10 Weeks out and counting!

Eric Rueppel

Hey Team I can't believe were only 10 weeks away!  Last day of June today summer is flying by!  I hope everyone had a great weekend of training.  Let's start the holiday week off with a bang and crush it!

Mark Hickman

Booyah...almost single digits...was inspired watching the CDA finish line as I sat on the trainer yesterday - had planned a ride outside - drove a half hour to a start spot - seemed I was missing my shoes - ugh - said the hell with it. Not a positive week for me in getting workouts in, but I got some done - this week will be better. Hopefully not as many things detracting from workouts.

Swim was good today - nice to feel the speed of short sprints! Will do a little jog this afternoon with the dog - no watch, no garmin, just a trail in the woods.

Good luck this week!!

lparello

Woo hoo! Eric you keep beating me to start these threads

Looking ahead I see we have a big day scheduled-I'm going to go do a 4th of July Metric Century ride on Friday, so I'll probably do that and then my 6 mile run right off the bike. Will really enjoy my 4th of July BBQ after that!!!

Kick some A$$ this week team!

Eric Rueppel

It's a team effort Lauren!
A century on the 4th sounds cool! You will be able to eat guilt free after training like that!

What is done is done Mark. Shrug it off and keep moving forward! Great work on the swim! Ironman CDA was inspiring for me too. I want to do that race one of these years.

Work is almost over and I'm ready to get to gettin' Run then swim for me this evening.

Keep it up team!

Eric Rueppel

Run last night was awful. My legs were aching just running Z1. There was no way I was going to hit marathon pace for 12 min. at 3% incline. I ran walked for 35 min. then headed to the pool. The swim went much better. I enjoyed the short sprints a the beginning. Those quick repetitions make the workout go by quicker. After I
got home from the pool I jumped into an ice bath. It's harsh but my legs felt better. I think another one maybe in order tonight after the speed work. We shall see.

Eric Rueppel

Missed training yesterday due to overloaded work schedule and fatigue. I can make up the swimming and running has been going well. The break was hard on me mentally though. I just don't like missing good training.

Hope all is well with everyone. Train on!

Mark Hickman

Been a positive week, though I've missed a couple of low priority workouts due to some crazy work hours...Run on Tuesday was smoking quick even though it was the hottest day yet out here (90+); killed the bike on Wed, and got in a little half mary before work this morning. Might get a run into tomorrow, but will likely just take the day off leading into big day #2 (for me).

Good luck with your weekend, and have a great (and safe) 4th of July weekend.

Mark

SJU87

Got my legs back under me! Rev3 Dells and a century ride in brutal winds took a lot out of me. Got the speed work in Tuesday and beat the thunderstorm back to the hotel (overnight for work) but it was slow and felt sluggish/drained. Still getting over a cold too with congested lungs. Missed yesterday finishing up work-related items. Finally, after a bunch of work around the house today, hit the road with the increasing speed long run and it felt great! Feeling strong and energized. Good place to be going into the Big Day!

Eric Rueppel

Great news Mark on the positive week! It's feels good to get some good workouts in after a struggle time.

Awesome to hear Steven!

Last couple days I was drained. I did race a 5k on the 4th. It was fun and a good time. Hitting the bike hard today! Hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend and "crushing" the training!

lparello

Great job everyone!

Mark-Great job getting in those important workouts-it's not always feasible to get in the low priority ones-I'm thankful that the coaches started this rating scale so when life gets in the way, we know how to manage our time! Keep it up!

Steven-That's always a great feeling going into a big workout. Can't wait to hear how it went!

Eric-can't wait to hear how the bike went!

It's been quite a week for me. Ended up in immediate care earlier this week due to difficulty breathing-I've felt it the past few weeks (and did at this time last year) that after a bit of time outdoors, if my HR goes above Z1 I find myself gasping for breath. Long and the short of it, I was given an inhaler and have follow up appts next week with doctor/allergist to find out what is going on with my breathing-right now, I personally think I'm having issues with our mold counts being so high-but I'm no doctor, so who knows!

So I took several days completely off this week, but managed the long run (which was not great, due to the whole breathing issue), and bike/run of the big day (did 62 miles at a 4th of July Metric Century, followed by a 4 mile run-which again, difficult due to breathing!) Was very happy with my pace for the 62 miler though-averaged 18.6 and stayed in Z1/Z2-my average power was right in the middle of my Z2 for the ride! It was an extremely flat course, but still with all I've gone through this week, I was extremely happy to pull that out!

