In 2015, I traveled to Cambridge, Maryland to race Ironman Maryland. Along the drive to the race venue I discovered that the race was cancelled due to Hurrican Joaquin. Instead of deferring my entry to the same race a few weeks later I decided to rac...
Ironman Chattanooga Week 12 - The Doldrums!
KC's Ironman Chattanooga Week 12 Recap
Ok, these weeks lately have been really lame and boring but you know what? I’m okay with that. I feel like I still need the down time for my brain. My mind hasn’t quite wrapped itself around training for another Ironman yet but it will soon. And once the physical and the mental parts come together in harmony, like when the stars, moon, and planets align, it’s game on and full speed ahead. For now, I’m happy with where my training is. [caption id="attachment_9384" align="alignright" width="300"]
Not sure a 4th Century Ride in 4 week is light.[/caption] I have a confession to make. I’m a very spontaneous person, so when I get something in my head, I usually just do it. Last Friday was a testament to that spontaneity. I had been thinking about getting my nose pierced for quite some time, so when I woke up last Friday, I decided that it was the day to finally do it. So I did. Why am I telling you this? Because I want you to know why you will not see any swimming on my calendar snapshot until the beginning of March. No swimming allowed because the puncture could get infected and who has time for an infection? I do have a 70.3 on March 22nd, I haven’t swam since Ironman Florida and I AM NOT ONE BIT WORRIED. I’ve taken long breaks from the swim before, only to come back even stronger within a few sessions. The same cannot be said about long breaks from running and biking. The fitness is lost too quickly on the run and bike, unlike the swim. At least that has been my experience, so I don’t fret over it. This week’s training was good. I got my 4th, 100 mile ride in today, so that makes a century every week for the month of January. Not too shabby, huh? I’m thinking I’ll try to keep that streak going if I can, for a while, maybe through February. My running is coming along nicely. I’m slowly inching up the mileage …slooooowly. I would like to have an average of about 30-35 miles of running per week by mid February. That’s a comfortable range for me. This week’s lesson is practicing setting short-term goals. Not looking too far ahead just yet. It’s too early in the game (the game being IronmanTennessee). So far, it is working very nicely. No burn allowed here! Upward and Onward!
Jason's Ironman Chattanooga Week 12 Recap
Last week was the final week of overload training for the Rocky Raccoon 50. The week totaled 70.68 miles which is the second consecutive week I have gone over 70 miles and totaled 209+ miles over the three weeks. Needless to say that final run on Sunday was a sap sucker as well as de-motivator for the upcoming race. My legs were extremely heavy & I was sore in my lower back which I attribute to two things. The first being that I was coming down with a bit of a chest cold and having run 26 miles the day before on the road. The road just trashes your legs and it was evident from step 1 that the run on Sunday was not going to be a pleasant one. When I finally finished slogging through 11+ miles I landed on the couch and spent the rest of the day there. I had no desire to do anything and the energy was quickly fading as the hours ticked away. I finally fell asleep for a short nap, which normally energizes me but this time just continued to make me tired. When I woke up I started questioning my ability to race these 50 miles. Questions such as:-
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Managed three swim sessions and have a goal of a :39/50y on the 4th of 4x50 descending.[/caption] How am I ever going to get through 50 miles if I am this tired after 37 over two days?
- Should I have started the overload week a bit earlier to get in more miles?
- What would happen at the Lake Martin 100 if getting to 50 is so hard?

About the Author: Jason Bahamundi
I grew up in New York and lived there for 34 years until I got divorced and moved 1600 miles to my new home in Texas. I love New York and miss it but that does not mean that Texas hasn’t been great to me because it has. It was here that I discovered endurance sports and specifically the sport of triathlon. Triathlon has given me new life through all the challenges it presents. I no longer look at life the same way and I can say that is in part due to my endeavor into this sport.
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