i had it all planned out....
2000 & 2001 were the seasons to build up the long distances. 2002 was my first ironman.... i was a participant.... get the first one under the belt and 2003 would be the season to race it at wisconsin. literally a 4 year plan to see how fast i could do the distance.
this was the plan i negotiated with my family. my wife was entirely on board, but ready for my 2003 season to be over. i had promised that the throttle gets turned back after this season and i meant it. approaching my final long workout weekend this weekend, it was all coming together perfectly. what a satisfying road it has been. everything seems more complete now, and i.m. wisconsin is the final dessert. vacations have been planned around this, and of course the budget.
you can see where this is going by the subject line.....
friday am was my final long ride going out for an early morning century breaking my own wind, and having discussions with myself to reflect on my months of preparation and understand just how my body might react on race day by laying out an i.m. race day effort. this was a full dress rehearsal minus the race wheels. nutrition, time of day, distance, bike set-up, etc....
the first third of my ride, i realize i have matured as a rider. i keep my heart rate at a steady state a full 37 beats below bike threshold. the first 40 miles felt like an unreasonably low effort, but i know now that i need to let the distance take it out of me. respect the distance. at mile 50, my average h.r. is substantially lower than race day target, and my average pace is substantially higher. i literally laughed out loud because because it has come together with absolute perfection. i've never felt like this before.... i could do 120, even 130.... but 100 miles was the plan.
i wish, oh how i wish, this was just another ride report.
mile 60, i'm headed around a slightly uphill bend over 20 mph. the young girl that wants to cross my path for a left hand turn is simply looking the other direction as she pulls out. a little nissan sentra never seemed so big. ever. it might have been okay if she never saw me, but she turned to look my direction after she had pulled out, and in a panic, stopped the car in a spot that i could not avoid. i t-bone her back fender and wake up on the ground with her in hysterics over me. gawkers, ambulance, cops, everything. where am i? slowly, i piece together the information as it comes in, and figured out what happened. i tried to get up.... not a chance, and oh by the way, the emt was not thrilled about me trying that.
i look over at my p3 and it's ripped in two. that could have been my legs, arms, or brains. i'm thankful i have my teeth, and my blood. my shoulder on the other hand feels like some punk kid blew off an m-80 in there. it's slowly growing to the size of a cantelope.
the tally..... fractured clavicle, wasted p3, and end of season. i think i still have my nerves, although i'll probably stay away from that intersection next season. it could have been so much worse. i'm so thankful for my wife and kids. and my helmet. the ironman will still be there, but the four year peak may have been a one shot deal.
and tyler hamilton? an absolute freak.
It's not easy to juggle a pregnant wife and a troubled child, but somehow I managed to squeeze in 8 hours of TV a day - Homer Simpson
2000 & 2001 were the seasons to build up the long distances. 2002 was my first ironman.... i was a participant.... get the first one under the belt and 2003 would be the season to race it at wisconsin. literally a 4 year plan to see how fast i could do the distance.
this was the plan i negotiated with my family. my wife was entirely on board, but ready for my 2003 season to be over. i had promised that the throttle gets turned back after this season and i meant it. approaching my final long workout weekend this weekend, it was all coming together perfectly. what a satisfying road it has been. everything seems more complete now, and i.m. wisconsin is the final dessert. vacations have been planned around this, and of course the budget.
you can see where this is going by the subject line.....
friday am was my final long ride going out for an early morning century breaking my own wind, and having discussions with myself to reflect on my months of preparation and understand just how my body might react on race day by laying out an i.m. race day effort. this was a full dress rehearsal minus the race wheels. nutrition, time of day, distance, bike set-up, etc....
the first third of my ride, i realize i have matured as a rider. i keep my heart rate at a steady state a full 37 beats below bike threshold. the first 40 miles felt like an unreasonably low effort, but i know now that i need to let the distance take it out of me. respect the distance. at mile 50, my average h.r. is substantially lower than race day target, and my average pace is substantially higher. i literally laughed out loud because because it has come together with absolute perfection. i've never felt like this before.... i could do 120, even 130.... but 100 miles was the plan.
i wish, oh how i wish, this was just another ride report.
mile 60, i'm headed around a slightly uphill bend over 20 mph. the young girl that wants to cross my path for a left hand turn is simply looking the other direction as she pulls out. a little nissan sentra never seemed so big. ever. it might have been okay if she never saw me, but she turned to look my direction after she had pulled out, and in a panic, stopped the car in a spot that i could not avoid. i t-bone her back fender and wake up on the ground with her in hysterics over me. gawkers, ambulance, cops, everything. where am i? slowly, i piece together the information as it comes in, and figured out what happened. i tried to get up.... not a chance, and oh by the way, the emt was not thrilled about me trying that.
i look over at my p3 and it's ripped in two. that could have been my legs, arms, or brains. i'm thankful i have my teeth, and my blood. my shoulder on the other hand feels like some punk kid blew off an m-80 in there. it's slowly growing to the size of a cantelope.
the tally..... fractured clavicle, wasted p3, and end of season. i think i still have my nerves, although i'll probably stay away from that intersection next season. it could have been so much worse. i'm so thankful for my wife and kids. and my helmet. the ironman will still be there, but the four year peak may have been a one shot deal.
and tyler hamilton? an absolute freak.
It's not easy to juggle a pregnant wife and a troubled child, but somehow I managed to squeeze in 8 hours of TV a day - Homer Simpson