TRIPLE BRICK

Since I uploaded my last post we swam at Lovers Point followed by a 20 mile run. We did the Vineman half Ironman and the Aqua Challenge at lake Del Valle, nothing you haven't heard about before so I saw little point in bothering you with all that. However on Sunday we had one of the notorious Ironteam workouts that you hear about as an outsider and ask about before you join. The Triple Brick is one of the last big tests in the training season. It consists of three brick's, back to back. A brick is a bike ride followed by a run. If you say Bike and Run really fast and add the word "Ick" at the end, you have brick. Each bike segment was 2 hours long followed by a 50 minute run, and they gave you 10 minutes to transition between the two which made for a 9 hour day. The picture above is the home base which was located at the corner of Edgewood and Canada roads. Each bike and run was different but they all started and ended right here.

This is me at the start, it was overcast and cool but that did not last long...
Some of my teammates are in taper, their event is this Sunday. Therefore, while we languished on this tortuous day, they got to dick around. Bastards....
Two hours later it was back to home base for a quick bite and a 50 minute run in Edgewood Park. Coach Wasserman and Captain Christy Barney are making sure that I am eating. Nutrition is of the utmost importance in workouts like these. Without it you will fail.
Renee is putting on a nutritional clinic...
While others take it a bit less seriously.
I found that as the day grew warmer, it was much better to be on the bike than running. However, the bike requires a lot more nutrition. I ate about 1200 calories in E-gels, Shot Blocks, Carbo Pro, and the PBJ at home base. I would end up burning 8,000 calories before the day was over.
Clearly it was the bike that proved most challenging to me. I found that I started getting serious pains in the bones of my feet from the shoes. It would be so bizarre, I'd be in hell for an hour, hop off the bike and get into my running shoes and all was right with the world. In this picture I am absolutely irate about my feet and the fact that Dan was taking my picture, but at the same time I was elated that I didn't have to ride anymore. And as only Dan can, he made me laugh when I was really pissed off, and when I needed it most.
This is me finishing. Sunburnt, legs fried, sore shoulders and arms, and a bloated belly full of sports drink, I am as happy as I have been after anything that wasn't a PR in a marathon. At the time I felt like this was one of the hardest things I have ever done, and 24 hours later I still feel that way.

The day before, 5 of us bound for Louisville did a 2 mile open water, non-wetsuit swim and it went really well. If there was any doubt in my mind about any of us being ready for Ironman, it was erased this weekend.

Mental Toughness

All year we have been put through tests of endurance and perseverance. As the weeks would roll by the workouts would get longer and more intense. This weekend had a different focus. Mental toughness was either to be forged or discovered, I wasn't sure which. I guess that all depended on who you were. But the main thing was that we were tested not only with extreme workouts for physical fitness, but testicular fortitude as well.

Saturday was the main set. a 100 mile solo bike ride with no support. So sag, no aid stations, simply your bike and whatever God gave you to survive the day. I had no problem storing enough food, it was hydration that I would need to address while I was on the course. Most of the ride was in the back country without stores or parks with running water. A $20 bill would solve that issue just as long as I could get through the first 67 miles without refueling my 3 bottles which I was able to do. The only real test on this day was when I arrived at the intersection of Foothill Expwy and Homestead Rd with less than a quarter mile from my house, and I had 12 miles to go before I could finish. I sooooooo wanted to make that right turn, but no. I headed out the 6 miles and back to finish with 101 miles in 6:45.

Sunday we went to Redwood Shores for the next two legs of the Mental Toughness tour. A 3000 yard open water swim followed by a 10 mile run. I had never swam willingly in open water without a wetsuit before. The wetsuit and the buoyancy it provides is a security blanket of the mind. It not only keeps you warm in cold water but it also pretty much ensures that you won't drown regardless of what happens to you. However, my event in Louisville might get too warm for wetsuits so it really did behoove me to swim without one and today I did it. Once I got over the initial "I'm out here with my pants down" feeling it was a piece of cake. Another checkmark on the road to H.T.F.U.*

Lastly was the 10 mile run. And in the spirit of mental toughness weekend I shed yet another security blanket of mine..... NIP GUARDS!!!! At about mile 0.50 I realized that I forgot to tape up the nips and it was too late to go back. I had pilot lights from mile 6 on but hey, I'm on the Ironteam, baby. I can't let a couple of chafed nubs get in the way of my training.

*H.T.F.U. is the code of the Ironteam subculture, Harden The F#%k Up.