I ran for the first time in a couple weeks. It get mostly good but was tight/sore at night. I’ll give it a day or two of rest/biking and see if I can get a run in on Friday.
On Friday I decided to postpone getting a loose screw removed from my foot so I wouldn’t have a setback when I need to be adding miles. On Saturday I had a different setback. I developed what appears to be Achilles tendinitis in my left foot (and a little in my right). So I need to ice and stretch and work on my form. It was so bad I had to walk/quit a 5k. Not a great sign with this little time left to train, but I’m going to rest and do what I can.
Caitlin's phone rings. It's the apartment repair guy calling to let us know he can't fix the air conditioning that night. It's 85 degrees inside despite having the windows open and fans running. We got in bed two hours ago, but are doing a lot of laying there sweating and not doing any sleeping. I try to pretend I'm back at overnight camp with no AC and at some point around 11 I assume we fall asleep.
Sunday - 4:30 a.m.
My alarm goes off. I grab a gatorade and Red Bull and move to the couch. This was supposed to be breakfast time, but I'm not ready yet. Scooby comes to the living room with me and lays down on the floor. I pick him up and put him on my stomach and we nap together until 4:45.
4:45 a.m. - 6:45 a.m. I eat a couple slices of toast with peanut butter, we pick up my dad at his hotel, get to the race super early since we've been warned what a cluster it will be to get to the transition areas.
6:30 a.m. - 8:44 a.m. My transition areas are good to go nice and early and we spend two hours watching the other racers start as I nurse a gatorade and 5-hour energy before getting in position.
The Swim - 45:36
8:44 "Time to pee," a fellow 30-35 triathlete with a last name starting with N-Z jokes as we got into the water. A couple people laugh. I pee. It was going to be as long as 8 hours before I saw a bathroom again. I had to go.
8:45 And off we went. I started with the front crawl for a few minutes, but once I got some separation I settled into the breast stroke. The swim was quite long, but pretty smooth. The water felt good and got me nice and warmed up. I only got kicked and had my legs pulled on a couple times. At one point I saw a buoy marked 1 and thought it meant one mile and that I only had 0.2 to go. Not so much. I wasn't much more than half done. Still, I kept plugging along and singing "swimming, swimming, in the swimming pool" to myself. I felt some fatigue 30-35 minutes in, but I'd planned on swimming for 45 minutes and that was almost exactly how long it took. I felt pretty solid coming out of the water.
Caitlin took a pic of me running by. I liked how enthusiastically the volunteers tore the wetsuits off those who wore won. I didn't.
The Bike: 3:46:49
The bike ride was fun for about half of it, but that was so much riding to do with no music and no one to talk to. Breaking it into 11 segments of 5 miles each made it doable in my mind, but it wasn't the most enjoyable.
I smiled for Caitlin as the bike was just starting. Not nearly as much smiling the rest of the time.
The bike ride ... took forever. I thought I'd fly through it after knocking out 17 miles in the first hour. That first hour was a lot of fun. It felt like it was all down hill and I was really enjoying myself, and let myself think I could finish in 3:10 at that pace. Apparently that was the only section that wasn't full of steep hills. The next two hours and 45 minutes were ... I won't bore you with a minute by minute breakdown of 226 minutes of biking, but the following relatively interesting things happened:
Grunting out the ride. I forget if I was posing like this on purpose or not.
Two dogs ran into the bike course. I had to slow almost to a complete stop to avoid hitting one.
I got yelled at by an official on a motorcycle for riding next to a friend I made coming out of a water stop and spent the next 15 miles worrying I'd get a penalty for an improper pass.
I chugged Powerade and water and inhaled chomps and gels at all four rest stops and still went through both of my water bottles.
I saw a horse taking a dump and didn't look away.
I sang the Army "Jody" Caitlin made up for in my head. It goes "Wittbloom, Wittbloom, 1-2-3, no one's faster than Scooby" but I changed it to "going faster than Scooby." It helped.
Some kids were "selling" lemonade for free on the side of the road. But they were too far away for anyone near me to take them up on it and it would have taken too long. Kind of a tease, honestly.
At one point I saw a sign that said "Austin 24 miles" and prayed I wouldn't get a flat tire or have a bike malfuntion
I high fived every cop I could on the course and got them all to smile.
I managed to stay on my bike through every hill. They saved the most difficult hill for mile 50. It was absolutely brutal, the steepest and longest hill I've ever ridden. I had to stand up and pedal agonizingly slow to stay on the bike, but still managed to ride through it.
