CONFIDENCE DAY

"Spirit can walk, spirit can swim, spirit can climb, spirit can crawl. There is no terrain you cannot overcome." ~Irisa Hail

It's finally starting to sink in just how much training it's going to take to do Ironman. Right now training days are hanging around the same as I was doing just before the Half Ironman (except for the 112-mile bike ride I did a couple of weeks ago).

I've been getting a lot of helpful advice from friends and from what I can glean from all of their knowledge is that my training needs to increase steadily to a peak at exactly 3 weeks from race day. Sept. 19 should be my longest training day and what all my training should point toward.

I used the same advice for the Half Ironman and it really did work. So even though the Ironman World Championship is on Oct.10, I'm focusing on Sept. 19 and the 9-plus hours of training I'll be doing that day.

It's a day I will look back on knowing that I did most of an Ironman on the Ironman World Championship course -- my home course -- and the confidence that it will inspire three weeks later on Oct. 10 when myself and 1,800 of my closest friends enter the warm waters at Kailua Bay for a little swim, a short bike ride and a quick jog around town. Nothing I haven't done before -- thanks to confidence day and the advice of good friends.

As my friend Bree Wee always says, "It's in the bank!" or at least it will be Sept. 19 ready for withdrawal on Oct. 10.

112-MILE BIKE RIDE
A couple of Thursdays ago, Rob, Michael and I rode the Ironman bike course. Actually, I rode the bike course, Rob and Michael started at Waikoloa and rode to Kona to meet me then we rode the course) At the end of the day Michael had rode just short of 112 miles, I rode 112 and Rob rode 160 miles. I think we all averaged over 17 miles an hour on a windy day.

That was the farthest I have ever ridden. Although my training plan calls for me to build up to that distance over the next few months I wanted to see what it was like to stay on the bike for 6 and a half hours and how much work I need to do to get comfortable with it.

To be honest,it wasn't as bad as I thought. strengthwise and musclewise I felt great. Comfort was the biggest problem. My feet hurt the most (the contact point where my shoes attach to the pedals) followed by my neck (lay on the floor on your stomach then get up on your elbows and look forward and see how long it is before your neck starts hurting. That's basically the same position your neck is in on a TT bike in the earo position) and my wrists hurt from the awkward bend from the aerobars. To my surprise, I didn't get saddle sore thankfully.

If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves. ~Thomas Alva Edison