Locked and Loaded--Heading to Kona tomorrow!

OK--it is upon us!  Very pumped.  Also glad I don't have more emotional energy vested in the US Ryder Cup Team--heart-breaking!

A number of quick things to report:

The Week:

Three hard days at the beach with a IM length swim with the 7-mile babes, a 15-miler and a 86-mile bike.  Then--up to Boston for parents weekend at Boston College so we slid right into a 16-day Kona taper.  Stats for the week just ended:

Swim: 7500 yards
Bike: 198 miles
Run: 27 miles
Time: 18:17

The Month:

Last month of my pre-Kona build.  Hit peak-week mid-month and had a couple of life "interruptions" down the stretch.  Monthly totals:

Swim: 41,000 yards
Bike: 1,116 miles
Run: 124 miles
Time: 97:07

Three-Month IM Build

Find below a summary of my final three month IM-build before the following IM races:  2007 IMFL (where I did a 11:19),  2010 Kona,  2011 IMAZ (11:52), and this year's build for Kona 2012:

                                              2007          2010          2011          2012

Swim

R-3                                       36.8           19.1           35.0           38.9

R-2                                       42.0           30.7           36.4           36.9

R-1                                       49.5           41.1           40.3           41.0

Total                                    128.3          90.9         111.7         116.8

Bike

R-3                                       817            823           1212          1166

R-2                                       903          1141            806           1106

R-1                                       542            823           1105          1116

Total                                   2462          2787           3123         3388

Run

R-3                                       104            93             147             131

R-2                                       119            109            110            133

R-1                                       108            105            177            124

Total                                     331            307            434            388

Time

R-3                                       71.0           76.7        101.0            99.0

R-2                                       88.7         101.6          76.8            95.6

R-1                                       61.8           78.1        107.9            97.1

Total                                    241.5        256.4        285.7           291.7

A number of observations:

1. I was a lot faster in 2007 than today.

2. I've put more time into my swim over the last two years than I did pre-Kona 2010.  Obviously, not what I did back with Peter Reid in 2007 but I think My swim should be fine at Kona this year.

3. I continue to build my biking.  I keep doing more biking but at a lower power output.  This is probably not the right thing for me but it's what I generally enjoy.  I'm very consistent on the bike.  I don't expect any real surprises on the bike at  Kona this year.  I did 6:20 in 2010 and I feel like I should and could be 20 minutes faster this year.  That said, if that didn't happen it would not be a huge shock to me.

4. My run has been consistent in this year's build both volume and intensity wise.  The volume has been adequate but the intensity (ie speed) unfortunately has been dreadful--I'm getting older and a lot slower on the run .  That said, if I use my brain on 10/13, I could indeed run faster than 2010.

5. I continue to increase my workout volume (time) and get slower as the years go on.  what is the lesson here?

We are laeaving for Kona tomorrow morning.  Please check back frequently as I will be a very active blogger in the days to come!