The Scary Part

The last long workout before my 70.3 happened today.
And it was a good one.  1 mile swim, 40 miles on the bike, followed up by a 6 mile run.

And after a good solid hangover and less than 5 hours of sleep…

I had a work thing to go to, and it’s impossible not to drink at these things.  Our sitter looked shocked when she showed up, and the Expert and I weren’t wearing spandex.  She has only been called when we have a bike ride.  

And I have to give a special “thank you” to SBM friend, Luke… who messaged me updates on Kona while I was at the work event.  Other folks at our table were getting texts about the Georgia/Tennessee game.  All I cared about was Kona.  Thanks, Lukester. 🙂 

So… the night was fun, but it resulted in a late bedtime and early wake-up call. I thought, well… if I can do this crazy workout feeling like dog poop, then I think I will feel ready for the race.  And dogpoop…I both looked and smelled.  
The swim was fine.  The bike was torture.  Gosh, the Queen was so very unhappy in the saddle for 40 straight miles with no break.  Then came the run…. well, I was floating somewhere in the 7th circle of hell for a bit. 

I can hardly walk right now, by the way.  Like, not at all.  


The Expert and I decided to split up on the bike today – ride our own ride.  Which was fine with me.  He’s fast on the bike. It’s the power of the spandex and the quads.   After about 13 miles, I could no longer see him up ahead of me. We passed each other near the 20 mile turnaround, and then I knew he was g-o-n-e.  I think he had about 5 or 8 minutes on me by the time I got to the car.

He went for the run, and I had to wait in line at the bathroom for a few minutes.  I didn’t think I could catch him.

My legs were throbbing.  I’ve been having cramping issues lately (without the hangover), so after last night…. I was cramping pretty badly, and probably running a 12:15 pace for the first part.  Kids on trikes were passing me.  Ugh.

Near the 3 mile turnaround, I saw him.  We bumped fists and passed each other.

After I made the turnaround, I could see him up ahead.  Little by little, I was getting closer.  Finally, about mile 3.5, I caught him.  He screamed, “What’s up, Craig Alexander?”

Gotcha, Lieto. 

As soon as I passed the Expert, I got a side stitch that caused me to run crooked and bent to the side for a half mile or so, looking more Macca, Mile 24, 2010 than Alexander.  But, eventually, the darn run was over, and Chris Lieto was only about a minute back.

The Expert keeps saying that I’m going to smoke him on this race.  But I’m not so sure.  He’s insane.  And insane people do pretty remarkable things.

He ran like 3 miles before St. Anthony’s.  I followed an intense training program.  And I think I beat him by 2 minutes.  2 minutes for my 400 extra hours of training.


Today marks TWENTY DAYS UNTIL THE RACE.  Holy guacamole.  This coming week has lots of rest along with the workouts, and then a swim/bike/run on the weekend, and then starts the official taper.

Now comes the Scary Part.  The taper. The psychological warfare. The checklists.  I cannot believe this race is almost here.  Seriously.  Seriously!?!

3 Responses

  1. If you can do all that training on 5 hours of sleep, Miami will be nothing! I had to LOL at your story about the expert at St. Anthony's. My friend's husband is famous for doing epic races like Augusta and the Goofy Challenge (at disney) with almost no training. So annoying because he always ends up getting a decent time. UGH! Nice training this weekend, enjoy the taper 🙂

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