A Wobbly Run, a Fueling Lesson, and Still Chipping Away

First: Unilateral Strength Work

Before heading out for the run, a short but focused unilateral session:

• Bicep Curls (Dumbbell): 4 sets, working up in intensity from RPE 6 to 7.5

• Single Leg Romanian Deadlifts (Dumbbell): 4 sets, holding steady around RPE 6

Nothing flashy — about 16 minutes, 40 calories — but single-leg work like this is exactly the kind of stability-building accessory that pays off on the bike and in the final kilometers of a run, when form starts to break down. A quick primer to wake up the legs before lacing up.

Then: The Run That Didn't Go to Plan

Minutes later came the run, and this one had some drama.

6.6 km in 57:19, with 25.5m of climbing. On paper, a solid distance for a Sunday. But the real story was the experiment tucked inside it: a gel at the 3km mark, testing race-day fueling as part of the long build toward an Ironman.

It didn't sit well. Discomfort crept in around the 5.5km mark, and things got dizzy by the finish. Average heart rate ran hot at 166 bpm, peaking at 188 — a 7/10 on perceived exertion for what should have been a moderate effort.

Here's the thing though: this was a good outcome disguised as a bad run.

Finding out a gel doesn't agree with you tonight, on a training run, is infinitely better than finding out mid-race. That's the whole point of a dress rehearsal — and race-day nutrition is a dress rehearsal item just as much as the swim, bike, or run legs themselves.

And despite the rough back half, the effort still banked 4 new best-effort marks — including a 5K split — a reminder that a hard, imperfect session can still move the needle.

Takeaway for the Bigger Picture

One lesson, clearly underlined: lock in the fueling strategy now, on easy days, not under race stress. Ironman training is as much about dialing in nutrition over long hours as it is about building fitness, and a rough 6.6km run is a low-cost place to learn that a gel doesn't agree with you. Better to iterate through options now — different brands, timing, concentrations — than to discover it 4+ hours into race day.

Every session like tonight's is data in the bank. Onward with the build. 💪

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