"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, August 10, 2011

Mountain Man 70.3 Pre-Race Report

Wednesday, August 10th:
4 days until race day---I know it's been a while since I last raced when I can't draw from anything to get that "let's go racing" feel.  I had to think for a bit to realize Escape From Alcatraz was my last race---seems like eons ago!  Nonetheless, I am excited to compete at this somewhat local, almost historic, small field but very challenging 70.3 on the 14th.  We booked a cabin, and along with Jenny and Sophia, Jenny's parents Alice and Gary as well as her "Nana" Eva are coming along as well.  It's always great to have family support at races...and I am looking forward to the cool temps in Flagstaff---but not necessarily to racing at 7000'!   I took a glance at the Athlete List the other day and noticed I have my hands full in the 35-39 with a few Kona guys in there...I need the work!  This race is definitely the "where am I at" in my Kona training, which has me feeling a bit uneasy; but we are 9 weeks out, and this would be a great time to know how the prep is going...MUCH better than a month from now when making adjustments is too late.
My predictions are that my swim will be my strongest discipline, my bike the weakest, and my run will allow me to finish respectably...I will be ecstatic if my bike is stronger than I expect.  The battle I've had with the heat all summer in AZ I don't think has helped me become a more powerful rider---I can ride and tolerate the heat very well now, but that does not equate into riding consistently at my Half Ironman pace; it's just been really tough to ride at that intensity in the heat versus those training in cooler temps, pushing higher efforts versus "surviving" like I seem to be doing every weekend.  A race is a race, and I never look at a race as a "training day,"  but I don't think I'll dig deep into the well unless it is for something substantial (podium or age group win), I have 9 weeks of prep for a day I've been waiting for over 15 years to come, so I have to keep that focus ;-)  (wow, so many excuses!).   Let's hope I prove myself wrong on this one---coach tends to do that to me often ;-)

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