The "Hard Work" is Over

This officially end my build and officially begins my taper. I go from a phase that is hard physically, to a phase that is hard mentally. The taper is hard because you begin to substantially reduce the volume of your training. However, you feel like you should be doing more, even though you should not. Either way, I have read a lot from Dave Scott and the book Going Long on the last 3 weeks (taper) before an Ironman. Just need to follow the plan and be smart. This last week, I was still a little sick, but managed to get in some decent training mixed in with some off days.

My stats for the week:

Swim: 3:45- 13,100 yards

Bike: 10:30 - 204 miles

Run: 4:20 - 34.25 miles

TOTAL: 18:35

I did a great 2:00 run that started easy and ended with the last 30 minutes at a 7:25 pace, and felt great at the end. Ran a total of 15.5 miles. Running is the area I am most nervous about, but this was a big confidence boost. My last "big" workout for the year was a 4:00 ride followed by a 1:30 transition run. Both of these start out easy and build to half-ironman pace by the end. I felt great at the end.

At this point, I just need to stay sharp, healthy, and injury free. Although this was not the ideal last 2 weeks of my build, I am happy with the end result, based on my key workouts. For those of you that have supported me through these last few months of long hours of training, I thank you.