Final Training Push

This last weekend I got in my last good training session before tapering back my training for the Lone Star 70.3 Race (aka Ironman Texas 70.3).

Saturday, I went on a 43.5 mile bike ride followed by a 2.5 mile run. I kept up a good pace on the bike despite the traffic that always keeps the times slower than I would like. Despite the "perfect" weather forecast the night before, I rode in light rain for the second half of the ride. This was actually not a bad thing, as I don't normally ride in the rain, but I think it's good to have some training in it just in case it rains on race day. I was really encouraged by my brick run as my legs did not feel too heavy at the start and I ran under an 11:00 minute/mile pace, which is pretty solid for me, especially under these circumstances.

Sunday, was my long run day for the weekend and I ran a tempo pace run with my local running club. I got in about 9.3 miles, running under 11:00 minutes/mile again.

These runs really encourage me as this pace is about my maximum speed for a distance run, especially on tired legs. I am feeling like I am finishing up my training in a good place and I feel really good about my chances to beat my previous time with room to spare. Some of the race details have already been posted, I'm # 855 (out of 1526 that were posted), I start in swim wave 10 (of 16) which means I start at 7:45 while the first pro wave goes off at 7:00 and the last wave starts at 8:15, and I'll be wear a green swim cap (which I am sure will be terribly stylish!)