This official race pic showed what a grind the bike was.
The Run - 2:32:11
When I first got off my bike, my legs felt about as bad as I feared they would. It was like stepping off a treadmill mixed with getting off a multi-day cruise mixed with a terrible charlie horse in both legs. After getting into my run gear, I went to reset my watch so I could see how long it was taking and see my pace. I inadvertently turned the watch all the way off and couldn't get it back on. So I was running just on feel.
Lap 1 - Feeling strong
Lance captured me smiling at the end of lap one. I was more happy to see family than I was feeling great.
I didn't feel nearly as good as this picture would have you believe, but the first 4.4 mile lap was pretty smooth. I want to say I only stopped to walk at the water stations, but I know I stopped a couple times. There were a ton of walkers and at that point I was hopeful I wouldn't be one of them. Then I ran for what seemed like a long while only to see the "Mile 1" sign. That stung. I adopted Lance's "1 going on 2, 1 going on 2" mantra and adapted it to say, "1 going on 2, I get to see them at 4.5" Knowing I had smiling faces coming up made a big difference.
I ran especially hard and motivated in the half mile stretch near the expo center where they were playing music and was totally revitalized by seeing my dad, Caitlin and her dad and gave them all high fives.
The middle 4.4 miles was daunting.
Lap 2: The Struggle
After I got through the first lap, I was inspired for another half mile or so by the music and the crowds. But once you clear that area, you have about 3.5 miles of running with no crowd, no music and an area I came to call "death valley." There's sand, the temperatures were in the mid-high 80s and it was just brutal. I always thought I might run a couple miles and then walk a half or something, but I didn't plan on alternating every 50 yards like I did. I could feel the sunburn coming on, I was having incredibly painful irritation everywhere and was feeling the heat. I gutted out the middle lap, finding runners to talk to and loading up on fluids, but it wasn't pretty. It probably took close to an hour, but I had little highs like getting to the halfway point and keeping up the "six, going on seven, I get to see them at nine" mantra.
Lap 3: The finish in sight
OK, most of lap three wasn't much prettier than lap two, but knowing it was the last one made it much more tolerable. I made a few friends along the way, trying to inspire each other to keep running and gut out the last few miles. I convinced one guy to run all the downhills with me and power walk the uphills. That was nice, but in general it was slow and achy and I couldn't wait to be done. With just over a mile to go, I was talking to a guy and he told me I was at 7:05. I told him that was my cue and took off running, determined not to stop until I crossed the finish line.
When I was half a mile away, someone asked it I wanted a beer. "FUCK YES!" I exclaimed, before noticing little kids around. Whoops. I started drinking the beer immediately. I didn't know how I wanted to pose at the end, but I figured pouring beer on myself could be fun. I did it a little early, and had an empty half crushed can with me as I fist pumped and high fived my way through the finish.
High fives for everyone! OK, mostly just for my dad here. There's nothing like a high five from your dad while competing.
Airplane! Kind of...I don't know what this was.
Floating across the finish line. That was what it was all for.
I did it! The sign says 8:30, but my wave was 75 minutes after the start.
My dad, Caitlin and her dad were all brave enough to hug me after the race. I'm sure I smelled horrendous and was soaking wet. It was so great to have them there. And our friends Madison and Katie made it just in time to see me finish.
After stretching, telling a couple quick anecdotes about the race and checking my fantasy football teams, we grabbed my bike and gear and headed home to a shower, two pizzas and pumpkin beer. It was quite the day. It was fun at times, but mostly I just felt good to have done it and experienced the challenge. My first thought was that I'd never do a half or full Ironman again, but now I'm not sure. I know I could do a full. I'd need to feel inspired. Whether that's someone to do it with me or something, I know I could do a full. And maybe I will. But for now I'm just going to keep recovering from the half and feeling good about what I did.
I almost didn't go. I was struggling to find the energy ... and my goggles. The frustration of not knowing where they were was compounded by feeling bad about myself for not training enough to know where my gear was. But, just in time, I found my eyewear in a bag on the porch, grabbed a towel and headed back into rush hour traffic, getting to the "Splash & Dash" just before the cut-off for check-in.
I didn't recognize anyone except Jack and a couple J&A employees who were helping out with the race, so I felt a little alone. I slowly, unconfidently set-up a transition spot near the rocks by the entry to the lake and made my way to the water with my goggles and swim cap on. In the pre-race meeting, they told us that there are only two entry points to the water, so we better be sure we're able to swim across the lake. I hesitated for a second and then got enough confidence to go for it. It was slightly longer than I'd swum in open water before, but I knew I could just pace myself.
