One week to go...

It is absolutely unbelievable to me that at this time one week from now, assuming of course all goes well, I will have finished Ironman Lake Placid. I was thinking about this past November when my program began and how far I had to go - in more ways than one. My flabby skin was bursting out of the bike shorts and jersey that could barely contain my hefty self during my initial threshold test to set up my training zones. My performance that day was drastically different from what it had been the last time I had done one. I was fat. I was immensely out of shape and slow. Mentally, I wasn't sure there was any way I could get back to my old self. In just a few short months I had basically become my pre-triathlon self. The problem was, my pre-triathlon self was, well, fat and slow. I had spent a year and a half starting with my final semester of college finally starting to run just to be more fit and to at least make some better food decisions. 18 moths later I was 70 pounds lighter, did my first triathlon and actually enjoyed swimming, biking, running and generally exerting myself without some coach screaming at me to go faster. I thought I would never let myself slide again, but I was wrong.

The good news is, as I sit here, 8 and a half months after deciding to try again anyway, even if it didn't work, I seem to be almost back to normal. When you lay out goals for the following summer before Thanksgiving even hits, and you're doing your training runs sometimes at over 10:00/mile, it's hard to imagine that it might actually work out the way its planned. I was certainly skeptical. Willing to do the work, sure, but not necessarily convinced that it would result in a whole lot of improvement. Obviously the real test remains to be seen, but at least it appears that I've done what I needed to do in order to at least make it a possibility.

Yesterday was the last long-ish ride at 3 and a half hours. The forecast called for it to be pouring rain, but like most forecasts, it wasn't exactly right. This time it worked out in my favor, and aside from being drizzled on some and the fact that it remained cloudy, it wasn't so bad. I also felt pretty good, finally starting to shake that quad-burning feeling I've been experiencing lately with almost any level of exertion, including walking up a couple of stairs. Even the run afterward wasn't so terrible. Even better, pretty much from the moment I got out of the shower the sun came out and evens stayed out, resulting in the perfect weather for sitting outside and reading a book. That is essentially what has filled the bulk of my time this weekend while not biking or running. Really, the perfect taper.

It was great this morning when I got up to know that I didn't have to worry about any long runs, just a nice, easy and relatively short bike and run. It sure makes the day seem long when you're done with the workouts at 9:15 and back in the chair, feet up with a book. Sometime in the late afternoon I started thinking about where I'd be on the course next week. At that point it was pretty much a given that I'd be somewhere in the middle of the marathon. That's when you think back to 7am, and how long ago that was, and how you would've started then, not stopped since, and still had a long way to go. I think that's when you really realize what a long day an Ironman truly is. Seriously, think back to what you were doing, say, 10 hours ago. Think of all of the things that you have done or how much time has really passed between then and now. It's a pretty long time. And there are certainly times during the race when you think it might never end - usually the later miles of the marathon. But in some ways, it's amazing how fast it goes by. And how when you go to bed that night, the huge goal you've been working towards for months is finally over. But hopefully, it only sets you up for new goals.

And have I mentioned how much I'm looking forward to eating when this is all over? Really, a person can only focus for so long. Currently on the TV in the background is a show they're calling, "Deep Fried Paradise" in which they are spotlighting several places around the U.S. where they make some amazing deep fried treats. Now, even if I weren't actively trying to lose weight and taper for the big race, I probably wouldn't be seeking out deep-fried Twinkies (heck, I never even really liked regular Twinkies) or deep-fried peanut butter cups. Still, it helps plant ideas in my head for my post-race indulgences!