Sweet revenge....

As my Ironman St George preparations start to reveal the light at the proverbial end of the tunnel I am looking back from where I have come since "Running Hot" at my last 1/2 marathon....  After that slight hiccup in training, I have been feeling very well.  My workouts have been great and the numbers are saying I am on track.. now to just get to the line with the same energy levels and mojo I have now...

So to say it was sweet revenge on Sunday after I raced another 1/2 marathon about 5 weeks since my horrible race while getting sick would be an understatement... I went in last Sunday's race with significant volume leading up to the race the last 3 days including:

Thursday: 3hr ride at Base

Friday:  Swim 3000 meters, 6 mile tempo run w/6 trips up Tempe's A Mountain (400+ feet climb in less than 1/4 mile - ouch)

Saturday:  6 hour ride at South Mountain (10K of climbing)

So when Sunday came around I was not sure where my legs would be.  I tried to recover well on Saturday which always includes my First Endurance Ultragen.  I have been using FE products for over 6 years so I can attest to their greatness.. Ultragen enables me to recover well...  So Sunday morning wake up rolls around at 3:45am, drive to Tucson, and get ready to race.  So to warm up I brought out my bike on its ttrainer and rode for about 45 mins at the Racelab tent.  You can imagine how many looks I got riding my bike prior to the running race.   Listening to my tunes, joking with my teammates, and spinning helped get my legs nice and warm for the start and my spirits in a great mood...

Once the gun went off it was show time.. Like i said I was not sure what the legs had in them but I was going to see... I hit mile 1 in 5:50 and then subsequently hit mile 2 bit slower with a long steep uphill section (the out & back course all rolling hills)... I got my pace setteled in and before I knoew it my heart rate was my base zone and I was clipping off 5:50 - 6:10 miles... I hit the turn around at 39:50.. I could feel the workouts on my legs miles 8 -10 but kept plugging along.. Came across the line at 1:19.52 for a 9th Overall Finish and 1st in 35-39 Age Group.  

I felt great at the finish..legs felt strong, no aches.. walked through the food area.. grabbed some food for later, water to make my ulragen and then headed out to cheer everyone else on...

It was a great day and a great end of a hard training week!.. Revenge is sweet...