With Ironman Lake Placid just a week away, there isn’t much that I can do that will make a substantial difference in my speed or endurance on race day.
The hay is in the barn.
So, that can only mean one thing: It’s taper time.
For a week now, my body has been at work putting itself back together after months of abuse training. Cell by cell, fiber by fiber, my body gets stronger.
For the past two months, I averaged about 18 hours of training per week, with over half of that time maintaining 20+ hours. So, I was very excited about the first glimmer of taper, which meant a 16 hour training week last week. This week, I’m down to 12.5 hours.
While my body works its amazing magic, my mind starts to get a little batty.
The reduced training load brings with it a surplus of time, which after being time-strapped for months, I suddenly don’t know what to do with, giving my mind plenty of time to wander.
I alternate between moments of extreme confidence and excitement (usually brought on by watching various Ironman videos on YouTube) and moments of extreme doubt and fear.
I feel like Sybil, as my cerebral space is inhabited by a logical thinker, a brash go-getter and an emoter. Each has something important to add–but each also makes this time a nerve-wracking one.
The logical thinker in me understands and supports taper 100%. She understands that I’m getting stronger, and that I’ve put in the work required to not only finish Lake Placid, but to finish strong. All the fitness in the world isn’t worth much if you are too fatigued to make the magic happen on race day. She’s right, but she’s kind of a know it all, and doesn’t help much with the natural emotions that accompany such a major feat. She thinks those emotions are silly and unnecessary.
The Brash Go-Getter wants to get this show on the road already. Alas! Race day is still a week away, so she tempts me:
- Why not do a longer ride, how about a nice long run–you know, to make sure you’re ready.
- Only a 45 minute run, huh? Hmmm, that’s barely enough to get the blood flowing.
- How about some mile repeats? They’re fun!
As you can see, the Brash Go-Getter is great for race day and hard training, but she’s a bit of a pain in the a$$ during taper. She does not take kindly to sitting around. She just doesn’t understand what I mean when I tell her, “The hay is in the barn, already! Cool your jets, sister.”
In another corner is the Emoter, a clearinghouse of emotions from excitement to anxiety, from enthusiasm to fear. The Emoter can be very helpful, when she’s not behaving like a manic mess. For example, yesterday, during my run, she was on an upswing:
- I really feel like an Ironman today.
- This run feels good.
- I am so going to run an awesome marathon at Lake Placid!
She’s very helpful when she thinks things like this. But, on other days during this taper, she’s tried to convince me that I’ve already passed my peak fitness.
- Oooh, why can’t I get my speed up during this ride?
- What if I already peaked?
- I didn’t train enough (alternating with…) I trained too much
I hate the emoter when she has these types of thoughts. She keeps me up at night, and makes me pace the floor.
I went for a ride with my friend Carole today, and at one point she remarked, “All of this endurance stuff is 90% mental. Physical fitness doesn’t mean anything if you don’t have mental toughness.”
So, for the final days leading in to Lake Placid, I’ll be working on channeling my mental energy in positive ways. Each of these “parts” of my mind have something important to contribute to race day success. The trick now is to focus that energy, trust my training, and go for it.
One week to go.
