Discouraged, Maybe

So, I've got this half-Ironman coming up in (gulp) four weeks, and I thought I'd really be trained up by about now. Turns out that hasn't happened. Due to a combination of circumstances including a husband that was out of town for most of the summer, a busy schedule, and just lately a very unusual (for me) summer cold, I'm way way way behind. Like I just did my first 50-mile bike ride of the summer this weekend. And I haven't run more than nine miles yet. And we all know the last week of training doesn't count if you actually taper instead of trying to stuff in more mileage. So that leaves me with three weeks. To train for a half-Ironman. Can you say "This is going to hurt?"

On the positive news front, my legs felt great after my fifty mile ride. My back and neck hurt like the dickens, but my legs felt like they could run a half-marathon. So that's a good thing, right? I think it's because I've been biking around town more than ever. With the addition of our Bike Friday tandems this year, and our Burley tag-a-long, I've been able to bike with the kids almost anywhere. Some weeks I've put in as many as four or five additional hours of biking just on the tandem and my town bike. I think that's why my legs feel fresh but my back doesn't (no aerobars on the tandem of course!). So if I can just get up to the point where my back isn't hurting, I might just survive. I was really hoping to post a faster half-Iron time this year, but not sure if that will happen or not. Maybe my new-found running speed will carry over to the longer distance, or maybe I'll just die a horrifying death out there. Stay tuned...