24 September 2018

Ironman Chattanooga in 8 wks

6 August 2018 Update

Here is the 8th update on training for Ironman Chattanooga and Ironman Arizona. Health-wiseI’m still on the one medication for my ulcerative colitis-type symptoms. I’m also getting some physical therapy to relieve some lower back pain and psoas muscle issues. The person working on me has put my on the right track. Finally, I strained my wrist on Friday while steering my car! It was red, the bone seemed to bulge, and hurt when I twisted it so I had it checked and x-rayed on Sat. to make sure it wasn’t something serious. It will be fine.
  
There are now 8 weeks until Ironman Chattanooga and 15 wks to IM Arizona and this was my biggest training week so far. I will start working on my race plan for Chattanooga this week. It involves things like pacing, what I will focus on when it gets tough, how I will take in nutrition and how much, and goals. My overriding goal is big and maybe a bit audacious: to qualify for the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. In order to do that I have to finish first in my age group of 60 to 64 year old men, a formidable task since there always seems to be at least one guy that is ridiculously fast, but who knows? I will have other goals too that I will share when we get closer to race day.

Sunday, as usual, was a big training day: 102 miles on the bike followed by a 3 mile run, also known as a “brick” workout. The ride went far better this week than last week’s long ride. It was my fastest 100 mile ride this year, even though my gear shifterstopped working 5 miles before I was done. I was stuck in an easy gear so it was okay to climb the hill to my house but made it so I couldn’t pedal downhill. 

The long run this morning was the opposite of yesterday’s ride/run brick - slower than I wanted. But I still put in the training. Consistency is one of my hallmarks for success. Every workout may not go as I planned or wanted but success usually doesn’t happen in a straight line anyway. Is my overall trajectory going in the right direction? If it is, stay the course! And it was the longest run to date: 16 ½ miles. 

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. If you ever want to add to it, the link is: online.ccfa.org/goto/skipslade 

This week’s totals: 23hr 04min; 206.4 miles
Swim3hr 45min – 12,267 yds (3 swims) - longest: 4,275 yd
Bike9hr 17min – 162 miles (3 rides) - longest: 102 miles
Run6hr 47min – 37.4 miles (3 runs + 1 short brick run) - longest: 16.7 miles
Strength Training3hr 15min

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