83 Days: The Next Half-Ironman

This weekend is the Ironman Kansas 70.3, located just outside of Lawrence, KS. I have wanted to do the race for two year now due to its close proximity to Kansas City and the fact that I was attending the University of Kansas. But alas, two years ago I was not into triathlon yet, only half-marathons, and last summer I was living in Barcelona. But now I am fully prepared for the race.

Now you may be wondering why would I stick a race right in the middle of my Ironman training regiment and to that I say 'Why not?' Races are great checkpoints to test your fitness and progress from the last few weeks or months and can help you to gauge what you need to do to improve. This race for me is all about racing in front of family and friends. It is a race that is close enough for the majority of my big supporters to come and cheer me on and see why I enjoy triathlon so much.

Normally after a HIM (Half-Ironman), I take the week off. Due to the structure of my Ironman training plan, I believe this will not be the case for next week. I will take Monday and probably Tuesday off from training, but Wednesday will be my day to get back in the groove. My only concern with the quick recovery time is it may lead to injury or strain but I will be sure to build slowly through the week. I simply do not want to take too many days off.

I came across this article on Men's Health; read for some reasons as to do a triathlon.
http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/20-great-reasons-do-triathlon?fullpage=true

Maybe one of those will push you into doing one if you haven't already!

And on a side note, I finally received my new race wheels! Check them out!

And in case you are in the area this weekend:
http://ironmankansas.com/

Hope everyone is doing well!

Happy training!

Drew