It's finally here! The long awaited taper. This is the time when I get to drop much of the training volume and intensity while my body repairs itself. This is the time when my muscles absorb what they've learned in the last 5 months and get ready for June 28th. This is also the time when I go out of my mind with race-day weather obsession, fear of not actually being ready, and boredom.
This time through the taper period is different. I'm chalking it up in part to the distances I've covered, but also that maybe I trained well. I am very surprised by my lack of motivation to get out for even short workouts. I'm winded going up the stairs. My quads scream at me out of fatigue, because they are very comfortable on the couch, thank you very much. I've lost quite a bit of my appetite, which for a while, made no sense.
Here's some perspective, though. Since I began training with my coach in mid-January, I have ridden over 1800 miles, run over 410 miles, and swam almost 60 miles. Even typing that, I have to shake my head in wonder. The last 6 weeks, I have recorded progressively longer bike rides than I have ever completed. One week I hit 65, then 70, 80, 90, then finally, my first Century+ at 101. My training volume each week was over 13 hours on the "recovery" weeks and over 19 on my hardest weeks.
So it goes without saying, I suppose, that my first week of taper is a little rough. I simply can't get enough sleep, and I feel constantly dehydrated. Evidently, though, this is normal. If you are training right, the first week into taper SHOULD feel like this. Imagine my relief, because frankly, I thought I broke myself.
For me, the hard part is getting in some of these workouts now that my son is on summer break. Between his swim team, a waterpark visit and some significant heat followed by significant rain, I've had to juggle more of my training schedule than I have all season. And that right there, makes me glad that I dropped out of an August race a year ago.
Looking ahead, I'm 15 days out from Ironman Coeur d'Alene. Next week, my taper gets better with further reduced volume and supposedly a bump in energy, which means I might have some extra brain power to catch up on the blog. I have 60 miles left to ride before I drop Gary off at the bike shop to ship him to Idaho. There is an open water race I'll do next Saturday, and it may be my only chance to get in a lake swim before the Big Day (you should see my new 2XU wetsuit though...it's really fast).
So am I ready? Well, if I'm not, there is nothing I can do about it now. What's done is done, and here is what I've learned. The physical challenge of training for a 140.6 mile race is nothing to sneeze at, but my mental toughness is the muscle that has grown the most. There were days I hated my bike, didn't want to lace up my kicks, and not even a swim workout sounded appealing. But I went, sometimes griping all the way, sometimes enjoying the work. But every time, I got stronger, just because I went. I looked only at one workout at a time. I stayed in the moment, and didn't look ahead to the next 6 mile run loop. My mantra with every breath was "one mile at a time." And I did it. I got through this training season. I got through lots of rain, followed by lots of heat. I feel good about the season, and feel ready enough to finish in 16:59:59.
Today, I have friends who are participating in IMBoulder 70.3, and I'm excited for them. I wish them well, and will cheer them from afar (because somehow I have to get in a 16 mile run myself). I'm glad I'm not doing that race this year, but hope to do it next year. All the best to you, Casey, Jim and Julie -- enjoy the day!
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