Mental toughness

In training for an endurance event there are some key sessions that put "a marker" down against your progress.  Today was that day.  A major session which involved a 92 mile bike ride (was meant to be 80 but there was a diversion!) which involved a 50 mile time trial in the middle.  This was all to be done in certain heart rate zones as we are now getting closer to Lanzarote Ironman and managing your heart rate is essential.  So after 5 hours and 49 minutes I got off the bike and pulled on my running shoes so I could run for 40 minutes.  I had to break the ride down into 4 sections to allow my mind to cope with the full session, including the fact I was running off the bike when knackered.
This is a called a brick session and you need to practise these as your legs don't feel like they belong to you at the beginning of the run and you just have to get used to it.  I managed the run in a good time and part of that success is due to having continually fed myself and hydrated on the bike.  I also had to convince my mind that everything was fine and forget that I'd just spent almost 6 hours non-stop on my bike.  At least 50% of Ironman is won or lost in the mind!
So after getting cleaned up and washing the bike, I got the full compression gear on which will help me recover quicker.  This was followed by as much food as I could find.  Tomorrow is a rest day and next week is a recovery week when I will only train once a day and half the amount of training.  So tonight I will treat myself to a curry and a couple of beers with loads of water to keep me hydrated.  This is a treat I won't be having in the run up to the Ironman but today, I think I've earned it!