My mind hurts!

Looking back at my log for the past few weeks, here are the hard numbers. The week of the 23rd was the week that I did the 2 150+ mile rides, thus the large jump in miles. The following week was a run focused week and I handled it pretty well physically and mentally.
Week Swim Bike Run Hours
7/16/200 22380.84 243.11 42.84 27.5
7/23/2007 16381.89 453.99 44.03 36
7/30/2007 20616.8 246.38 76.81 29.7

Overall I feel confident with those 3 weeks under my belt. There was quite a bit of hard efforts in each discipline. The solo ride to Mt. Evans, run intervals with Simon's group, the group ride to Wiggins, the 2:15 run with race pace efforts and the 6k speed session in the pool will all come to bear on Aug. 26th.
Today is my first full day off since I got back from travelling on July 12th. Normally I don't really like taking days off, but I know that when I am looking forward to a day on the couch, I REALLY need it. Of course I knew my legs would hurt, what really hurts is my mind. The mental energy it takes to not only get in 30 hours of training per week, but to make them count and go hard when you should really taxes the mind. If you can get through it though, the strength gained in the mind is as valuable as what is gained physically. There's nothing like lacing up the shoes or putting on the helmet knowing that what is ahead of you is going to hurt. Getting through those sessions takes as much out my mind as it does my legs. When I walk into my kitchen it's all I can do to make my recovery shake, stretch and relax. It's during this time that group sessions can be incredibly valuable. For instance, last Tuesday I did some hard intervals with Simon's group in Boulder. There is no way I would have been able to push myself that hard, but trying to chase down Simon and Michael I had to reach a new level. Then when I am on my own, I know I can go to that next level. A great example is yesterday's swim. I swim with a Master's group on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Monday is a distance day, and great for me. Practice starts at 5:45, and I am usually in the water 10 minutes early to warm up. I didn't feel particularly good, which didn't surprise me at all after the past 3 weeks. We warmed up with some drills, 200's and 25's totaling 1400 yds. I was barely making the interval in warm up and was not looking forward to the main set of 400 swim, 5x100 on 1 40, 300 swim, 4x100 on 1 30, 200 swim, 3x100 on 1 25, 100 swim, 2x100 on 1 20, a total of 2400 yds. Instead of getting down and thinking about how much it will hurt, I made a deal that I would get through the main set as best as I could. Plus I have more than once come around after feeling terrible in the beginning. I believed that I could get it done, and get it done well, so while everyone else grabbed their pull gear for the 400, I left mine on the deck. It's a very good chance that the IM Louisville swim will not allow wetsuits, so I wanted to swim it all on my own. As I believed, I felt good on the 400 and found my rhythm early. The 100's were easy, then I swam the 300 hard, even catching the swimmer in front of me who was using paddles and a bouy. At this time I knew I could do it, so I pushed even more. With each 25 completed I felt stronger and meaner. I was looking forward to the last 2 100's where I would go all out to see what I had left. I finished strong and had enough left to do some kicking, and pull a 500. So, at the beginning of the set I was just hoping to get through the 3800 yds. but I ended up with 5500 yds. instead. It's those workouts that not only help you get stronger in the swim itself, but makes you strong in the mind.
I have worked hard on my mental training and prep leading to IM Lou. I will test it out to some degree this weekend at the 5430 1/2 IM in Boulder. There's a great Pro field, it's an honest course and it's going to be hot. My goal is to have the best race I can and not drain myself too much. Good luck to everyone racing this weekend. Be strong and break through!