The road ahead.....

51 days....7+ weeks to IMAZ. Lots of miles over the transom--where do we stand, and what does the road ahead look like?

My body/fitness/injuries

I think I'm in a very good place now. I had a very big August. I crashed a bit during the first two weeks of September--big training volume was part of the issue, but large and persistant "life" stresses were perhaps even more so.

IM70.3WC was just a case of me scuffling through...that was 9/11...glad I did it (as an experience) but i was not in any position to really race....

recovered the week after and then had a very encouraging training week...

killed SkipJack--definitely a surprise how strong I was!

So...where are we?

Injury wise I think I'm good to go. My knee shut me down for 4-5 weeks in May and June but with the injection cycle in June and this new one (which will be completed this coming Monday) my knee has responded in a truly excellent way--right now, I do not have knee problems--nor do I expect them to be a factor at all in preparing for and racing IMAZ--at the end of the day, this is the most importnt thing on my fitness docket right now!

My Psoas muscle issues have dimisnished enough to take them off the list and my plantar fascitis seems to have recceded to the point of just being a minor irritant some mornings.

I spent 4 dys dea\ling with SEVERE blisters (post Skipjack)--I definitely had to cut back--no running and only light biking but hopefully, I'm ready to move on.

Summary: I have no limiting injuries right now!

My best, most objective analysis, tells me tht I am in better long course shape right now than in any time in my career with the exception of 2007. My race this past weekend was (from my perspective) a very big deal in terms of validating my fitness and my fitness building strategy.

My fitness is still improving. My motivation to improve is at an all-time high. I'm not at the peak I had in 2007 but this just might be a bettert scenario, given my hungriness to get better. We'll see...

I have a lot of work obligations and so am camping up in NYC for 2-5 days now.....bike and swim impacts for sure but hopefully i can run alot....I'm definitely behind my training plan--run wise so that would be good....we'll see....

I wanted to race this weekend or next but life commitments tell me no. so it's all training until the big event--probably for the best when you step back and look at the big picture.

Until I taper, here is how I plan to roll:

-big volume--probably in the 22-26 hours/week range
-3 key bike rides: long (6+ hours), hard (2-3 hours above IM race intensity), neromuscular training--efficiency--I'll ride every day but the other rides must not interfer with the three key rides....
-4/5 swims: 2 key ones--1 of 4000+ yards and one of 3000-4000 yards of long and hard intervals...the rest is optional--not doing them, but how hard I do them
-run--need to be in the 30-50 mpw zone--1 long run and 1 tempo/race/interval wo per week--the rest is filler
-lots of work but easier easy days to make sure I kill the hard stuff....
-Of course' my body or schedule may dictate otherwise....

we'll see but right now I like my chances!