After yesterday's long run my legs are so sore that the planned speed run tonight is out of the question. Since I have a 5k race in 3 days (on Thanksgiving) I will probably not run until then. I think my body can use the rest given the poor results of the last few weeks.
Today (Monday) was Ironman registration day! I prepared everything in advance to register as soon as it opened. I had an atomic clock to be sure I had the exact right time, I had practiced other ironman registration forms to make sure I was familiar with them and be ready for the quick registration. Last year, this race filled up in 7 minutes So I made sure I could register in less than half that time.
At noon, within seconds of the registration opening, I was on the site, trying to select a general entry for myself. I clicked once, but nothing happened. After a few seconds, I clicked again. The page refreshed only to display a message that the event was full. WHAT!!?? Apparently this time it only took 15 - 20 seconds to fill up.
Needless to say, I was pretty upset. I have been waiting for this moment for a while, and even with the utmost state of readiness, I was unable to register.

After that, I tried to refresh the page several dozen times but to no avail.
I was not about to let this wreck my Ironman project though... I went to the trifind.com website and after a bit of research I found an inaugural ES140 Virginia triathlon race (same distance as Ironman) that was still open (and cheaper).
Okay so it is not an Ironman branded race so I don't think this will be a qualifier for Kona, but honestly, I could care less. There is almost no chance of me qualifying for Kona in my first IM distance race anyway, and my goal is only to finish the race in this first attempt.
The only cons with this race is that it is on the East coast and it is a good 2 months earlier than IM Arizona. It will require, more organization to ship the bike and a tighter schedule to be ready in time...
I am now fully committed! It is a bit scary when I think about all the work I will have to do to get ready, but it is also very exciting to have a definite target set.

This week is promising to be a tough one... I have to catch up with one speed session and add 3 more. I also have to try to do a long run. I have a marathon in a couple of weeks and I have not done a proper long run since October...

Monday night was dedicated to catching up with the speed sessions. The workout was another 2x (2x800m) with 3 min recovery between reps and 6 min between sets.
I completed the first rep in 2:52 (a bit slower than I would have wanted). I tried to go faster in the second rep but fried myself with a somewhat mediocre 2:47.
The 6 min recovery between sets did not feel like it was long enough. I resumed the workout with a 2:57 and was really feeling it at the end. In the last rep, I was completely blown and could not accelerate. I finished, nearly jogging in  3:05. Tom 5, Me 5
Again, the performance is disappointing. If anything, I am slowing down. On 10/30/12 I performed all my reps faster than this. I am wondering if the very cold weather is affecting my performance in anyway or if I am doing too many sessions leading to poor recovery and performance.
If I don't start seeing some improvements in the next couple of weeks. I will have to make some adjustments to my plan.
On Monday night, after the run, I finally decided to start my knee rehabilitation exercises. 
These are really a pain to do and they took almost an hour to complete. I have a choice though... Either I bite the bullet and invest time in these exercises, or I take an extended break (a month or two ) in my running schedule. For now the choice is clear... I will give these exercises a chance and hope for the best.
Tuesday night I had a business dinner but I decided that there was just enough time  before then to squeeze in a quick track session.
I did a 8 x 300 m with 30 sec recovery. The goal pace was 5:40 and I managed around 5:30 - 5:35 average giving me a slight edge on Tom for this workout. 
With 2 speed workouts in 2 days, my legs were feeling it but my knee was good. 
The dinner was great... and also a serious violation of my diet requirements...probably a 3000 calorie meal... Ouch!