When they announced "3, 2, 1...go!" a smile crept across my face. I forgot how fun the start of a race can be. That rush as you jockey for position and try not to get kicked in the face. The extra motivation you get as a crowd watches you take off. It all felt great. I started with a front crawl and kept up with it through the first couple buoys. I moved to a breast stroke and was amazed how well I was able to keep up with the front crawl guys. Sure, I got passed by a number of ladies who started three minutes after us gents, but I still had a decent speed going and stayed ahead of a particularly buff looking dude, so I felt good about that.
I got out of the water and took my time drying off and getting ready for the run. It was especially rocky, so I didn't want to hurt myself, but I did run up the hill and felt pretty good starting the run. I was a bit winded from the swim, but I build speed as I ran. The guy I was proud to have beat in the swim lapped me and I was passed by a LOT of the Splash & Dashers, but it was refreshing to be out there. I finished strong and enjoyed the generous hot dog and beer spread provided. It was a great value for $15 and something I want to do every month just to keep myself sharp. I have so much training left if I want to finish the Half Ironman in October, but hopefully this will help get me back in the groove.
6 a.m - 6:50 a.m. Some days you spring out of bed and can't wait to get going. This was not one of those days. I hadn't slept particularly well the last two nights, the shower never quite got hot and instead of getting out the door at 6:30, we were in the car at 6:50 a.m.
7:00-7:25 a.m. Bumper to bumper traffic a half mile out. Even though we'd left late, we should have had enough time to park and get set-up, but we were part of a throng that arrived just minutes before the start, so we were in bumper to bumper traffic for 25 mins to go half a mile.
7:29-7:31 a.m, Scramble in transition I rolled my bike and bag of gear into transition as the "one minute until transition closes" announcement came over the loud speaker. I found a bit of space on the bike rack, quickly dumped out my bag full of shoes, helmet, sunglasses, etc. in an unorganized pile, grabbed my goggles and swim cap and headed out as they announced "transition is now closed! Leave the transition area now!" I left my spot far from ready.
7:45-8:07 I stretched a bit with the group yoga class, stood around for the mandatory pre-race meeting and found my friend Sam as they sang the national anthem. I said hi to him and his partner and my group was up 3rd, so I found my way into the water. That's me with most of my chest facing the camera in the red Jack & Adams top.
The Swim: 300 m in 7:02
8:08-8:16 a.m. And we're off. There was the usual bit of kicking and jostling for position early on. I wasn't sure if I would swim the front crawl or breast stroke, but I went for front crawl early on, mostly just because it was too crowded to do breast stroke. The 300m went by pretty quickly and I did about 2/3 front crawl and 1/3 breast stroke once it opened up. I pushed hard the last 50m to pass someone and found myself a little out of breath as I ran out of the water.
8:17-8:21 a.m. Lost in Transition - The 4:18 T1
Since I didn't have any time to prepare my transition, I:
A) Didn't know where my bike was
B) Didn't have my bike shoes unbuckled
C) Didn't have my socks laid out.
I spent two minutes trying to find my bike, then slowly unknotting my socks and unbuckling my bike shoes. I easily wasted two minutes and lost focus because I didn't have my transition area ready. Gotta get to the race early from now on. Total rookie mistake.
The Bike: Unexpectedly hilly 11.2 miles (42:25)
8:22-9:06 I bought a fancy new bike and have been riding a lot this off-season, building to 27 mile rides on the Veloway, to get faster on the bike. Unfortunately, I've been training almost exclusively on that course, which has one steep, short hill and a couple long, but mild gradual ones. I always ride at least 12-15 miles an usually go 18-21, so I figured 11 miles would feel like nothing. I wasn't prepared for the hills. The Rookie course is extremely hilly and it was windy and cold when I got out of the water. I never got into my groove on the ride. I enjoyed flying 32 mph on the downhills and saw some nice views, but I just wasn't prepared for those kinds of hills.
