I will survive...

Okay, first to clear things up... I'm DEFINITELY not saying that I'm willing to give up any friendships because of my choice to do the Ironman or that I won't make any time for anyone because of the Ironman. I definitely know that I only get from relationships what I put into them. All I'm saying is that I'm doing the best I can given my work schedule and training schedule to find time for everything, including friends, family, etc. and hope that everyone knows that... that's all that I meant by asking people to be patient. :) I hope everyone understands that! It was EXTREMELY hard to not go out after dinner last night with family and friends because of my training, but I know I did what I needed to do. Thanks you guys for not giving us any grief about it! :)

Alright, on to my weekend. It was grueling! I could end it there, but I won't leave you in suspense (ha... like you're sitting on the edge of your chair waiting for details right?). Yesterday we hit the bike fairly early. I knew that we'd be going about 50 miles or so. It was windy, but I started off feeling great. I pushed myself pretty hard though and kept up with Tom for the whole ride. Probably a bad choice. We had a great ride, don't get me wrong, but I got off the bike, threw on my running shoes and ouch. Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! My 5 mile transition run was a disaster! It was hot. It was still windy. Tom looked like a million bucks and I resorted to walking about 3.5 miles into it. I had nothing left in my tank. Had I just pushed it a little less on the bike I'd probably had a slow transition run, but a run for 5 miles none the less! :( Lesson learned.

Today's run went well. I was pooped from yesterday and this was really the first loooooong week that we'd had - I could feel it adding up. We ran 11.5 miles (I think I averaged about 9:17's on the way out and 9:40's overall so I slowed considerably). I knew I probably had gone out fast, but I felt great and somehow had convinced myself that I was running a pace that I could sustain after yesterday's workout. Funny how the mind works! And I had a lot of mind work to get sorted out. Tom said that he's never seen someone run a pace based on their mind. And I do - my mind is my worst enemy sometimes. I would speed up if I knew that there was a water stop ahead. I'd speed up if I was in front of Tom (otherwise, I feel like I'm chasing him). I'd slow down if Tom asked how I felt and said bad. It really is something that I need to work on. I think I need to crack open my copy of The Triathlete's Guide to Mental Training. It's sitting on my beside waiting to be read. After today's run... I better get reading! :)

So that about sums it up. We jumped on our bikes after the run,but cut it short due to the blackening sky. We were fine with things. I'm just getting ready to cook up some real post race food - homemade fajitas!!! Now that's the way to end a long weekend!