So I'm off for a self-inflicted "make-up day". I haven't swam at all this week (this whole breathing thing really gets in the way....who woulda thought?) and only rode once, so I'm headed for a long swim, then 5 mile easy run-let's hope, will be bringing my new inhaler friend with me, followed by a 2 hour bike (again, breathing permitting). My mind is in the right place right now and I'm ready to dominate-let's just hope the body follows suit

SJU87

Big Day - Swim uneventful and felt strong. Bike - as planned, I felt the effects of the swim and quickly upped intake of fluids (double strength Gatorade) which helped. Another windy and warm day (17 mph, gusts to 23) and my out and back course took me right into it on the way out. Stopped at a C-store to buy extra Gatorade and then turned and ran with the wind. Legs were shaky coming in so I spun as much as I could getting prepped for the run. Run felt slow but first mile was 15 seconds faster than planned, then held steady to the turn. Z2 was a push to get going but then settled in and felt good. Ran low on fluids as the wind died and heat came up. Walked a little on one hill half way back then pushed on steady to the finish, keeping tempo higher (not 90 for sure, not even aware what I was at, but I was focusing on picking it up) and able to finish strong. Tired but overall felt good but sobering to think that was 75% of the IM swim, 60% of the bike and 25% of the run. Next week I'm on vacation, so looking at getting some extra miles in to build and then at the end of the month, IMWI EN Camp with two iterations of the bike course should get plenty of distance training in.

Eric Rueppel

Wow Lauren you go girl! Glad your getting better. Training with a breathing issue is gangster! . I hope you can get a good handle on it. sounds like your managing it.

Great job Steven! You nailed it! Don't get too caught up in the numbers. The Iron distance seems daunting but we still have many weeks of good training left. The EN camp is a great endurance builder for the bike. I always ride 112 the first day as a race rehearsal and then two loops the second day about 80 miles. Riding the course and getting a good feel with give you a big boost mentally and physically for race day.

I didn't get the swim in yesterday but the run and bike went well. I rode 75 miles held my power zones well. I got a little dehydrated the last hour of the ride. (I was down 3 lbs at the end). I need to carry more fluid with me. I'm going out for a ride today since I had time off during the week.

Great job everyone! Let's keep rocking out the training!

lparello

@Steven-What Eric said. There are lots of opportunities for long rides in the upcoming weeks-trust me, trust the plan, trust yourself Good work getting it done!

@Eric-Way to go on the workout! I think nutrition/hydration is the most difficult part of playing this Ironman game. I feel like I'm always dehydrated-the morning after my long run this week, I woke up feeling like I had a hangover. Terrible feeling when I didn't have the fun that goes with hangovers...

So my plan changed big time today. Went to the pool and swam 3600 yards at a very easy pace, didn't want to spike the HR and got it done in 1:02. So I was happy with that. changed and got on the treadmill for an easy 5 mile run-stayed in my high Z1 to low zone 2 the whole time, so thankfully didn't need to take out the inhaler...

Then I went home to ride. Got all dressed, ready to roll out-and my front wheel wouldn't spin. Looked a little closer and somehow-someway-my brake cable snapped! I have no idea how/when this happened-it was fine all day Friday! But there went my ride. So I changed and put the bike in my car, drove to this AMAZING bike shop by me, and they fixed it on the spot-Absolutely amazing service-Anyone in the Chicagoland suburbs needs to hit up Urban Tri Gear. Those guys are amazing. Well now I'm exhausted, but if I get the energy later, I may still try and get a short ride in. We'll see, just happy the bike is fixed, and I got the swim/run in.

Great job to everyone! I know most of you have an off day today due to the big day scheduled yesterday-hope you are all enjoying your rest and getting psyched up for next week!

Eric Rueppel

Great job on the swim Lauren! 3600 in 1:02 Awesome! I would love to swim that fast. And great news on not needing the inhaler!

That is great having an amazing bike shop with excellent service! I started out for an ABP ride yesterday but flatted out about 5 miles into it. I picked up a nasty piece of steel. I swapped out the tube and was back rolling in about 8 min. Luckily the tire held for the rest of the ride. I ended up with 3-1/2 hours of ABP. It felt good to get off the bike at the end.

I hope everyone crushed their big day Saturday and enjoyed the rest yesterday. Were off to another week of great training. Giddy up!