The Brick Wall

July 14th - July 16th

7-14-10 -Bike 2:00/Run 1:45 - Good new note: I believe that on my brick run today, I took about 4 minutes off of my 12 mile run today - usually it would take 1:50, today it took 1:46. It was hot, but not as hot as it has been - 90 doesn't feel hot any longer - I LOVE IT!

The bike felt strange the first 10-20 minutes, but I went with my camera intending to capture some interesting moments. I did just that - the corn is TALL!!!!! I pulled my bike up next to it then proceeded to jump to try to touch the top - not even close but pretty funny! I felt strong and confident today. Thank you again, Genoa township fire department for putting the water cooler out by the bike path - it has been a life saver.

7-15-10 - Bike 1:45 - Bike a little - not in the mood to do anything today though. The first 30 minutes of the bike

was tough - I was out of breathe, then I realized my break pads were on - what is up with me and my flipping breaks pads???? Have to remember to check those before Ironman (LOL).


7-16-10 - Run 3:00 - LESSON LEARNED

The plan for the day - run 3 hours mid-day, run 1 hour later. I parked in the middle of my favorite housing development and ran what I call loop 1 (it takes approx 45 minutes). After 45 minutes, I swing by my car, grab a gel pack, towel off and grab a new water bottle. One thing I have learned is that one gel pack goes a long way with me. I cannot eat an entire pack at once and will have to eat just a small amount at each mile marker during the race.

Loop 2 - Section two takes me through the neighborhood, across a main road and down a bike path where I pass a park with a restroom and a fire station that puts out water (my life saver). Part 2 takes approx 1:10. At the end of part two, I eat more gel and head back - stopping to refill my water bottle (bottle #3). Section three takes Approx 1:05 - I know that once I hit the neighborhood again, the heat is going to take over.

By 2:45, I was feeling more than wonderful - in fact, I was cruising! Once I hit 2:50, I hit my first brick wall - literally - my body didn't want to run anymore, or move forward for that matter. I stopped my watch, stretched for a second, walked for 2 minutes, took a bite of a PowerBar and headed off thinking I would fall down or something, but I ran to the finish. Overall, my nutrition and hydration were spot on. I felt great. Very little lactic acid in my legs. Aside from the glitch in body function at 2:50, I felt fantastic despite the heat and humidity.