despite coldish weather, I keep up the training. Nowadays I started spinning again in the migros (puls 5) fitness center , going to the swim hall (Zürich City-bad) combined with running outside along the limmat. My trainingsprogram 2Peak is saying: "Tage bis zum nächsten Wettkampf: 192" - Only 192 days left to the next competition. Time is running...
This week was the first since the IM Zurich, I started to train again. Meanwhile I gained too much weight and lost some endurance power. Time to change and speed up.
Monday: Running
Tuesday: Swimming
Wednesday: Running
Thursday & Friday: off
Saturday: Running
Sunday: Swimming
Today was my first lake-surrounding-jogg in Switzerland! 20.5 km arround the Greifensee lake. We were awfully slow and struggled with the heat and air-pressure. However, little by little Irina and me - we are getting ready for the Greifensee-Run at Sept-20.
After having finished the IM two weeks ago I still have to assimilate what happened. Here are some of the different moods and experiences felt during the last week:
1. Feeling great: Some days I am just happy. When I have time to think about life I smile. The IM was a great experience always to be cherished.
2. Unreality: Did it really happen? Did I do this? Unbelieveable - even for myself. It took my three years from a big(!) couch potato to an athlete.
3. Confidence: Now facing daily troubles again quite a lot of them seem to be really unimportant and only worth a short smile.
4. Humble Thankfulness: Even with the confidence, there is something else inherited now in myself. It is a deep thankfulness, that I was allowed to pass that challenge.
After all - what is next? I am not sure. Today I recieved an interesting email from my trainings-program (www.2peak.com):
"Negative effects while over-reducing the training 14 days after a competition:
* -21 to -75% loss of the ability to use fat for energy-provision during workouts
* - 20 to -39% loss of the ability to store glycose in the muscles
=> An endurance-athlete will need 10 years(!) to reach the full potential."
So I better start training again! :- )
One week after the Ironman competition in Zurich/Switzerland, I am still struggeling to comprehend fully, what happened only a week ago. It feels good to have it finished. This inevitably cheers up, boosts confidence in future challenges and infuses great thankfulness how marvellous the human body and spirit is. I already registered for next year, probably with a new bike then.
Cheers, t-IM
Yesterday I did my first Ironman. I enjoyed the race 14:22:21 hours long. Thanks to all the supporters! You were great and without you I wouldn't had a chance.
Your onefreeradical!
No sports for the rest of the week! :-)
7 days to my first IM. Yesterday I had the last long training session: 3.8 k swim (1'35''). Everything went well. I felt good.
The water temperature is rising in the Zurich lake.
I guess we are not swimming with a neoprene (actual water temperature is 23.5°C with 1 week to go). Four months ago I bought the 70.3 and I am quite happy with it. I like it even better, since swimming is more "real" in the "shorty".
Training is somehow influenced right now with "moving the house" and "job change". Though I am able to find the right balance over and over again. My nutrition is going ok, though I could be thinner.
For the next week I will enjoy the circus and training becomes a matter of low priority. Have fun! onefreeracial
The early bird swim training of the free radicals started again in the beautiful outdoor swimming pool, 06:00 Uhr Hallenbad Opfikon Glattbrugg:
3 k swim:
6 * (500m crawl, 2 rounds running round the pool, 20 pushups)
at the end I jumped from the 3 m tower - a fear for me to conquer every time again. I don't know why that scares me so much.
Loosing weight, feeling fit, 18 days to the IM....
Absolutely no time to write something here....
....only training counts right now.
Swimming:
- I started to train in a group: http://www.godfrey.ch/
Biking:
- use a bandanna to avoid neck pains from the wind
- mind the heat!
Running:
- training on hard ground is cruel
New bike record. 184.9 km are a really long distance. I learned:
- salt tablets are great to avoid cramps
- at kilometers: 45, 100 and 145 it really got mentally tough to continue
- I ate every half hour in turns powerbar gels and riegels along with drinking water
- I was faster on the hilly part, which I find amazing, since I considered myself slow up and down the hills
The weather conditions were going from bad to very bad, 15°C, rainy, quite freezy. Since it got very dark very soon, I bought a reflecting safety vest at a gas station. It feels good though to have gone through another limit-breaking experience.
27 days to the Ironman. Now I will focus on swimming.
Saturday: 100k 4 hours, it was quite cold, so on the Ironman strecke I stopped at a bicycle shop to buy some sleeve-warmers and another bike-Trikot. It also started raining, so I decided to stopp for today and to do the 180k tomorrow. My knees are getting better. I got new skin and the scab peels away. How marvellous our bodies are made!
Sunday: ... on the road...
Very nice video (7:52 min), what will be taken place in about two months..
