I woke up Monday morning with a sore throat and runny nose…I was sick two weeks before my Ironman. Any other time I would train normally, but this was not like any other time.
I decided to skip the bike workout planned for the Monday morning, but I ended up doing it in the afternoon. I had a swim planned for the afternoon and I skipped that. I then had a decision to make. I can try and train as planned, or as close as possible, or to try and get as much rest as possible. Since this was a taper week anyway, I decided to try rest.
For the next 4 days I didn’t do any workouts. It was very disconcerting seeing my “fitness” number on TrainingPeaks drop each day. I know I can’t get any fitter during the taper, but I was distressed about losing fitness. I got worse the next couple days, but by Saturday I was starting to tell that I was getting better. I wasn’t 100%, but I felt I was OK to train.
I had a 2-hr bike and 30-min run BRICK session planned for Saturday. I ended up just doing the 2-hr bike ride. It went well except for being a bit chilly. I had a 1-hr run planned for Sunday and I did that also.
Due to missing 4 days of training, I only ended up doing just under 4 hours of training for the week. I’m still not 100%, but hopefully with the lighter load planned anyway for this last week and the week to fully recover I can be back to 10% by Sunday
With just one week left to my Ironman, I am now in the planning and packing stage ensuring I make as many lists and checklists as possible to ensure I pack and have everything I need before I fly to Tempe and for my race.