Taper Time!

Well, I got my last "long" weekend of training under my belt this past weekend. This is going to be my 5th ironman race, and it always seems that the last long bike ride is always the worst. It always seems to be cold, windy, raining, or some combination. Saturday was pretty chilly (40-50 degrees) and somewhat windy. It didn't help that I rode solo...which is how I did the majority of my long rides this year. I wound up with a 5:45 ride and followed that up with a 30 minute run. Sunday was the last long run...or I should say runs. My coach decided that it would be good to split up the long run. So, I ran 1:45 w/my friend Tim at 8am. Tim's a fast runner, so I knew the run would be quality. Although I can't say what the pace was exactly, it was probably between 6:45-50 pace. Following the first run, I went home, ate and tried to rest a little. Then I went out for an additional 45 minutes at 2pm. The first mile was tough, but then I got back into a rythm and ran very well. Now it's time to taper. What that means is the workouts begin to shorten and some quality workouts are thrown in. It's also a time to rest and heal up all of the little injuries. My focus over the next couple of weeks is to get into the water. I need to focus on my swimming which has been a little suspect this year. Less than 3 weeks to race day. Less than 2 weeks until we leave.