Afterwards, I came back home too late from the dinner to do my knee rehab exercises. 
Wednesday, I took a break. No running but I did more of the rehab stuff.
Thursday, the speed work was 4 x 600 m with 3 min recovery. Goal was 1:55 per rep. 
In the first rep, I mistakenly stopped at 500m. I completed the rep in 1:41 so I believe I was on pace for about 2:00.
I tried to accelerate in the second and performed a 1:57. Amazing how just a few seconds faster fell so much harder.
The third rep felt hard almost right away and I blew up at the end. 2:03
In the fourth rep, I had nothing left 2:13.
Far from objective...  
On Saturday, it was time for a mile TT. Since the wind was very strong again, I decided to run in an indoor track (the Olympic Oval). I completed the mile in a very disappointing 6:01.
My performance seems to really be going downhill in the last few weeks... Probably a sign of over training even though I really do not feel tired or sore.
On Sunday, I tried a long run. I had a 20 mile run schedule but the absence of endurance training in the last few weeks is really starting to show. I barely ran a very slow 14 miles (10:15 min /mi+) in the trails around home is very muddy conditions. In fact the trails were officially closed because of the mud. 
Monday, I am waking up with sore legs and the realization that my performance is really at the bottom both in terms of speed and endurance.
The only silver lining is that it has been the first time in weeks if not months that I have been running more than 13 miles without the knee giving out. Sure the knee is sore today, but I see progress.
I will be creating a new category to this site shortly to help dealing with injuries as I believe that the rehab exercises I perform everyday are really starting to pay off and help me recover. 

I started the week with a doctor's appointment. In an attempt to address my knee pain issues, I visited a sports medicine doctor.
After an X-ray of my knees, the doctor confirmed my suspicion of ITB irritation.
The only realistic course of action is to avoid heavy mileage at the moment and I was given a series of exercises to prevent the aggravation of the problem.
The doctor explained that my ITB inflammation was probably caused by a lack of strength in some muscles on the left side of my leg and hip. After these muscles get too fatigued, the position of my body is shifting to compensate which accentuates the rubbing of the ITB on the outside of the knee.
The prescribed exercises are going to be time consuming. In fact, it is now Wednesday, and I have not started them. I will really have to make a conscious effort to reorganize my daily routine to make time for this. And soon!

On Monday, I went to practice swimming at the pool. I feel like I am stagnating a bit and always have the same difficulty with my breathing.
Afterwards, I decided to skip the 6 miler and let the knee rest some more...

Yesterday, I  went to the track for the dreaded 3 x 6min, 4 min recovery session. The goal was 5:42, 5:43, 5:54 pace for each 6 minutes. 
Now given that I had just performed a max effort mile at 5:44, this goal was ridiculously out of my reach.
I set a new more achieable target of 6min /mile for each rep.
The result was a bit disappointing 6:06, 6:18, 6:24. Way off not only the original goal but also the revised one and even slower than the 3 x 6 min I did a couple of weeks ago... Not sure what went wrong. Did I really give my all?
If I am going to run a sub 5 min mile, I definitely need to make the most out of each session. And this one felt like a waste of time

On Thursday, I had a new speed workout, but the wind was so strong that it was pointless to try to run. I postponed to Friday but on that day, it was snowing so much that the track was covered. I went back out on Saturday but the track had still a foot of snow covering it. I reluctantly decided to do the workout indoors on my treadmill.
The work out was 12 x 200m with 100m jog recovery. Then 5 min rest and 800m in 2:37. I converted that to 12 x 40 seconds at 12 mph with 1% incline with 40 second recovery at 6 mph 1% incline. Then after 5min rest, 0.5 miles at 11.5 mph and 0.5 % incline.
The workout was brutal. At the end of the 12 intervals, I had accumulated so much oxygen debt that I had trouble breathing fast enough for a minute or so. I completed the workout successfully and I will call that a win over Tom even though it is difficult to compare this workout with what was originally scheduled... On Sunday, I wanted to catch up with my run schedule but my knee was so sore that I decided against it. 

On 11/3/12, it was time to evaluate my performance over 1 mile with a time trial. I went to the track for the workout Saturday morning before lunch.
There were only a couple of guys running around the track so I could really focus on the mile. The goal was to beat 5:32 (to beat Tom).
I started the first lap in about 1:22 (5:30 pace) and tried to maintain it in the following laps but at lap 3, I started to slow down. I did not feel I was slowing down. My perceived effort was pretty consistent. The only indication of my slowing down came from listening to the cadence of my feet hitting the ground.
It was confirmed by a glance at my watch every lap. 
I finished the 4th lap (1 mile) in 5:44. A bit disappointing but not so surprising given previous performance over that distance.

On Sunday, I wanted to try a longer run (which I have not been able to do in a while). But after only 6 miles, the knee pain started to intensify. I turned around and completed a total of about 8.5 miles.

This week and for the next 17 weeks, I am focusing on speed training.