Here’s the recap of my race weekend. For those of you who didn’t already know, I’m training for Ironman Mont Tremblant August 19, 2018. Since I’m a new dad, husband, and entrepreneur, I don’t exactly have a load of time to train for this monster of a race. Thankfully, I’ve been able to get my running going, keep up some basic swims, and get in some moderate bike training. Now is the time when things need to pick up and get in gear.
In the past, I’ve done both of these races, but they never occurred on the same weekend. Lucky me, haha, this year, they did. Saturday morning was the Xterra 22k (14miles) trail run with 2800+ feet of climbing. If you’re not a trail runner, that’s a huge amount. We had a giant hill to run up first, then we had to run down it, then another 3 smaller hills we had to run up and over before we came barreling down to meet the last hill. It’s really mother earth’s version of a slap in the face to those of us running. But alas, I made it over!!! Not only did I make it over, but turns out I won my division (45-49yrs) and placed 7th overall out of a few hundred runners. Not bad for an old guy, haha! It was also 2min faster than 5 years ago. It’s never too late to go faster.
Then Sunday was an Olympic distance triathlon (1500m swim, 40km bike, 10k run) which is basically a 1 mile swim, 25mile bike ride, and a 6.2 mile run. I’ve done this race before too, but never on tired sore legs. I had a pretty decent swim, the buoys were actually further than expected, but that’s racing. Then I got on my bike and felt pretty good except as I kept riding I noticed all that soreness from the previous day’s race started to creep in. Every time I got out of the saddle (seat), I felt that lactic acid. I knew I needed to save some energy for the run and I was getting a little worried. Thanks to my yoga and my nutrition/hydration (I use Beachbody Performance) I don’t normally cramp, but I thought today might be the day. Thankfully, as I started the run, my legs felt pretty good. They were definitely sore, but no sign of cramping. I was holding a 7:15/mile pace and that seemed pretty consistent the first few miles. I even gave myself some leeway to slow down if I needed to. After all, this was really just a training race for my Ironman coming up in August. Thankfully, I didn’t need to slow down, in fact, I gave it a little gas and finished strong!! I wound up finishing in the top third overall. I’m not nearly as good of a triathlete as I am a runner, but I’m totally okay with that. We all have our strengths.
Sunday afternoon I had a well deserved rest and time with my family. That evening I did some Yin Yoga or light stretching and Monday morning just an easier workout to make sure I moved the blood around. Next is to amp up my time on the bike and increase my mileage on the run.
So there you have it, just a quick recap of my Ironman journey. There will be more updates to come. My main goal for this Ironman, my first, is to finish strong and finish healthy. I want to #ironmindful. Thanks for listening! I’m super grateful to have the ability to do what I do. My hope is that you find your inner athlete and follow it where ever it takes you. I promise there are some unbelievable experiences waiting for you! If you need some guidance along your journey, please let me know.
Photo credit: Marshal Mullen
Originally published on the author’s website.
