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Source: Joseph Vinciquerra
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It's amazing to think this season is actually starting to wind down. I mean, I don't want go about getting ahead of myself here, but I just can't believe that the Timberman triathlon is just around the corner. It seems just like yesterday I was coming home from those cold, wet, 30-degree trail runs this past winter and tuckling up with my dog in front of the fire, day-dreaming about the long, hot season that lay ahead. Around about the same time, I remember thinking that the Half-Ironman distance was huge, and the prospect of hitting the courses hard seemed so far off.

And yet here we are...

This past Sunday I ran my final "tune-up" long run; a half-marathon distance at race pace. The temperatures had finally dropped here in the Northeast, and so with the coolness of 85 degrees and zero humidity, I let my mind go and allowed my body to follow - ultimately churning out a blistering (for me) 1:35 half Mary. Overall I felt strong and at ease - actually enjoying the pace and the temperatures for the first time in recent memory. Don't get me wrong, it hurt, but it was one of my last big deposits in the Timberman bank. And that was just a sweet way to execute it.

Most of this week was more of the same ol', same ol', with some weights work and a solid swim/bike brick thrown into the mix. Being two weeks away from my A-event, I've started reducing my volume, but have maintained the intensity, which has already resulted in me feeling a bit stronger and sharper during my key workouts. Tonight was my last full-length track workout before the race too: a Pyramid Fartlek workout consisting of a 20-minute warm-up rolling into 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1 minutes of 10k-pace separated by one minute of marathon-pace recovery after each, and closing out with 10 minutes of cool-down. Compared to last week at the track, tonight felt like heaven, especially with the 70-degree temperatures and cool wind that was blowing in along with the storm-clouds.

Coming down from my endorphin high after the last interval of tonights workout, the combination of the cool breeze, the bruised sky and the setting sun suddenly reminded me of Fall and all the serenity associated with finishing that "last big race" of the season. That race you've been thinking about since, virtually speaking, the very beginning of your previous off-season. There's a certain majesty in being able to hold onto a single target in the back of your mind for almost a year - consciously or sub-consciously - working towards it almost every day, but there's an even greater peace in being able to once and for all let that target go after you take your best shot at it. At least until you formulate next year's target.

I'm looking forward to an easy weekend here in the Northeast with some shorter-than-usual workouts on deck, and some good quality time with friends and family. My main task that lay ahead is to simply kick back and enjoy the ride to Timberman that is about to start. Seventy-point-three miles of swimming, biking and running - the very execution of which serves as the apogee of my annual racing season - with only a short-course race or two afterwards and the marathon before the 2006 season officially closes. What a ride.

Thanks for reading, and keep it easy.

Joseph Vinciquerra, Amateur Triathlete
Swim. Bike. Run. Repeat. This is our routine, our Grind. Joseph is an accomplished cyclist, marathoner and age-group triathlete currently residing in the Northeast and training for Ironman Lake Placid 2007. Coffee is a common theme with Joseph, as his love for training and racing is matched only by his affection for deep, dark, and complex javas. Between workouts, Joseph is an aerospace engineer, working for one of the world's largest research and development centers. Contact information: The Daily Grind Blog | jvinciqu@gmail.com.