Test run in Lake Placid

I went to Lake Placid May long weekend to actually get a proper look at the bike and run course.

Saturday I biked a loop of the bike course (90km) and I gotta say -- it definitely wasn't easy -- but nothing blew my mind. Nothing made me think "holy shit, this is going to kill me". And I didn't pee my pants going down the Keene hill so, that made me feel good too.

I finished the loop in 3h40min and felt like I could keep going so I think my pace was ok. I averaged about 25 km/h. Also I didn't feel hungry or super thirsty so I think my fueling plan is on mark so far. I'm trying to take in between 200 - 300 cal/hour. I had one honeystinger (160 cal),  two LARABARS (250 cal/each) and about 1.5 bottles of IRONMAN PERFORM drink (240 cal). The LARABARS are great. Natural ingredients, moist and easy to chew/swallow/digest. I didn't feel like i had to go to the washroom 15 minutes later like with some of the other fuels i've tried. The honeystinger is a bit dry. I had to drink water with that but otherwise the taste was fine and again, no digestive problems. Come summer I'll be sweating more so I still have to test out some salt pills or electrolyte tablets.

Sunday I ran a loop of the run course (21.3 km). I was good until I turned on to River side road and then
it was so deserted (of cars and runners) that mentally I took a nose dive. I didn't stop running but it felt like a real struggle to stay on pace. Once I came back out on to more populated roads I was fine. Fuel for the run consisted for another honeystinger, a LARABAR and two 8oz containers of IRONMAN PERFORM and one 8 oz container of plain water.

Overall I was happy with the weekend. Hoping to make it down to Lake Placid one more time before the race.

Positive reinforcement

11 weeks to go. Holy F*ck. Where did the time go?

Two weeks ago I had my first ride outdoors after seven long months on the indoor trainer. 

Did a 60km loop from Kanata to the Gatineaus (Pink Lake) and back. It felt reeeeally good. Managed to stay in my seat on all the hills and when we were done, felt like I could do more. So I then proceeded to run an hour and forty minutes. Again, felt pretty good the whole way. 

I've been feeling a little anxious about my training lately (i.e. have i been doing the right things, have I been doing enough ... ) so this was a good little positive reinforcement. 

For something more concrete, I've signed up for the Syracuse Half  IM at the end of June. It's got similar terrain to IMLP (read: Super Hilly) so I figure, if I feel ok after that ... I've been doing something right. 

 

This one goes out to the one I love ...

This is a post of thanks and appreciation - to my hubby.

To state the obvious, training for an IM takes a lot of time. My daily schedule is something like: sleep, train, work, train, repeat. It doesn't leave much time for much else, namely: laundry, dishes, cooking, taking care of the pets, etc, etc, etc. So my hubby has taken up a lot of the slack. A LOT.

Not only has he taken on the extra workload around the house (and more), but he has also taken on the role of massage therapist, mental coach and cheerleader. Not once has he ever questioned this crazy goal of mine (and its arguably negative effects on him) but rather taken it on in tandem and done whatever he can to help me achieve it.

I am so immensely lucky to have this guy in my corner.