I think I’ve typed the words “so tired” more than any
other phrase to Katie these last few weeks. “I’m so tired”, “My legs are so
tired”, “My brain is so tired”. I’m now less than 3 weeks out from an Ironman.
I’m supposed to be tired! Knowing I’m supposed to be this tired does help. I
enjoyed reading the threads on the Facebook Ironman Louisville page about how
everyone feels right now. My favorite being “IM peak training can lead to
horrible body aches, random uncontrollable tears and hangry action towards
family members.” Umm… CHECK, almost, and check.
Horrible body aches: Oh the pains. So many pains. I thank
my body every day for not being injuries but that does not mean I’ve been pain
free. New pains are constantly popping
up or old pains return. For the most part they all go away though. I might have
had a bunch of injuries this year but I am so thankful that my body is holding
out right now when I need it the most.
Random uncontrollable tears: I’ve had several moments
where I’ve come close to crying about the stupidest things. Exhaustion had
taken over and when something goes wrong, it brings me to the brink of tears.
Or even when I’m just really hungry and can’t figure out what to eat when I
want to EAT ALL THINGS! This would bring us to…
Hangry actions: I’m sorry Bill, I really am. This is why
I like to plan out meals ahead of time. When I’m hungry, my brain shuts down. I
can’t think clearly and I become irrational. It’s in everyone’s best interest
that I never be hungry.
What’s worse is that the people in your life, they don’t
understand. They don’t get why you are so tired. Sure they know it’s got to be
tired to ride your bike for 6 hours and then do a long run the next day but
they don’t reallllly understand. No one does unless they have been through it
themselves. They don’t get why you aren’t super chipper and happy and why you
want to sit on the couch (or lay on the floor) in silence for hours and not
move with the exception of occasionally digging into your muscles to get them
to calm down. And when you do move because you can’t sit for that long without
your body freaking out, why you are moving slower than a 2-year-old going up
the stairs. The deep, deep exhaustion takes everything out of you. It’s amazing
how this level of physical fatigue even takes your brain over as well. Ironman
brain is a real thing!
This past weekend was my last BIG weekend of training
before starting my taper… FINALLY! Most people talk about how they hate to
taper but I’m looking forward to it. My body is ready but now it needs to
recover and shed some of this deep fatigue. I’m sure in about 2 weeks I’ll be
going crazy but right now I’m happy it’s taper time. I had my second and last 100-mile
bike ride and it went really well! I even got to wear my new surprise thank you
gift which I’m in love with. It’s so pretty!! I did an OWS swim race on
Saturday and that didn’t go as well as I hoped. I wanted to do this “race” so I
could experience swimming 2.4 miles straight in open water. Straight OWS
swimming feels so different than swimming the same distance in the pool
especially with stopping at the wall between sets. So not the best swim but at
least I feel more prepared having experienced the distance before IM. Yesterday
I did my longest run ever. I did just over 16.2 miles so that I could tell
myself it would be less than 10 miles to go. It’s all about the mental games. The
run went really well and I’m feeling much more confident about the run portion
now. My body isn’t exactly thrilled about running that far but I’m managing. So
now I’m back to being so tired and wanting to sit on the couch and do nothing
all day and going back and forth between wanting to eat everything and not
wanting to look at food. Clearly I’m ready to taper.
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