"90 kms & 90 mins"

I awoke to the patter of rain on the cobblestones and so I decided to simplify the day a little.  The plan was to do a complete race simulation including wetsuit, goggles, gear packed in bags etc.  After some further deliberation about postponing til tomorrow, the rain let up and I so decided to take a shot at my bike/run but without all the extras.

I was out the door by nine, back by 9:30 to pick up my nutrition (idiot) and then back again after a decent 90 kms at an average speed of 31.5 km/hr.  And yes I got rained on!  Hard!  I didn't care, but for my poor bike.  That's the first time it ever faced any kind of weather.  I'm glad to report that it functioned flawlessly, including all the electronics.  Of course it is absolutely, disgustingly, filthy now but I can fix that.  Maybe I'll even take the opportunity to install my new tires.

Anyway I was satisfied with my ride.  It's amazing how quickly 3 hours flies by.

Part 2 of the workout I was just a little nervous about however.  I have never done such a long run off the bike (other than races) and I just wasn't sure what to expect.  I had decided to start out with my 4/1 run/walk routine, and if at any point I felt confident enough I would allow myself to start skipping the walk breaks.  Amazingly enough that confidence came by the time the warning went off for the first break!!  I got a little scare at about 25 minutes when my chest started to tighten but I sensed that it may just be a little anxiety and pushed through it.  Again at about an hour I started to flag a little but  pulled up my socks one more time and kept on running.  In the end I ran 17.34 kms at an average pace of 5:12/km.  To say I'm happy with that would be an understatement.  

To put it all in perspective I give you a comparison to my half ironman of 5 weeks ago.  Today I rode the same distance over a harder course, 5 minutes quicker.  While my run was only 17 kms compared to 21.1 of the half, I have no doubt I could have maintained that pace for another 4 kms.  Today's pace was 38 seconds per km faster!!!!

While I still regret how I screwed up I do feel confident that I'm almost back to normal, and that feels damn good in itself.  Roo reminded me to be grateful that I learned something new about myself, and I gave her a point for that.  I also took the opportunity to tell her that the only way I could put the new wisdom to use would be to do another Ironman.  I think she gave me her blessing.....but not for 2014.  We all need a break from my obsessions.  I'm good with 2015.  I'll be 60 that year, and Happy Old John and Grampa Brett claim theyll be ready by then as well.  Game on brothers!!!

By the way, I didn't really need the wetsuit portion today, as yesterday I managed a nice slow 4 km swim in the 50 metre pool in London.  1:25:30

So that's it! Right now I'm on my 3rd fruit & booze slushie, and tomorrow I think I'm gonna sleep in and then maybe do some visiting.  I hope you're all feeling as grateful for life as I am right now, and if not give me a call.  Maybe I'll come visit you tomorrow???

....and here's a monster quote for you....

"Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful."---John Wooden

Love

Peter