6-Week Countdown to Providence

This Sunday is the 6-week countdown to Providence Half-Iron.  Since the focus has been mainly on the full Iron, this is much less intimidating to me than it has been in the past, coupled with a very well planned and paced Timberman in 2009.  The difference is that this time I haven’t been controlling my program, so it’s been more difficult for me to see the forest through the trees.  I’m trusting in the process and am confident that I will be completely prepared to race pretty hard, but not used to being dependent on someone to package everything so that the race is optimal.   We’ve thrown around the concept of a sub 5:00 effort, which is very doable if I can race at full potential that day.  My ultimate goal will be to have a well-paced race that is optimal for the day and level of fitness leading into the longer goal of IMFL.  Part of racing optimally is getting down to race weight.  I have some pretty solid numbers on both swim and bike, but my weight is 10-15lbs too heavy for what I call my race weight.  The poundage has stayed pretty consistent throughout the last several months of training which tells me a few things.  Since my body composition is definitely changing, I’m replacing body fat with some additional musculature from swimming and bike riding.  I happen to be a ‘gainer’, so looking at a weight grows a muscle; in this case, endurance training has maintained and enhanced some of that musculature.  The next 6 weeks will have an additional focus on cleaning up the diet.  That combined with a few race rehearsals and open water swims will be just about the ticket to getting to Providence and having a chance at a solid race.  Looking forward to the race, as both a stepping stone to IM, but also as a good opportunity to blow up a PR at my favorite race distance (so far).  The excitement builds…