I’ve had my eyes opened to just what the run could be like come race day. Above is me on Ali’i Drive in 2005 when I was running pretty well. I’d like to be running like that this year and in my heart I’ve been dreaming of that but todays run has rather brought me back to earth. I ran the Ali’i drive section of the run this afternoon. The good news is that it was pain free and I ran about 10 miles continuously. It took 90 minutes and I slowed significantly in the final couple of miles. Russell changed his plans to tag along but I think with hindsight I should have stuck to my guns and done it alone … I think recovery from injuries like this is often best done alone. I suffered and the thought of having to continue along the Queen K for 16 miles following this is rather scary. I will definitely need some mental preparation for whats in store as my legs were in a right state by the end of this.

It also provides me with a dilemma about what training to do. Given the near total lack of run training for the past 6 months it almost feels like I could train for my running for the next week and have a short taper. I’ve no idea whats for the best but resting up seems unlikely to help as it’s the pounding thats stuffing my legs – it was noticeably more comfortable running uphill. I wonder whether a few decent runs over the coming week followed by rest may be the best approach.

As I ran I also thought about run /walk on race day and realised how difficult I may find it to take that approach. I realise its pretty engrained in my mind that it’s a run at the end of an Ironman not a walk. I need to adjust my mindset since run / walk may be my best hope of getting round in a reasonable time.

Though this has brought my mood down abit the rest of my day has been good and I’ve a rest day to look forward to tomorrow. Today started with a swim of the full course. On the way out I swam with a pod of 7 dolphins for a few minutes – it was great, I heard them first and a few minutes later I had them up pretty close. Not long after this I got stung on my right shoulder and it came up in lumps. I had a few thoughts about how quick the kayak could get me in if I (over)reacted to them …. luckily the thought and the discomfort passed pretty quickly. I swam steadily to the turn buoy and threw in a few efforts of 30 strokes. It’s amazing to just float at that far point waiting for Jo and Russell to come out. Definitely a “this is the life” moment. I swam non stop all the way back. I followed breakfast with a gym session. Slightly lighter weights. It was a great gym and I enjoyed my it. Undecided as to how many more sessions to do. Based on Scotts advice I have one scheduled for the weekend and one next Wednesday but am considering changing that to just next Tuesday. Will wait and see how my muscles feel tomorrow  ;o)