My Ironman Secret Strategy . . . Exposed #IMLou

Dealing With Guilt

I take a lot of shit for “sleeping in” and “milking” my recovery.  Frankly, it riddles me with guilt and that’s not good when your big race is only 40 days away.

Monday I took a long look into my red eyes and made a firm commitment to increase pool time by getting up earlier.  It’s the first event and a body adjusted to early morning water is a prepared body.

I’m calling it “Forty Days of Floating.”  This will be a daunting challenge and require more recovery discipline than I’m used to, but sometimes you have to man-up with the fact that Ironman is a sacrifice.

The honest reason, of course, is that I want to have a solid tan for Louisville.  Not only will my skin wrinkle sooner, the sexy race medal will pop in my Finisher’s Photo.

Another small benefit will be added exposure to heat and reduced odds of sunburn.  We all know how sensitive skin can tangle a run to the podium.

And what’s a good plan without accountability?  That’s right, a failure.  So, I’m graciously including a daily selfie (see below) that will help document my aggressive recovery and changing skin tones.

Ongoing Nightmare

So recovery is settled, what about rest?

I’ve been on this planet for 50 years and still haven’t figured out the trick to waking up early.  Patience is wearing thin.

My loose goal at Louisville is to be in the swim line by 6:45 am sharp, but with my current sleep habits, I am in serious jeopardy of missing the race.  I’ve had nightmares of running down that pier alone and jumping in the water as they’re pulling up the timing strip.  Risky business, but it would certainly go viral, and we all know that’s the key.

Screw Your Fancy Toys

Everyone says there are 4 disciplines in triathlon: Swim, bike, run, and nutrition.  I am here to tell you there are six, and the blue-haired step children, Rest and Recovery, are screaming for my attention.

So, today’s Crushing Iron lesson is:  Instead of dishing out big bucks for a power meter, you may want invest 400 in a real success tool, like this beauty below.

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Ironman Recovery Pool

poolselfie