ironman canada | the bike

Oh, the Ironman Canada bike!

There were many long, slow climbs (thank you, 12-27 cassette), screaming descents (top speed = 46.4 mph!) and smiles the entire way.

Like the swim, much of the bike is a blur. What I do remember: running through T1 and seeing a flash of my family, and my sister taking pics; the pros flying down the hills in the Callaghan Valley; crap, I forgot chamois butter!; being cold for the first 45 minutes (hence the arm warmers); the ridiculous pelotons on the flats near Pemberton; and, focusing on what Johnny told me: No nutrition for the first 40 minutes.

Not that there was a lot of time to snack right away. I was too busy taking in the breathtaking views, settling into my saddle, climbing up 10 percent grade mountains and bombing back down.

And, I loved LOVED every single second of it.

powering through long runs.

During my long run last week – one of the best times to clear my head – I got to thinking… what gets me through these 19- and 21-milers? What makes the 00:00:00 on my Garmin ok when there’s three hours of pavement pounding ahead? What will get me through my 2.5-hour run on Saturday, the last long run before race day?

This is what…

ironman canada | week 26

Top takeaways this week, three weeks out from Ironman Canada (how is that possible?!):

Sleep. I had some incredibly early mornings (3:30a… whaaa?!), which are not conducive to training. They also don’t help my mood. Holy crabby pants last week. Lesson learned: GET MORE SLEEP.

Stress. Stress does really mean things to your body. It makes your hair fall out and your GI system wonky. Working on making some much needed changes to reduce that stress because it cannot and will not continue.

Enough. I repeatedly asked Nick this past week if I was doing enough… if I was running enough, if I was biking enough, if I was eating enough (the latter, no, especially considering I saw 120 on the scale for the first time in at least 10 years). Swim bike run, yes, I’m doing enough. He even pulled out his Ironman Florida training from last year to reassure me, and three weeks out, he had 13 hours; I had 15 and a half this week. A-OK. It’s enough! (And, STOP COMPARING!)

With that, my week…

ironman canada | week 24

So, here we are, six weeks out from Ironman Canada! I’m not quite sure how that happened because it seems like yesterday it was cold and snowy and I was just starting this journey. This little 140.6-mile race is fast approaching, and I couldn’t be more excited!

My top two takeaways this week:

1. It’s all in your head. Yes, you need to train your body, but training your mind is just as important. I’ve been doing some visualization during the 7.9 seconds between my head hitting the pillow and falling asleep, and I can see that start line on the shore of Alta Lake, the thousands of swim cap clad triathletes ready to race, and I can see that magical finish line and almost feel the emotion that comes with it (I’m not kidding, I’ve welled up several times this week just thinking about it). Keeping your head in the game, during each training session, during the race – stay present and positive – it’s so important to getting through. Because when you start to compare or when the self doubt creeps in, nasty things manifest. Thank you, Johnny, for helping me get and keep my head in the game!
2. It always seems impossible until it is done (thank you, Nelson Mandela). This was my mantra during much of my training this week – the hilly 2.5-mile intervals, the 19-mile long run, the solo century – and it powered me through the last little push of each session. Because, really, not much seems more daunting that seeing all zeros on your Garmin right before you start that three-hour run or 5.5-hours in the saddle. But, then… suddenly… you’re done, and it wasn’t as tough as you first anticipated.

ironman canada | week 23

Such a great, confidence building week! Highlights included an open water swim, long run and a solo almost-century ride – all were awesome. With each mile of swimbikerunning, I feel more ready for Ironman Canada (though my open water swim confidence still needs a boost).

Other big news this week… I changed coaches. Yeah, yeah, I know ironman is just seven weeks out, but I had to do what’s right for me, and that meant changing coaches. Training has been great, and I have a fantastic base thanks to Joe. But… but, I need more support during this last big push to my first 140.6 start and finish line. I need someone to push me a little bit harder and outside my comfort zone, to challenge me to do more than I think I can do. So, my new coach, Johnny Surprise… he.is.awesome (Nick and I have known him since last summer when they met randomly while both training for Ironman Florida). I can’t say enough good things. He’s pushed me outside my comfort zone on nearly every workout the past 10 days and has even joined me on a few of them. Between hill repeats and sprints and track workouts and long runs, I couldn’t be happier with my decision. Bring on the last big weeks!

With that, my first week training with Johnny looked like this…