....how about 190+ miles on the body. I had planned on a long training weekend, capped by a 25K road race on Cape Ann. However, that plan quickly changed on Friday, when Brian Hughes and Dede Greisbauer put the bug in my ear that they were racing the Aquabike at the Plymouth Rock Ironman Distance race. My first thought was no....stick to the original plan. But, the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to do it. So, I emailed the director and got myself in. Since the race was on Sunday, I still had a Saturday to kill. So, Saturday was a 50+ mile bike w/a 50 minute run (approx. 3.5 hours). I did my best to rest up and get ready to race the next day. But it was hard, as we had my inlaws in for a visit. I tried not to treat the race too seriously...but it's hard not to get a little anxious....it's still a long day. I woke up at 4am on Sunday and made the trek down to Plymouth. Man, it was cold and windy...very windy. In fact, while I was registering, my bike blew over in transition...and I lost one of my bottles of Powerbar Endurance. I made my way down to the swim start and hung with some freinds. Since all of us were using this as a training event, everyone was chatty and having fun. We jumped in the cold water and the gun went off. After about 50-100 meters of swimming, my hands were just digging into the sand (we swam along the jetty). I couldn't swim. So, I stood up and starting swimming sideways to get out in the open water a bit. The rest of the swim was somewhat uneventful. I swam pretty good, considering that I haven't been focusing on it like other years. Also, I definitely didn't give the swim a full effort...since I technically wasn't racing. Don't get me wrong...I swam hard....but probably could have been a bit faster. Onto the bike. I took the bike out relatively easy. The last time I rode 112 miles (or more), was at Hawaii the previous year. The course rides for about 5 miles into the Miles Standish State Park....where we proceeded to do a 25+ mile course 4 times. The course was very windy...up and down....and the roads were terrible....pot holes and bumps everywhere. In fact, I broke my aerobar armrest about 50 miles into the ride. I felt good early in the race. But, I think I spent too much time going up and down the hills and against the wind in my big chain ring (not to mention the brick the day before). About 65 miles in, I was cooked. I held on until just before the last loop (30 miles to go)....then all I wanted to do was finish....and hold off the guys riding behind me (which I did). I wound up finishing 6th...but place really didn't matter to me. This was a good race rehearsal for Kona. And, the conditions were very tough. It may have been the hardest iron distance bike I've done (including Kona)...mostly because of the wind and the rough road conditions. It also made me think about other tweaks I need to make before Kona...like bike setup, helmet choice, etc. I followed Sunday up with an 1:47 trail run this morning. I don't know why, but I really like running on fatigued legs. I did a second 45 minute run in the afternoon. Actually, my legs felt really good for the second run....and I ran fairly quickly. Suffice it to say...my body is shelled right now. Tomorrow is a much needed day off.