"That hill was brutal" I said to another rider who seemed overwhelmed by the biggest climb. "FUCK!" was all he could muster back. I hear ya, man. Still, I had more trouble on the hills than most and was constantly being passed by riders in the age groups behind me. I'd check the massive calves of the 40 somethings as they past me to confirm that even though they started several minutes behind me, they were now passing me with ease. I didn't get too down on myself when the 40 and 50 somethings passed me, but it stung when a 70 year-old blew by me even though I had an 8-minute head start on him. And the 11.2 miles felt longer. Every time I passed a mile marker (3, 6, 9) I was surprised how far I had to go. I ended up averaging 15.6 mph, which isn't terrible, but is still pretty slow. I need to practice on a lot more hills and familiarize myself with a course so I know when to push it and maximize my energy output. The bike was easily my worst leg of the race.
T2: Double Knotted at T2 (2:33)
9:07-9:10 My second transition wasn't as terrible. I didn't have an easy time finding my spot without a bike to look for, but I found it. Then I had to untie my double knotted shoes and off I went.
The run: A strong 2 miles in 16:49
9:10-9:27 I had a good amount of energy left for the run and set off on the grassy course with a decent stride. I was running pretty well for the first half mile and then got inspired by seeing Sam. He was making up time on me after crushing the bike and was less than 1/4 mile behind me as we made the turn. I promised myself I wouldn't let him catch me until at least the mile mark and that I'd run with him the rest of the way. I picked up my pace and actually passed a number of runners. I kept up a good pace, taking the running advice Caitlin's dad had given me on our weekly Friday runs together and before I knew it, was in the home stretch and saw Caitlin up ahead taking video of me.
She caught the home stretch and I motioned to her to give me a high five as I passed her. It felt great to see her smiling face and Beyonce hat by the finish and I pushed hard and ran my hardest across the finish line. You can hear her root me on, saying "Run, baby, run!" just a few days after we watched "Forrest Gump" together and the announcer incorrectly pronounce, "This is Zaaaack TIEbloom!" in the video she took. I collected my medal and water bottle and met up with her for a post-race hug.
9:30-11 a.m. I ended up pulling away from Sam quite a bit in the last mile and a half, and had a couple minutes to relax with Caitlin before cheering him across the finish line. Then we took a leisurely walk along the booths, grabbing some snacks and a hot dog for me. We were told we'd be able to grab out bikes around 10 a.m. once the last racer got out of T2, but a couple stragglers had us hanging around at least an hour and a half, and we didn't get out of there until 11. But that was all fine. It was a lovely day and we weren't in a big rush. I got to meet up with a couple friends, have a beer and take it all in.
There was a lot I could have done better at this race. I definitely need to get to races earlier to be comfortable in transition. I can't take any race for granted. A 75 minute workout is still asking a lot of your body, no matter how good a shape you're in. OK, at least for me it is. And I need to know the course I'm preparing for. I know a bunch of athletes who have done these courses before. It wouldn't have been hard to ask about the bike course and know to prepare for hills. But it's just more to learn from. I leave the first tri of the season inspired to really up my training and come back stronger than ever for my next race in July. Still, with as many regrets and things I have to work on, I'm still proud that I finished and felt great having Caitlin out there supporting me and above all I had fun and felt like I was a positive force on the course, rooting on friends and strangers. I can't wait for the next one.
My office offers free Body Composition testing, so I went today to see where I was at before Tri season kicks off in a couple weeks. I'm hoping this is the before measurement that will be fun to look back at in August and September as I make my final preparations for my first Olympic length triathlons.
I'm not going to obsess over weight, BMI or Body fat, but it is something I want to keep an eye on as I work toward optimum performance. I'd like to go from 17.4% body fat to around 13% and get the BMI closer to 21-22 and get my waist line to around 32-33. I've got about 4 months of training to get there and now that it's swim season, I'm confident I can do it.
I've never been a runner. I dreaded it in gym class. It's my least favorite part of the triathlon. 4 miles was the most I'd ever run at one time before Friday's 5 mile, 49:15 practice run. I knew that if I wanted to be confident for September's Olympic length triathlon that ends with a 10k, I had to really up my running. Without making excuses, let's just say that did not happen this Winter or early Spring. So with sore legs from Friday's run and a scary weather forecast, I hoped for the best. The goal was finishing under an hour, but, as always, the real goal is just finishing. And making friends along the way.
Pre-Race
6:15 a.m. Wake-up Rain is pouring down so hard Caitlin is convinced it's hail. She decides this weather isn't going to mesh with the two week sickness she's suffered through and decides to do her own 10k indoors. I decide as long as the race is on, I'm going.
