Sunday, June 29, 2008

What was I thinking -- another IronMan -- holy smokes...

So, today I participated in a practice ride (56 miles) and a run (10k) on the Door County Half IronMan course. I decided to try and stay with someone for the entire ride -- if possible. A gentleman from Appleton was riding next to me and we just stayed together for the whole ride. He was around my age but my guess is that he was a better rider.

The day started out with light rain and the winds began to increase. The bike course takes you through downtown Sturgeon Bay and then you loop around over by Lake Michigan and then head back thru Sturgeon Bay to the finish.

We kept up a faster pace then what I normally do. I felt fine until around 6 miles to go, then it was just "keep the head down" and grind out the finish. We had a strong (25+mph) winds for at least 1/2 of the ride -- sometimes it felt like you were going up a big hill when in fact it was just the wind pushing you back. We finished the 56 miles in just over 3 hours.

Next up was a 10k run. I started out with the idea that I could always cut it early if my legs felt bad. Well, just like always -- the further I run the better the legs get. I started with a group of probably 8 guys and ended up "out enduring" then to the finish. I don't think it has anything to do with my fitness level, but instead just my stubburn mind -- I just refuse to give up. I even ran the entire "Bluff Pass" hill -- which is by far the hardest cliff....errr....hill that I have run.

Overall I felt fine considering the speed of my bike and the winds that caused some problems.
Another workout in the IronMan Bank...

1 comment:

Bob said...

Awesome! Don't overdo it.

Eager to hear about any difficulties about then bike course, especially the "new" section.

Who planned the practice ride/run? Glad you were abbe to participate!

We share first and last name initials, by the way!

Keep it up. My goal is to break 6 hours at Door County...very ambitious, I know, but we'll see. I am on pace for a 42:00 swim, a 2 mph ride, then we'll see on the run...hopefully a 9:00 run...if all goes super.

Happy training...I'll be up there in 3 weeks!