Ironman Chattanooga in 6 weeks

20 August 2018 Update

Thank you to the 2 people who donated $100 each to my fundraising efforts! I am very grateful. Thank you to a couple of people who have me on their prayer list. And thanks to those who have sent kind words of encouragement!

Here’s my 10^thupdate: Injury is one of those things that can really set you back. I injured my hip flexor last week, doing some stretching at the end of the day, working on what my physical therapist recommended. I over did it a little and heard a “pop”. It felt okay the next day so, after seeing the physio, I did a run after a bike ride.It started to hurt 2 miles into the run so I began walking. It felt better again so I went back to running and finished the 6 miles. I was my worst enemy in this situation and should have quit after those 2 miles. I didn’t do what I tell my athletes: “Live to train another day.” So I didn’t run the ½ marathon race on Sunday to avoid making it worse. I don’t think it was an outright tear but more like a shifting of muscle or tendon over bone. It’s improving quickly so, aside from missing the 1 run, I hope to ease back into running on Wed… with extreme caution. Mentally I’ve kept myself from panicking, being patient and focusing on doing what I CAN do.

Training is at its crucial, hardest part as there are only 6 weeks until Ironman Chattanooga race day. While this past week was a planned recovery week, volume will be high and with more race intensity during the next 3 weeks. Mentally I’m on a rollercoaster. One workout I’ll feel confident and know my training is leading me to a successful race. The next workout I might feel run down and fatigued, barely able to execute it. I know that this is the way it always is leading into Ironman so I try not to dwell on the negatives. I trust that when I taper, or gradually cut back on training, during the final 3 weeks, the magic will happen and have me rested and ready to perform.

I got a glimpse of that with Sunday’s long ride. I “only” rode 85 miles but averaged 19 mph doing it. That’s 2-3 mph faster than usual. It’s amazing how “easy” it felt after riding 113 miles the week before!

Thank you to all of you who have donated to my fundraising efforts as part of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation’s Team Challenge Iron Team. On Saturday we had a little get together with some of the kids who this fundraising helps. These kids have Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis and get to spend a week at camp with other kids just like them. It helps them see that they aren’t alone and allows them to make friends on a important and life changing level. While most of the fundraising goes to researching for cures, a small portion goes towards this valuable program. I am even closer to the $6000 mark! If you ever want to add to it, the link is: online.ccfa.org/goto/skipslade 

Training totals will show a lighter week as it was a recovery weekand it was short on running due to the injury.

This week’s totals: 16hr 58min; 176.7 miles

Swim2hr 15min – 7,472 yds (2 swims) - longest: 4,272 yd

Bike8hr 55min – 158 miles (3 rides), longest: 85 miles

Run2hr 35min – 14.4 miles (2 runs + 1 short brick run), longest: 6.2 miles

Strength Training3hr 15min

Body Wt. 156.5 lbs