It's Official!

". . .successful athletes are those who equate "hard work" with "focused play."--Joe Friel, Going Long

As planned, I signed up today for the full 140.6 mile Ironman in Coeur D'Alene, ID, 362 days from today.  It felt subjectively not unlike buying a bride's wedding ring: outward sign of commitment; significant capital outlay; low expectations of a refund if all doesn't go as planned.

Workouts have been good.  I ran 22 miles last week and bonked less hard as the previous 15 miler last week, both due to nutrition and hydration shortfalls.  But my resolve to get the nutrition/hydration thing remains unwavering. Per the Weather Channel, Coeur D'Alene's average high in late June is 74 degrees.  Perfecto, no problema, you say.  I sure did.  That's why I chose it instead of Texas or Kentucky.  But clicking the "Record High" checkbox on the page reveals a grim number: the highest recorded temperature in June in CDA is a downright Tucsonian 102 degrees.  Would I train, upgrade my bike (wife permitting), buy plane tix, and then skip the race just because of a heat wave in Northern Idaho?

Nope.

So Tucson summer is just one big opportunity to get my nutrition and hydration game on, just in case all doesn't go as planned.  :-}

Or, as Chopper Read would say, another chance to HTFU.*

An 80 mile bike ride under typical Tucson thermal circumstances this past Sunday went well.  Which is to say, all hiccups were handled without injury or bonkage.  For those who have never ridden it, the road from Tucson to Ajo/Three Points has some bumpy spots (reference comment about comfy bike seats in this video. . .my "bum" was starting to feel like it had made the visit he describes).  Unfortunately, one of the numerous bumps on the shoulder dislodged a water bottle from my seat-mounted bottle holder somewhere between miles 30 and 40 of the ride.  This bottle contained a concoction that I had dubbed the "Elixir of Life": a combination of substances I had designed to address to the above-mentioned bonkage, and which had been doing a marvelous job of just that until I lost it.

Said elixir consisted of ten scoops of carbo-pro (polymerized glucose for sustained release), ten thermolyte capsules (balanced salt with sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium), all in 10 ounces of tea made with five double chocolate mate teabags.  With a few squirts of agave nectar, it actually tasted reasonably good.  And it felt, to some extent in a placebo kind of way, like instant energy.

The unfortunate loss of the elixir of life left me dependent on manned, credit-card operated aid stations for the rest of the ride.  Luckly, I was thus equipped.  Although it's worth mentioning that Arco only takes debit cards.  Gatorade G2, along with water, got me through the rest unscathed.  I even went for the recommended quick 15-30 minute run in the 96 degree heat when I got back.

*Thanks to D. C. Rainmaker for turning me on to this one.  I found it on his excellent blog.