Mid last week, I had another wave of panic about the Ironman 70.3 Augusta.

My ankle has been in PT for almost two weeks now and while they are great and addressing the root causes (my glutes and hips), the ankle itself is still a bit sore and my running mileage dropped to 2-3 miles/week. Pop-up thunderstorms in the evening and freaky “accidents” in the pool prevented me from getting my swim in. And while I have been riding as prescribed, I lost a bit of heart when I saw that my pace during the long ride last week was the exact same as the one a month ago; even though I had bonked on the older ride and I thought I had ridden strongly during this ride. 

I tried telling myself to go by the feel – that I was definitely feeling strong. But since my greatest fear is about making time cutoffs, it didn’t help that I couldn’t see a time improvement. And Coach couldn’t get why I was fretting so much. Sigh. 

That’s when I started writing my positive affirmations, one for each week.

This week, we were back riding on a course that had worn me out last time (about 6 weeks ago). The last time was so bad that I didn’t even write a recap! (To be fair – I was physically and emotionally tired after a rough week and my only goal had been to get through the ride without whining or falling.) I normally wouldn’t be that bothered about one bad run/ride, but this route is very similar to the Augusta 70.3 bike course with long, steady inclines, so I badly wanted to get it right. 

Maybe the weather gods sensed my state of mind, because even though the forecast was supposed to be hot, the actual temps were pretty awesome. And the ride? Just what the doctor ordered!! There was a couple of spots just before mile 30 that I was a working a little. False flats don’t help. But I was able to talk myself out of it pretty quickly.

The ride definitely got a 2 thumbs up! I had my fastest average till date and if I can keep that up, I’ll make the Augusta bike cutoff – I have been at 12.6-12.8mph FOREVER and even the Augusta bike course preview was 12.5mph. This ride was 13.4mph!! 

And just like that – when I was least expecting it, a ride that validates all the training I’ve been putting in and tells me not to give voice to my concerns because it WILL all come together. 

 I’m Linking up with Tara from Running’n’Reading for the Weekend Update. 

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