6 Weeks out Update

Wow,  just 6 weeks out, so how am I feeling about the race?  Not great.  

The Swim -  I can do the distance,  just slow.  Not expecting to get much faster due to my horrible technique.  Motivational Motto for the swim comes from Dory of Finding Nemo, "Just keep swimming"

Swim Predictor:  Barb's race I was about 48 minutes,  for this race I think I will be right around that time as well.

The Bike - I think I dread this the most.   I feel least prepared in this area.   I ended up doing a flat 47 mile ride on the San Gabriel River Trail... and it scared me for the race.  The first 23 miles were great, no issues.  But the last 23 miles were rough.  My legs were dead, and there was a strong head wind.  I felt like I was going 0 mph.   I dealt with mental head games the entire trip back to the car. To be fair it was hot with minimal shade and I rode at the peak time of the day (early afternoon). Hoping race day will be cooler, minimal wind with lots of shade. 

Bike Predictor:  Barb's race I was right at the 4 hr mark.  This time I think I'm going to be slower by about a half hour.  I'm just not riding as strong as I was 3 years ago.  

The Run -  After running a marathon this year, I would have thought this would have been easy peasy.  However, I'm not a natural runner.  I have to work hard to run at a 11-12 minute per mile pace.  All of my long runs, have been the day after my long ride.    So my runs have gotten even slower than my marathon pace since my legs are dead from the day before.     I did 9 miles this morning and I finished it with a 13 minute mile pace. Definitely frustrating, but I will just keep training trying to improve.  Thats about all I can do.  

Run Predictor:  Barb's race I was super slow after the swim and bike and ended up at a 13:50 mile pace.   I'm hoping to push through and be a little faster,  under a 13 minute pace.   But who knows how I will feel after 5 hrs of exercise. 

Upcoming Shakeout races:   I will be participating in a 1 mile swim in 2 weeks, followed by an olympic distance triathlon the weekend later.   Both of these will be experiences to help gage where I am at for the Big Event. 

So overall, I'm attempting to stick to the training plans, however due to hectic work schedule the month of August, I'm having to improvise my training plan to make sure I'm prepared.   I'm hoping to get a few more long rides and long runs in before taper time starts.