End of the Bender

After being so diligent with my diet and training for so long, I tossed all the rules out the window and had a much-needed three-day bender of eating and drinking everything I'm not supposed to in total excess. It was lovely. But after another night of over indulging, I woke up this morning and decided it was time to pull myself together and be a little kinder to my body in the spirit of recovery and preparing myself for 2/3 of an Ironman in one week. I slept in, ate incredibly healthy and light, talked to a couple friends to lift my spirits and forced myself to go back to the pool since it's the only training I can safely do at this point. I've gained about three or four pounds and was desperate to move again.

Being in the water felt great. I haven't swam since last Thursday and could feel it, mostly in sloppy form, but it wasn't as bad as expected. I took it easy and used a pull buoy for every other set to give my legs a total rest. I've never used a buoy before and it took some getting used to. The flotation is great, but I don't want to get too reliant on it.

I get to do a short, easy trainer ride tomorrow to get some blood flowing to the foot and loosen up my legs. I can't remember a time I was so excited to be on the trainer. After that I'll do a longer swim and the spend the rest of the day packing for Wisconsin. One of the best things to come of this injury is the total lack of pre-race nerves and anxiety. I haven't felt the slightest bit of stress aside from the stress of my decision.

I still have no idea what September 13 will bring and most likely won't know until I'm in the moment. Until then, I'm going to continue to enjoy my time and I can't wait to soak up as much of the Ironman experience as I possibly can. Ironman is a magical event unlike anything I've ever seen before and if I can be part of 2/3 of it, I'll take it.

Swimming
Distance - 1,500 yards
Time - 30:47