Crunch Time

Although I have been gradually increasing my mileage and overall workout loads, I'll confess that I have let some of the intensity slip out of my training.  Yesterday I had to sprint through the Atlanta Airport to make my flight home, and though I probably ran sub-sevens through Terminal T, it wasn't my strongest airport performance ever.  It's time to start fine-tuning this machine, if for no reason other than to make all my flights.

This morning I swam 2.5 miles again, but this time I didn't allow myself to stop or drink for the duration.  It took me slightly longer to finish, and my head was still spinning for hours afterward, but it's time to get serious about this race.  I'm definitely less terrified about the swim distance than I was in 2006.  That said, I still respect the distance and the number of risks that come with a bunch swim of 3,000 people. 

As I've trained for long-distance events (starting with marathons in my early 20's), I've always thought it was funny that as each new milestone is achieved, the previous milestones look like nothing.  A 10K may have been the first goal, but then in half-marathon training, a 10K is a "warmup."  I'm convinced that beneath every "26.2" bumper sticker is a "13.1" sticker.  And maybe beneath that is an "I love Krispy Kreme" sticker. 

It would be tempting to feel like anything less than your longest or most difficult race is somehow less of an accomplishment.  But training for distance races is not a linear path from A to B to Z with no return.  It would be impossible to maintain your highest level of fitness for very long, so hitting intermediate peaks and backing down is all part of the experience.  I approach each race -- even the "B" or "C Priority" races as individual, significant events.  So the Patriots Half-Iron next month is booked as a "training" race, but I intend to give it everything I have.  However, I'll probably save my money on a 70.3 sticker and just wait until November 3 to put an obnoxious 140.6 sticker on my car.