Tri for Les

Stop worrying. Here’s what you need to do to conquer Ironman Arizona

Dear Future Adam,

Good morning. If you’re reading this, it’s early on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013

The sun won’t rise for a few hours but your mind and nerves are already racing.

The dark windows, beeping alarm and creaky floorboards sing in a familiar harmony as you stumble out of bed for the start of a big day.

It’s OK. Take a deep breath, hold it for a couple seconds and close your eyes. Now, exhale slowly and calmly, and open your eyes.

There. Much, better.

Look to your right on the dresser: your clothes and shoes are laid out on the dresser and everything is in its place, packed and ready to go.

See? Business as usual.

Alright, now here comes a curve ball: after you turn on the lights, you’ll lean against the wall waiting for your eyes to adjust and feel a pang of anxiety that’s not so familiar. You’ll remember why today is different.

Today, you become an Ironman.

Probably didn’t get much sleep last night, did you?

I’m guessing you had nightmares about getting lost on the course, took multiple trips to the bathroom and spent a few wired hours lying in bed staring at the ceiling, desperately trying to slow down your heart rate.

That’s OK. Excitement is good, and most of the 2,800 other athletes are in the same boat.

Well now you’re awake, and it’s go time.

With all the adrenaline coursing through your veins this morning, it’ll be easy to get worked up, stressed out, and stray from the course that got you this far.

So take this letter as a reminder that you are very great – although you can be an idiot at times – and read the following instructions to stay on track, calm and in control during the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile ride and 26.2-mile run:

I’m sitting at a coffee shop at 1:00 on a Saturday afternoon, blogging a little, studying a little less and re-familiarizing myself with what Saturday feels like. This. Is. Nice.

Funny thing, though – I’m also totally lost. I don’t know what to do with myself. Should I just go back to the gym and swim a little? As I’m sitting here thinking how I should have planned a little better for this weekend, I started to think about how much damn planning I’ve done over the last year.

There’s no question that training for an Ironman takes planning. Obviously, you’ll need to plan for smart training. But what about everything else? What about those days/weeks that you’re just not feeling well? Or what about weekends you’ll be off on a work trip? And most importantly, what about your cheat days?

Let’s take a look at all of different stages of planning that go into training for an Ironman.

A revamped training program, injury update and look ahead to taper week

Ironman Arizona is officially fourteen days away.

I see the finish line on the horizon, feel the excitement building and smell the victory approaching my reach.

However, I’m still so obsessed with my schedule, nutrition, race prep and hitting all my workouts (hhhawwrd) that the realness and nearness of race-day hasn’t quite sunk in for me.

That’s probably a good thing.

I’m feeling strong and confident heading into this final stretch, and despite the crazy, often self-induced, curve balls this year has thrown at me, I’ve built up some nice momentum and hope to ride it across the finish line on Nov. 17.

That momentum didn’t develop by accident.

I’ve spent a lot of time researching and planning as many angles of this journey as possible. And recently, I’ve made some major adjustments to my training plan and injury treatments that have helped keep me moving in the right direction.

In this post, you’re going to see an overview of the revised training program I’ve been following for the past few months, an update on my injuries and how they’re being treated, plus a look at my taper-week schedule.