6:45 a.m. Shower and Gear-Up All indications are that the race is on, so I hop in the shower and gear up. Bike shorts under athletic shorts. Triathlon shirt under long sleeve running shirt. Garmin Watch with heartbeat strap. Slip on running shoes.
7 a.m. Breakfast I eat a standing breakfast. Half a banana. A mini Clif Bar. A 5-hour Energy and a strawberry margarita flavored C4 powder mix.
7:15-7:30 Bike Quick ride downtown. I park near the start of the race. I'd regret this decision later. It's not raining, but it's cold enough that my fingers get numb while tweeting.
7:40 a.m. Meet-up I find my boss, and running inspiration, Mandy and we pose for a quick pic (above) and wish each other luck. She's the one who told me it helps to dedicate each mile to someone special so that you feel inspired to keep going and don't let the person you dedicated the mile to down.
7:55 a.m-8:03 a.m. It's quite congested at the starting line, and since I went back to visit Mandy at her 13 minute mile pace group, I'm having a lot of difficulty getting to the 9 minute group I'm hopeful to run in. I end up near the back of the 10 minute mile pace group. I see a couple next to me fiddling with their iPod and ask what their first song is. They both say it's on shuffle but the woman's first song is Peter Gabriel. I'm in the wrong pace group.
Mile 1: Beyonce Dance Party for Caitlin
8:03 a.m. I didn't run to start the Cap10k. I danced. I'm going to attempt to express how ridiculous I acted, but I promise you no matter how hard I try, I'll be underselling it. Imagine 7th grade me at a Bar Mitzvah party over-selling my dance moves in between over-eating mozzarella sticks. Imagine drunk me at a wedding or on NYE when it creeps closer to midnight and my jam comes on. OK. That's the level of dance energy I had wash over me as the race started.
Packed in with the 10 and 11 minute runners, I danced my way through them. Taking exaggerated dancy slide steps, moving side to side more than forward and making myself skinny to move through tiny holes in the throng, I was something else. Once I had a little room, I was straight up dance/running. I wish someone could have seen this silliness. I felt bad cutting people off a bit, but I tried to escape the pack as respectfully as I could. While dancing. Caitlin would have been proud. #DamnIThinkIloveThatBoy #DoAnythingForThatBoy #LondonSpeedItUp #HoustonRockIt
8:07 a.m. I realize I'm out of breath and it's only 0.4 miles in. I need to pace a little better. Then the Kanye/Tame Impala mash-up comes on and I start mean mugging, pounding the pavement and making faces and finish the mile hard at 8:27.
Mile 2 Just Keep Running for Scooby
8:08-8:17 a.m. No one loves to run free more than Scooby. When he gets free, he doesn't stop after one mile. He just goes. So I powered through mile two thanks to "Barbra Streisand," "Drunk in Love," "Flaws" and thoughts of my boy Scoobs running free. I tried to keep the pace just over 9 minutes a mile. A couple decent hills, but nothing I can't power through. Scooby would have.
Mile 3 for Jack White
8:18-8:28 a.m. "Pretty Hurts" helps me up the notorious climb at Enfield as I enter the 3rd mile, but this one is dedicated to Jack. I listen to "Steady as She Goes" and "Seven Nation Army" back to back and think about how much JW exerts himself in a concert. If he can do that for an hour and a half, I can run for an hour. My pace dips a bit with the hills, but I'm at 28 minutes 3 miles in. In pain? "Don't want to hear about it. Everyone's got a story to tell from the Queen of England to the hounds of hell." Keep running.
Mile 4 Inspiration for Mandy
8:29-8:39 a.m. I think about the endless runs Mandy goes on for inspiration for mile four when it starts to get hard. She does it day after day, week after week, month after month. She does it with a smile and with inspiring quotes like the one above. I'm settling into a 9:30 pace and my legs feel tight, but otherwise fine. Jack is still playing as I enter mile 4 and he's followed up by Beyonce "Jealous" and Young the Giant's "My Body." "My body tells me no, but I won't quit, cause I want more."
Mile 5 "The Hard" for my Dad
8:40-8:49 a.m. My dad has always instilled a strong work ethic in me. "Practice makes perfect." "The harder I work, the luckier I get." "It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great." I think of my dad saying all of these quotes and how great it feels to make him proud and push myself through the hard. I keep at it through Miley's "We Can't Stop" and Beyonce's "Grown Woman" I'd made good time on the front half and I keep checking my app, knowing that as long as I stay under a 10 minute mile pace, I'd get in under an hour.
