Longhorn 70.3 Preparation...

3 week to go...I can't wait to race the 70.3 in Austin. I feel like I'm as fit as I've ever been. I've managed to balance 20+ hours of training each week the past 4 weeks with a 40 hour a week job. I've lost about 5 lbs. since I began my preparation for this race. I've increased the weight on my leg lifts and I'm feeling stronger on the bike than I have ever been. This was another solid week of training despite the cold and rainy weather here in the midwest. For the week my total training time was 21 hours. I ran 61 miles (my most since camp), biked 140 miles, and swam twice for 7,800 yards. I also lifted 3 times, did speed drills and strides 3 times, core work 5 times, and plyometrics and lunges twice. I had a great running workout on Wednesday when I ran 7.5 miles easy and then did 7x 1 mile repeats with 2 minutes rest between each. My times were 5:32, 5:31, 5:31, 5:28, 5:28, 5:28, and 5:12. The most mile repeats I'd ever done in a workout before this was 5. I slowed the times down a bit since I'm training for the 1/2 Ironman. It was tough but the workout gives me great confidence that I can get off the bike and run a great 1/2 marathon to finish the race off. I also had the longest ride and run of my Austin preparation this past weekend. I rode 80 miles on Saturday in tough weather conditions and then followed it up with a 15 mile run on Sunday morning, my longest run of the year. Next Saturday will be a test workout I've been planning since I began my Longhorn 70.3 training plan. I'll be doing a 60 mile ride Saturday morning followed by a hard 10 mile run on hills to simulate the course in Austin. I'm hoping to average 6:10 pace for the 10 mile brick run. Thanks for reading...DREAM BIG!!