I am at the end of my final training block for Ironman Chattanooga.  That training block ends with the biggest three days of training, that I have ever had on my schedule.  The scheduled workouts are:

• Day 1  –  6 hour bike ride plus 25 minute run off the bike.
• Day 2  –  4 hour bike ride
• Day 3  –  2.25 hour negative split run (am) plus 45 minute run (pm)

Today was day one of that schedule.  I got up early and drove north to a State Park, to meet up with one of my athletes and some other members of the local triathlon club.  None of them were riding for 6 hours like me, but I thought it would be good to have some company for the early part of my ride.

We started our ride just after dawn and for once the weather was perfect.  There was a slight chill in the air, but the sun was shining in a cloudless sky.  We rode around the roads of the State Park, which included plenty of hills.

For the final two hours of my ride, I was on my own, so I left the park and went exploring.  I found a some nice roads that passed through a lot of farmland.  I even found a new barn to photograph; my first new barn in months.

I made it safely back to my car at the six hour mark.  My ride had included 7,000 feet of elevation gain, so I got in a decent amount of harder effort work.  I put my bike in the back of my car, put on my run shoes, and went for my run.  

It was strange running off the bike again, because I don’t do it very often.  My legs were very fatigued but I maintained a good pace.  I used the time on my feet to visualize the run in Chattanooga.  At my race in three weeks time, my legs will likely feel just like they did today.

Tomorrow is day two of my big three days of training.  It is probably the easiest of the three days, but it is still four hours long!!