Cop High Fives
By mile 5 and 6, I'm running distances I'd never run before and needed to dig deep. I go for a trick I utilized during my triathlons. I give high fives. I give them to every spectator with a free hand that isn't holding a sign, child or dog, but I really go for the cops. They smile the widest. I seek them out from about 10 steps away, make eye-contact and extend my hand and let them know I'm coming for a high five. They're usually caught off guard at first, and then very excited when they realize what's happening. It feels great and puts a little pep in my step.
Mile 6 "Mirrors" for my Mom
8:50-8:58 a.m. We lost my mom 12 years ago this month and we miss her extra hard every April when remembering the tragic final couple weeks of her life. It took a long time for me to move past being sad whenever I'd think of her to remembering her as the beautiful never ending source of light and love she deserves to be remembered as.
I ran the final mile to JT's "Mirrors." She would have really loved this one. She loved a great voice and a big production. I can picture her singing along, harmonizing to it with her incredible voice. As I run, I imagined her looking back at me and smiling as I pushed through the pain in my legs. I try not to be overcome with emotion, holding it off for a few more minutes until I finish. The 8 minute and 21 second song took me almost the entire way through my final mile.
Final 0.2 (.35) for my sister
8:59-9:03 a.m. I needed my sis in my corner for the home stretch. I imagine her saying "Crushed it!" and "Yah Brosef!" over and over like she did when I gave a toast at her wedding and it makes me smile. I don't have it in me to do a full-on sprint through the finish line, but I run hard and stride right through, never slowing down.
9:04-9:40 As I later told someone reporting on the race, I felt 60% proud, 25% sore, 10% wet, and 5% hungry after finishing. I also felt emotional. After running the last full mile for my mom, I needed to let some of it out, and found a quieter spot past the finish line and sobbed into my shirt for a few seconds. I collect myself, update Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and start the almost 2 mile walk to my bike which is nowhere near the finish line after stretching as much as I can get my dead legs to do.
9:40-10 I bike home in the pouring rain, sing/yelling along to "My Body" and more Beyonce and it feels perfect
10:00-10:15 a.m. I notices Caitlin is still doing her indoor 10k on the treadmill, so I look up #cap10k and tweet at every single person talking about the race, giving them encouragement and praise. Because that's what it's all about for me. Sharing the love. Feeling good. High fiving cops and dancing to Beyonce.
10:15 a.m I walk down to the apartment gym with Scooby and a hand made "GO CAITLIN GO :D" sign to let her know I love and support her decision to listen to her body and do her thang inside when she wasn't feeling the rain. As a wise woman once told us, "You do you, baby. You do you."
Today I'm walking like Frankenstein's monster in my #cap10k shirt, but I feel great. I know I can do the 10k. And pretty decently. I can end a tri with this distance. Hopefully even under an hour after doing a swim and bike with a smile on my face. It's a great start to tri season and I feel inspired and renewed and full of love and thankful for everyone for their support.
Triathlon Zack's 1st 10k Spotify Playlist
I'm aware this is 90% the playlist of a flamboyant man or sassy woman, but it works for me. I hope you dig it. Also, it's missing three Beyonce songs that aren't on Spotify. You should own them already.
Follow me on Twitter: Triathlon Zack I'll tweet ya back.
Final running mix set for tomorrow. Not as much Jack White as you'd think. More Beyonce than is probably necessary, but you gotta do what works for you.
Tomorrow I'm running my first 10K. I've never run a strictly running race of any kind. I did three triathlons of varying length last year, with the running always being my least favorite part. I'm hopeful running on fresh legs will help me get back into full training mode and let me know that I can handle the distance.
I'm doing my usual prep. Making sure I'm hydrated. Trying unsuccessfully to get enough sleep. Relieved that I can actually listen to music, so I'm finalizing my playlist (adding more Beyonce). The big difference to me is that I can have more of a singular focus.
The night before a tri, I concern myself with everything from making sure I have all of my gear, to not getting kicked in the swim, to preparing my transition, to pacing between events, to remembering how many laps for each event, etc. It's a lot to keep in your head when your body gets more and more exhausted. This will be the longest I've ever run, but it's comforting to know that I just have to worry about running. But it's still a big mental game for me. I'm hopeful I can dig deep when it gets hard in miles 3-5, focus on my breathing, let the music inspire me and finish strong. Until then...
snowghoul
kaledo-art
discoholicmusic
annaxmalina
turnnoffyourmind
jacobvanloon