Torpedo Lessons

I didn't bother going over the lessons learned from Sunday's race. My race report was long enough as it is! So I'll dab on it a bit here. Things I have learned that I have to consider for Ironman Lake Placid:

Lets get the flaming obvious out of the way - I need to carry backup CO2 and tubes. I admit, I made the concious decision to skimp on CO2. I mean, what are the odds of me getting a flat in the next 90kms when I've gone 1000's of km just fine right? That sounds really dumb right about now, but it made sense a couple days ago before a race. lol! I went 'ultralight' because my objective was competitive, not just finish. For IMLP I am going there to finish, not be competitive. So in that case, I am carrying loads of CO2 and many tubes and patches.

Which brings us to the other lesson of the day - Pay Attention! Those flats were totally my fault, I allowed me concentration to slip since I was hammering hard and looking down for a moment on a supposedly flat road when I got caught by a small pothole. Mark Allen is right - TOTALLY my fault. On the bright side, I won't be hammering that hard at IMLP so I am certain I'll be able to stay more alert. Heads-down hammering has it's obvious risks!

There were several other lessons of the day that don't seem so obvious because things worked out OK this time. For instance, I need to check my Ego at the door. Lets face it, at least half the field at IMLP are above my athletic ability so I have to keep my competitiveness to a minimum and race my OWN race, not someone elses. While one of my goals is to redeem myself after defeat at Muskoka by beating Rodney in IMLP, I simply have to do it on my own terms and ignore anything he does. Pushing hard paid off in Welland, but this kind of insanity doesn't have a place for someone just trying to finish their first Ironman. I took risks in Welland because I already have a 70.3 finisher's shirt.

That doesn't help my lesson that I completely ignore every time - I can't just 'train' a race. Only a month out from IMLP I came to Welland to have fun and get a long training day in. Instead, I hammered my brains out. My motor only has one setting - KILL Mode. I am lucky I haven't majorly injured myself, I guess I have months of training to thank for that!

Injury wise I am in good shape. I have a sharp pain on the bottom of my right heel. My left hips is very very tender, it hurts to walk. I'm guessing inflamation so I'm hoping both those issues clear up in a week. I have abbrasions from wetsuit neck burn - OMG that is painful. Nothing like Doru's though from his IMLP training camp last year - I'm pretty sure those were his photos that burned a horrible image into my mind. I'll spare everyone the details.
Oh and I have a nasty slice on my ankle from the timing chip strap! I didn't notice it last night until I jumped in the pool. Ow!

I took Monday off to heal. Jumping into a cold water pool is the greatest recovery trick ever! Getting my weight of my muscles and joints feels great, and in the water I can really work my range of motion. I felt an immediate improvement. The water is pretty cold so I use my 'training buddies' to help motivate me into the water. I throw toy torpedos into the pool so it forces me to get in and pickup them up. No quick little jump-in and jump-out, the toys force me to stay in. Also it gets me down into the deep end of the pool where the water is colder at the bottom. It works for me anyways. :) All I need is my rubber ducky and I'm set haha!