Almost there ...

Only 2 1/2 weeks to go until Lake Placid.  And I'm actually looking forward to it getting here already!  It seems like it's been a long, hard 6 months of training.  But yet it seems like it got here before I knew it.  It's hard to believe that I started at basically ground zero a little over a year ago and here I am - working out for 17 hours per week, going on 5+ hour bike rides and 2.5 hour runs.  Not to mention 1.5 hour swims in Lake Erie.  But we're almost there and I'm as ready as I'm going to be, I think. 
This past weekend was July 4th weekend and we did a lot of working out.  Saturday morning we got up at 5AM and met our friend Tom at the lake.  It was a beautiful day for a swim, with a flat lake and not a soul out there, so we decided to swim out 45 min and back 45 min.  That's actually longer than it will take to do the ironman swim, so it was great practice to swim straight for that long.  After our swim, Mark and I headed to the metroparks for our 2.5 hour trail run.  After many stops on my part (I think I have figured out that I have a gluten intolerance issue), I finally settled in and was able to do the last hour with no stops.  And I got 17.5 miles in, so a very good run despite my "issues".  Sunday was a long bike day, so we left the house at about 6:45 AM for a ride to Bay Village.  Mark ran the Bay day 5 miler while I continued riding (my coach had said no racing until LP).  After he finished, we headed home to refuel, and then headed out again for another 2+ hours.  Total ride time was a little over 5 hours and 85 miles.  Then I had to get a run in, despite the 92 degree heat.  Needless to say, I was wiped out after all of that and went to bed at about 9PM.  Training for an ironman means basically going to bed very early most nights. 
On Monday, we got up again at 5AM for another lake swim - again swimming for an hour & 40 minutes.  I hadn't received my workouts yet for the week, so I decided that was it for the day.  I needed a break.  So the rest of the day was relaxation, steaks on the grill and watching the tour de france. 
This week is a little less volume - 14.5 hours.  Then it's time to taper for 2 weeks.  Boy, am I looking forward to the taper!!