In the thick of it

Ironman Wisconsin is only 37 days away!  It's all starting to feel very real now.  Last September when I signed up, it was on a whim because my friends were going to do it.  Now, just shy of a year later, I'm getting a bit anxious.  I'm not worried about finishing, that will happen.  The part that that makes me nervous is the mental aspect.  Specifically, can I keep myself in the correct mindset for 10 hours?  An hour in the water focusing on easy strokes, body rotation, 6-beat kicks, and a good catch.  Five and a half hours on the bike staying relaxed on the uphills, keeping a high cadence, calming my outraged ego as people pass me, gel/water/gatorade/heed/salt/powerbar every 20 minutes, and peeing on myself.  Then three and a half hours of running, counting down the aid stations, more water/gatorade/gel/salt/coke every mile, eyes up, swing the arms, high cadence, and more pee.  And that is only the list of things that I can control.  There are just as many environmental aspects that I will simply have to deal with: weather, other people, mechanical failures, etc.

Seems like a lot to pay attention to for hours at a time, right?  I find it very easy to sit at my desk and visualize that I will be strong enough to tell my self to HTFU and run.  But will I?  I will only be able to partially answer that question after a few race simulation workouts.  But even if I go balls to the wall on those workouts, they will take 6-7hrs max.  That still leaves another 3-4hrs of untested territory.

Enough with that, lets get to the nitty gritty of the training details.  I started my final build block last week and it lasts until August 20th.  12-13hrs this week and last, then 15-17hrs for the next two weeks which will include 5+ hr race simulations.

A very macroscopic view of the disciplines:
Swimming: 3x / week (1 OW session, 1 drills/stroke session, 1 speed session)
Biking: 2-3x / week (1 speed/strength session, 1 long ride, 1 easy ride)
Running: 5-6x / week (2-3 easy, 1 speed/strength session, 1 long)
Other: 1 cords session, 1 yoga session

Nutritionally, I am doing very well.  I have nearly cut out pasta from my diet by replacing it with brown rice, lentils, or quinoa.  Very limited amounts of meat and cereal, and a frozen fresh fruit & veggie smoothie is almost a daily occurrence.  Mounds of tuna, potatoes (idaho and sweet), black beans, corn tortillas, and stir fry veggies.  This morning I was down to 164 lbs before my run and hoping to be down to 160 in 37 days.

Shit's getting real...