Ryan Schneider is the IronMadMan

Chalk one up to timing.

Tomorrow, I’ve got a two-hour run scheduled on rolling hills.  I’m supposed to stay within heart-rate zones 1-3.

Guess what?  It just so happens the Palos Verdes Half Marathon is tomorrow! Rolling hills and all.  So, is this going to be a good idea,or a bad one?  I’ll let you know tomorrow at around mile 10!

The timing seems to be working in my favor though.  I didn’t train much yesterday since I didn’t swim and I had run two days in a row prior.  Today was my off-day.  An unintentional taper, but a taper nonetheless.

On the other hand, am I weak from being sick and missing six hours of combined training last week?  I honestly don’t know. I have trained seven hours this week so far, illness and largely fatigue free.  I feel fresh, strong and eager to run tomorrow, so I suppose that’s a good sign.

The real challenge is going to be holding back at the event.  But I’m going to treat it as an Ironman training run, meaning that despite the adrenaline I need to figure out how to hold back and pace myself even when I feel particularly strong.  This is not a strength of mine.  But it needs to become one.  More important, I have a LONG training day on Sunday featuring a 6.5-hour brick AND an hour swim before that.

In other words, I’m doing a mini-Ironman on Sunday.

If that doesn’t force me to pace myself tomorrow, I don’t know what will.  But ya know what?  This is what it’s all about — challenging yourself constantly.  Surprising yourself, and your body.  For better or worse, I’m going to put myself out there tomorrow, on a tough course I haven’t experienced before, and try to enjoy the journey.

Why not, right?

Race report tomorrow night.

44 days and counting.

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Posted in Ironman, Palos Verdes Half Marathon, Running, Training