Dealing with Physical Pain
Sorry, but I have few words of wisdom about this. It hurts like the devil. Looking back over my posts, I described hurting even while sleeping when I tried to turn over in bed. The only thing I can say is you only have two weeks of build to go. Hang in there. Get a massage, get some Endurosoak from PRR and indulge with a glass of wine and bubblegum book in the bath. And stretch stretch stretch. Listen to your body - see next.
Dealing with the Exhaustion
You've completed the guts of your training. If you miss a workout or three, don't stress about it. There is very little you can do over the next two weeks to add to your fitness. And in the five weeks of taper, nothing you can do to add to it. The taper is for sharpening and refining. The next two weeks are more about the mental distance as much as the geographic distance.
This week last year - the week before the 110 mile bike ride weekend - I developed the worst illness I'd had in seven years. My body was so stressed that there was no way it could hold off a cold (18 hours trapped in a car with Mark's 'flu didn't help!). I was sick for two weeks. I missed an entire week of training and then the run and ride this upcoming weekend. By the time of the 20/120 weekend, I could only manage 15 miles on the Saturday, but I was stoked at that.
And then on the 120 miler, the last day of build before taper I fell and broke my elbow. So the next week's training was out and then for the next two weeks, it was spinning on the trainer and easy running. No swimming until 12 days before the race.
I was forced to listen to my body and take time off. But Ed assured me that I had the fitness in the bag and that this was just an enforced extra long taper. And I ended up having the perfect race - nutrition, pacing, stamina, equipment. The flu and the broken elbow in the end didn't effect my race. And if you skip some workouts and sleep instead or go sit in a cool picture theatre or take your dog for a walk, or go out for drinks with someone who's not training for Ironman, you'll still do fine and probably do yourself some good.
Just don't cross any railroad tracks on an angle, please?
Dealing with your Fears
What are you most worried about? Is it the swim? Is it the nutrition? Is it biking the distance without stopping? Is it the time cutoffs?
Make a list of your fears. Make two columns - Fears you can and can't do something about.
For instance, weather conditions you can't control. Bike cutoffs aren't going to change, but know what the minimum pace is you have to ride to make them. How does this pace compare with your usual Z2 pace? If it's significantly less, set bike cutoffs aside as a fear. Worried about flats? Practice changing tires. Worried about the swim? Skip a workout once a week and just go swim distance. Get a 2.5 mile swim under your belt just to put that fear aside. Name your fears then do something about them. Don't let them overwhelm you.
Remember, Ironman is actually pretty simple
Seriously - it's one stroke after the other, one turn of the pedal, one foot in front of the other. That's the physical. You've trained through the worst DC winters and summers ever. That's the mental. Trust your training, take strength from those supporting you, find what inspires you. That's spirit. You'll need all three and on the day, it's a balance between them. So don't disregard the mental and spirit in favor of the physical.
Kia Kaha: Be Strong.
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