First big week done!

Guess what happens when the training plan calls for a big week? Swim, bike, and run and lots of it. Guess what else happens?  Absolutely nothing. I worked, played with the kids, and s/b/r. No yoga, no blogging, we did manage to swing a little hanging with friends on Saturday and Sunday night, but that was it.

Monday was my birthday, I turned 39 for the first time. I really wanted to run my age this year, but forgot and ran 18 miles on Sunday. So Monday had a 90 minute ride before work, then went to dinner for my birthday with the family and got some great presents before heading to swim practice for 3000 meters.  Still a helluva good way to celebrate my birthday!

39 is kind of messing with my head a little bit. I may just be delusional from heavy training, but something just doesn't feel right up there. While the volume is certainly there, I'm training a lot slower than I was last year. Time will tell how that will affect me on Ironman race day, but I think the old age is messing me up.

Tuesday saw a 10 mile run AM, and another RAM Masters practice 3000 meters long course PM.  Great, solid day, still feeling good.

Wednesday I got back on the bike for 90 minutes before work, then had choir practice at church in the evening, followed by my 3rd and final RAM practice. Got 3100 meters this time! 9100 m (6+ miles) in the water.

Thursday took another 10 mile run in the morning, and I only did an hour on the bike in the evening. This was nice, since by this point I'm getting pretty tired.

Friday is normally my rest day, so all I did was a 10 mile run in the morning.

Saturday got long, going 5 hours on the bike. That last hour I was really feeling fatigued. It's been inhospitable outside here, so I've done all of these hours on the stationary bike at the gym. Saturday morning I was looking around thinking that these were all the people that were going to laugh when I started crying.

A couple of the RAM swimmers also have birthdays this week, so they put together a party at a brewery in downtown Raleigh, so we did get out there for a bit. It is always fun to see swim friends socially, and in a brewery like Crank Arm you know some trouble is going to unfold!

Sunday I got in a nice 10 mile run before church, then sang in the choir. It was a rollicking service indeed! Then I got out after lunch for another hour on the bike and another 10 mile run. 

So my totals on the week:
Swim 6+ miles
Bike 200 miles
Run 50 miles
21+ hours total time
and nothing else.

That makes this week a recovery week thank God.  After this week, I have 3 more weeks of build, and the last week of that will actually be a bit bigger than this. But after that it's another recovery week, then the taper.  8 weeks to go until Ironman! And this kind of big week is what gives me the confidence that I'll be able to go up to Ohio and turn in something decent.  This big week is in the books!