This past week had several positive aspects about it, and one, giant negative aspect.  Let’s start with the PROS:

1.  I put in three, long workouts in the same week.  4600 meter swim on Monday, 22 mile run on Wednesday, and a 108 mile ride on Saturday.  All the workouts were successful, and completed at the speed I had intended.

2.  I used my 6hr trainer ride on Saturday as a “trial run” for the Ironman bike portion.  I ate and drank only what I plan on using during the actual event.  At 30 minute intervals, I would alternate eating Honey Stinger Waffles and GU Chomps.  Every 30 minutes I would also eat 1 Endurolyte electrolyte pill.  As far as fluids went, I drank Ironman Perform (Lemon Lime flavor) with the Honey Stinger Waffles, and H2O with the GU Chomps.  After the bike I hopped on the treadmill for a 20 minute jog to see how my legs felt, and more importantly, to see how successful my nutrition plan was.  All in all, I would say it was a success.  I had a surprising amount of energy, and I didn’t feel bloated or sick to my stomach.  So hopefully that means I got enough calories and fluids!

3.  I got some new nutrition and a new aero helmet!  Check them out!  The Honey Stinger Waffles are incredible, by the way, and I would HIGHLY recommend them to anyone doing endurance training.  They are light, easy to eat and digest, and best of all, they are delicious!  Plus, they pack 165 calories, which is awesome considering how small they are.

The major CON of the week:

-My knee injury is worse then I thought.  I took two days off trying to get it to heal, but after that 6hr ride on Saturday, my knee was aching pretty bad.  It is my IT band again, and that scares me.  I’m taking a pretty drastic approach to ensure recovery.  This coming week I am forgoing all running and all biking, with the exception of the long ride on Saturday.  I am also only going to do three 2500 meter swim sessions, and pray that my knee recovers fully.  To further increase the healing process, I am icing it on a daily basis, using a foam roller, and of course stretching frequently.  I hope and pray this isn’t the injury that knocks me out of the race.

Block 6 - Week 1 Totals:

Swim - 7100 meters

Bike - 144 miles

Run - 27 miles

Depressing totals.  They should have been much higher.  I hope my endurance doesn’t suffer because of the loss of training miles!  Hope everyone else’s training is going better than mine!