stressing my joints.  Believe me, that shop that fit me originally is getting an earful when I get back from this trip!

In the last 6 weeks, my knee has definitely gotten stronger.  I still have pain after running about 3 miles, but I know I'm not going to injure anything permanently.  It will just be painful.  I'm actually going to the doc tomorrow to discuss getting a cortisone shot in my knee. The shot will essentially quickly reduce the inflammation to get me through the race pain-free (hopefully) and then start to speed recovery.  

It's going to be a tough day.  I knew that when I signed up back in June, but the injury and lack of run training are going to make it that much tougher.   I know I'm going to finish, it's just a question of how long it's going to take.   

I've been thinking about my goals today, so I wanted to lay them out here. I shouldn't really have any specific time goals for the first Ironman.  It helps me visualize to write them out.  This also helps to give Kent a plan for where & when he can cheer!.  We also post our goals in our tri team's message boards, so forgive the tri-geek details....I just copy-pasted here.

[Also wanted to mention that our phones won't work in Mexico, but we'll try to check in with email/Facebook when we can.   You can track me LIVE during the race at Ironmanlive.com]

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Race Name:  IM Cozumel

Race Location: Cozumel, Mexico
Race Day, Date, and Time:  Sunday, Nov. 27, 7:00 a.m. (CST)
Race Type / Distance: Ironman, 2.4m swim, 112 m bike, 26.2 m run

Race number: 1958

Overall Goals

1) ENJOY the experience.  Enjoy the pre-race hype, enjoy the butterflies in my stomach when I'm about to jump in the water to start, enjoy the ride along the beautiful beach, enjoy my Payday candy bar, enjoy the finish line chute!  

2) SMILE. Finish with a smile on my face.  High five as many Mexicans as I can. I've heard the local fans are awesome!  

3) Keep it in CHECK.  Don't go out too hard in the water and try to win the swim.  Don't go out too hard the first 50 miles of the bike.  Keep the HR in check.

The weather is looking GREAT at this point.  High 78, low 68.  So not too cold for the start, not too hot on the bike, and it will start to get dark when I am running (5:06pm).  Forecast is saying cloudy/scattered showers, which is ok with me.

I'm giving myself time "windows", as I don't know what to expect for my first IM. Really just want to give Kent an idea of where/when to cheer! I realize a total 2 hour window is pretty large - I really think I will come in directly in the middle. The run is such a wild card for me, the currents and wind may play a big factor.

• Swim: 1:00 - 1:15  
• Bike: 6:45 - 7:30
• Run: 4:15 - 5:15
• T1 + T2: 10-15
• TOTAL: 12:10 - 14:15

Swim: 1:00 - 1:15

One loop of clear, blue water.  Deep water start. Warm water, so no wetsuits (an even playing field!). Currents will hopefully be beneficial and waves will be calm. Just try to find a spot on the outside, away from the crazy thrashing people.  Try not to kick so much, except to kick people who are drafting off of me (kidding!).  Find a strong pace and swim the shortest possible distance.  Remind myself to just keep my stroke together when I get tired - roll the hips and finish the back of the stroke. 

T1 + T2: 10 - 15

Not really sure what to expect. I'm not changing clothes, and it should be warm enough that I can just put the shoes on and GO. 

Bike: 6:45 - 7:30

Three pancake-flat loops. The first two laps are 39.5 miles each and the third lap is 33 miles.  Don't go out too hard.  Keep eating and drinking.  Pray for calm winds, but on an island I have a feeling my prayers may not be answered.  Just keep my HR in the right place and think about an efficient pedal stroke.  Try not to stop too much and just stay focused!  

Run: 4:15 - 5:15

3 loops of flat out-and-back through the town, 8.7 miles each loop. The run is such a wildcard for me and is going to be a huge mental challenge.  My knee is feeling stronger in the past few weeks, but still is inflamed and hurts after about 3 miles. I haven't done the run training needed to run a marathon - haven't done a long run since Aug. 7th and since then it's been 2-3 miles Galloway-style.  I did an 8 and 6 miler within the past few weeks, and they hurt.  I'm still able to maintain around 10:00/mile with a 6/1 walk and the couple of bricks I've done after 100 mile rides felt pretty good.  So I'm hoping that will happen on race day.  The plan for the first two loops (17.4 miles) is to try to keep running and only walk the aid stations. Keep eating and drinking.  On the third lap, just see how I feel, add some walk breaks if needed, and hope adrenaline (and flat Coke) will get me to the finish line!!