Two weeks to go! Reflection of Training

So... 2 weeks today is race day and hopefully at this point in the race day I should be resting somewhere rather than still running!

The taper so far has been quite uneventful, I've given myself a few extra hours off to get my motivation back as it's been a bit lacking lately. But my legs and mind are rested nicely, so now the race cant come soon enough.

My thoughts at the moment are constantly shifting from confidence and excitement right through to panic and nerves. Which I hope wont get much worse with 2 weeks still to go.

At this stage I'm starting to make lists... we all love a good "To do" list! Things I need to take, things I still need to do before the race etc... Hopefully good preparation will ease the anxiety and help me sleep in the last nights before the race.

I have been thinking about the last 18 weeks of training I have done, since the cold dark nights/mornings in early December, right through to the cold light nights/mornings of June! On reflection I guess I should think myself lucky, apart from a few slight injuries I have suffered from nothing major, and I haven't had a cold or flu to slow me down either... I'm very thankful of that, it's certainly made the progression to longer distances a lot easier.

There have been a few things that have slowed me down and tested my resolve though, terrible weather has made a lot of training difficult, including right up to this week when really the sun should be on my back during most training sessions (dreaming I know!). Also the swimming pool that is very close to my house and the quiet times is very convenient for my training schedule has been closed since March. Forcing me swim a further away from home and at 9pm instead of straight after work. Not exactly how I wanted, but at least I didn't lose my swimming completely.

When I first looked at the training schedule to complete the Ironman the things that stuck out as the most daunting were around the big training weeks.Especially looking at the 6 hour bike rides and 20 mile runs. But they turned out to not be so bad, the progression to those distances and times throughout the weeks of the training plan helped survive these sessions.

I think I have found the mental side of the training the hardest. Some weeks where I have had no time to sit down at all, going to bed not long after finishing training at 10pm and then getting up to do a run at 5am was very hard sometimes. Also planning other aspects of my life, things you always have time to do normally, become very hard to fit in, right down to having time to do the washing up after eating! This was something I never thought of before I started this journey, it will definitely be something I will think about before I think about before I consider doing another Ironman distance race.I would love to know how people with children or who work longer hours than I do manage to get the training hours in. I can only assume its better organisation than I have and even less "sofa time".

The sponsorship is continuing to creep higher and higher... can't thank people enough for the donations... it does seem more and more people are collecting for different charities now, so for people to still give as much as they do is great! especially people I don't really know who are donating selflessly... Thank you all, I have promised myself to remember you all when I am struggling on the run, hopefully it will keep me going and keep my spirit up. If you want to help with my spirit and energy in 2 weeks, the donation button is always on the top left hand corner of the page! :-)

So, officially 17 hours of training left to do before the actual race... I'm sure I will write again before the race, until next time...!