So this is taper?

Its been "Peak Phase" for about 8 weeks. 2 weeks to go to the big event. This past Monday started what is considered the taper down to the event but the program continues. This month included the River Cities Triathlon which I didn't even have time to blog about. Several century and big run weekends since then. Last Saturday included an open water swim (1.5 miles) followed by a 50+ mile bike ride and a half-hour run. I intended to conserve energy for Sunday's 3 hour run and didn't join Roni and Matt in the ride back to town for the extra 20 miles.

The Sunday run wasn't even 3 hours.... it turned into 3:40. Ouch, that hurt. Loop 1 with Helene and the speedsters out front at White Rock was no problem. A quick swap of the shoes and socks, say goodbye to those who get to have breakfast, some gathered and a gel pack and off we go for loop 2. The second round of runners, Rob and Gary, joined Roni and I for the last loop and they quickly ran off as I settled into a pace I thought I could hold. The Run-On water stops were a big help but for some reason I missed one and needed to stop by Mark's house for a refill of the water bottle. That pretty much saved my day and I made it to the North bridge before problems occurred. Patty wasn't there to yell at me, there was nobody to pace with.... so I walked. OK, Ed, time to get going again. I created a little game; I can only walk 100 steps and then I must run a minimum of 100 steps. And if I lose count I have to start over unless I 'm walking then I have to run. It helped but I got so loopy that I kept losing count. Finally, the last mile is here and I can run it in AND here's Gary and Roni coming back. Roni offered a Gatorade and said "you made it!", but I wasn't there yet. Just the sight of them gave me enough of a boost to run it on in and Gary paced with me to get there. Thank God taper starts tomorrow.

So, what is taper week? Uh, well, Tuesday was a 5.5 mile run and 3800 meters swimming, Wednesday was 3650 Meters swimming, 32 biking and 3.3 running, Thursday was NOTHING!!!. Friday, will be a 4.5 mile run and a 3600 meter swim and Saturday is the Hotter'n Hell Hundred. Sunday is only a 2 hour run. Man, I really glad this isn't a tough week. Geeez.

I finally called Roni's nutritionist. I was starting to feel too weak and lose too much weight. After the last 2 weeks, go figure? So, Tammy has provided a nutrition plan based on the latest results and issues I've run into. I'll put the riding nutrition plan in place this weekend at the HHH. Its only slightly different than I've been using but elimiates the fiber and other indigestables that I'd been using and returns a lot of the sodium I lose from profuse sweating. I gotta figure that Wisconsin won't be 106 degrees.

This year's HH100 will be Bob's first! I'm really, really hoping that Bob is not in the shape he was in at the MS150 because I really don't want to ride that fast. I'll ride the HHH as if it were IRONMAN, ditch the Camelback in favor of 2 refill stops and proper nutrition. And.... this is the part I'm really looking forward to.... I'll go for a 30 minute run after I'm done. Doing this after the HHH really freaks people out. The look on their face is priceless.

This week I've double checked the Madison hotel res, moved the flights up to arrive earlier since registration has to be done on Friday only, scoped out 24 hour breakfast spots in Madison, found out the bike has to get shipped out on Sept 2nd and tested out the new wetsuit. I'm ready. I'm terrified.

So, good luck Bob! And, thank God its taper time.