"I like you. I'll gladly sit down and have dinner with you after the race. But when the gun goes off, I pretty much hate you, and I want to stomp your guts out. That's racing." -J Rapp



"the best night of my life.....
...in the most beautiful place on earth"



"It's just one, long, tedious conversation with yourself" -Paula Newby Fraser






"Have faith- trust in the plan - the breakthrough will come. I promise. " Woo




"You can keep going and your legs might hurt for a week or you can quit and your mind will hurt for a lifetime.” -Mark Allen




“The only time you can be brave is when you’re afraid.”


Wednesday, November 17, 2010

4 Days Out....Yeeehaw!

The days are ticking away....slowly!  My Facebook countdown I think is helping, but tomorrow, being my last day of work for the week (well, working 7 to 10 am...tough day!!), I will start to feel the excitement for race day start to pick up.  I am vey excited to share this day with those who have been behind me......From day one in this sport (back to 1993!), my mom has always been there cheering and supporting (Love Ya Mom!)(AND, my sister, who can't make it out for the race too), and now I have Jenny, Sophia, Jenny's family, my brother in law Scott who is also competing, new friends (Dan, James, Buddy, Michael, Darci, Tracy, Nicky...) who are competing, and God knows how many friends that will be out there on Sunday cheering.  You all have a very important role in the day---you are on MY TEAM!  This has been a very selfish thing for me to do, especially when it comes to Jenny and Sophia, and a day does not go by that I don't appreciate their understanding and support...they've gotten used to "papa" not being home, or "papa" gone all day.  I'm sure so many times during the course of the day I'll feel like crap, want to slow down, even stop, heck, even quit, but having you there to support me will help me keep one foot in front of the other, and at the finish we can celebrate in many different ways!  THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!  As the saying goes, "if it was easy, everyone would do it."  The day is about a personal challenge---a challenge I've wanted to take on for close to 15 years.

On to the selfish me and how I am feeling (I'm kidding, kind of), I am going through the psychology of tapering....trying not to eat as much (not fasting, just fueling my body correctly and not gaining extra "baggage"), trying to still feel energized, and trying to rest.  The eating is keeping my weight stable, so I am good there--but man, it is tough.  I feel like I am not eating at all, yet I'm still taking in 3000 calories a day---every calorie has been all about nutrients...I can't waste a taste!  Trying to stay energized has always been a battle going through a taper for me...I feel lazy because I don't have the tough workouts---I guess it's nice when a 3000 yd swim, an hour run, or a 2 hour bike feels like nothing at least.  The rest part of the taper has been the hardest.  Sleeping has been difficult for the same reasons...I am not beating myself to a pulp everyday to wipe me out, so I don't hit the pillow as I close my eyes this week.  My mind isn't going crazy about the race, I'm just not tired!!  I may have to put a half a Benadryl in tonight through friday night just to get a great night of sleep!   So otherwise, my taper is going as planned!  The legs are getting pretty "fresh and loose" as I found tonight on my 2.5 hour trainer session..so all points to good!

After finishing up my workouts, I am feeling pretty decent about where I am at....my swim is strong, efficient and better than it has ever been.  I plan to get out of the water right around 60 minutes after the gun  The bike is what I am most worried about, as my quads have been sore since an ill-advised deep tissue treatment last friday, but they are coming around and should be fine (especially after tonights session...but they still have a little way to go).  I think I will know 10 miles into the bike how my day will go--if I'm struggling to get power into the pedals, then my bike leg will be slower than I am planning.  If things are perfect, the bike will take me a few minutes over 5 hours, if not, 5 1/2 hours is what will happen.  If it's worse than that, I am having a bad day (really bad day!).  So the most varying in time will be the bike.  The run will always be full of stress; gauging pace, nutrition,  and the mental part of starting a marathon after 6 hours of fairly high intensity work!  My overall goal time: I have no idea!  All in all I feel strong at all 3 disciplines, but it is the mental and nutrition side that really determines how well you do at this length...let's hope the First Endurance products and my mental status are right on!

Chris gave me the "race plan" today, so I am feeling very well prepared not only for the race but for everything from today forward (sleeping, when to eat, what to eat, what to drink,...).   I can't prepare for the loneliness of the race...yes, there will be 2500 other people racing and countless people cheering, but  I have no one to talk to, no one to chit chat with...what the heck am I gonna do with my brain?

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