Team,

You know it’s race phase when… There are so many ways to finish that sentence.. here’re just a few.

• You think your bike computer is broken because you’ve been riding for 3 hours and only covered 32 miles.
• You start your workout at 7:00 AM and try to finish before sunset.
• You fine-tune your race plan, pace yourself well, and cover 100 miles with 10,000 feet of climbing, and smile while  doing it.
• You get home Saturday night at 9:15 from an all day workout and set your alarm for a 4:30 am wake up to do it again
• You realize that Coach Dan doesn’t know the difference between a hill, an “up” and a hole in the ground
• You have a great weekend hanging out with your teammates.

The coaching staff is extremely proud of your effort this weekend.  And having brunch together as a team was a great way to top it off.

First of all, the swim.  2.1 miles in open water.  No freakouts, no problems, you just did it.  4 loops was 2.1 miles.  Another half loop would be 2.4.  And everybody could have easily done another loop.  EVERY swimmer was out of the water in under 1:40.  At that pace you still have almost 25 minutes to spare before the swim cutoff.  No problem. It’s in the bag!

Next, that bike ride.  The ride was 98 miles.  But let’s just round it up to 100.  Do you realize how far that is?  When you next get in your car, reset your trip odometer.  See how long it takes before you DRIVE 100 miles.  And you did that on a bike on Saturday.  Let alone the fact that you climbed 10,000 feet in the process.  And if that was not enough, you did it well.  Everybody hydrated, fueled, and paced themselves well.

Finally, Sunday’s run.  Sure you were tired, but you started running.  And pretty soon, it was just like any other run.  10-14 miles done.. just like that. With hills. Done. Just like that. Take great pride in knowing you finished an incredible Epic Weekend of training.

And congratulations to those on the team who finished the century ride in Tahoe. Well done!

One of the key race-phase weekends is in the tank… now on to the next one!  We’ve got another “key” workout this weekend for IMUSA and IMV racers - your longest run, 18-20 miles! IMC/IML/IMW will have a 15-16 mile run. We’ll be running at one of the most beautiful spots to run - Pacific Grove. The run course will take you along seaside trails and onto 17 Mile Drive. This is a fairly flat course - actually using my standards it is pancake flat. And we get to swim first!

CDA is in taper week 2 and France starts taper today!

Technically this week is a recovery week. So be sure to take some extra time to recover if needed.  This is especially true for those doing the long run this coming weekend.  Listen to your body.  Let it recover, because the Iron Forge is heating up again this weekend.

We’ll start Sunday’s workout with a swim at Lover’s Point in Pacific Grove. We’ll start promptly at 9 am. This will give you a bit more time to drive down there. We’ll meet at the grassy park area. The run will start right after we get out of the water. The run will be 15-16 for IMC/IML/IMW or a 3:10 max. The longer run for IMV/IMUSA will be 18-20 or a 3:45 max. We’ll plan to have 2 water stops on the run.

The weekly schedule diverges quite a bit for the different IM events. Once again - this is a recovery week (despite what it looks like on the calendar) - take extra time if you need it.

Look to this weeks Captains’ Update for workout details.

As always, if you have questions, check with your favorite coach.  And if Ann’s not around, you can check with any of the rest of us too :)

Stay strong, go long, and keep on climbing.

Your coaches,
Ann, Chris, Steve and Dan

This entry was posted on Monday, June 8th, 2009 at 10:07 am and is filed under IT2009 . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.