Tri Training Week 10 – Race Week

The Tri is this weekend! Agh! I cannot believe it is finally here. We have been doing so much work and training that it seems a bit surreal that the date is just days away.

Week 10 Training 
Monday – bike 35 minutes
Tuesday – off
Wednesday – run 20 minutes
Thursday – off
Friday – swim 10 minutes
Saturday – RACE DAY!

As you can see, our training is super light this week, which is great. That said, it's proving to be a challenge. On last night’s bike ride – our last before the race – some dumb @$$ crashed into Michael. The idiot was going the wrong way on a CLEARLY marked one-way trail AND wearing headphone so he did not hear Michael yell at him to watch out. I let the idiot have it once I knew Michael was not seriously injured. Michael has quite a few scrapes and bruises, but overall, he’s ok. It shook both of us so even though I know there is no way someone will be going to the wrong way on race day, I am still worried about a crash on the bike portion of the race.

I’m not going to lie – I am NERVOUS! I don’t want to drown in the lake. I don’t want to crash my bike (see above story). I don’t want to psych myself out on the run and think I need to walk. My stomach is in knots now just thinking about the race, and I know that on race day, it will be even worse given the schedule.

The schedule was announced yesterday and it is not in my favor at all.

4:30 a.m. -- Transition opens
6:40 a.m. -- National anthem & pro athlete introductions
6:45 a.m.  -- Transition closes
7:00 a.m. -- Race starts – pros go first
7:29 a.m. -- International individuals start
8:47 a.m. -- Sprint individuals start
8:52 a.m. – Men 20-24 start (Michael)
9:00 a.m. -- Pros finish
9:36 a.m. – Women 30-34 start (Jenni)
11:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. --  Awards ceremony and festival

I am in Wave 54 out of 55, with only the Jr. Invitational following my group. That means I will watch 53 other groups complete the swim before I start. I will stand around for 3 hours. And the pros will finish before I even start! By 9:36 a.m., it could be quite warm, as the high for Saturday is 86 degrees. And sunny – darn! I was hoping for a cloudy day. I’ll sunscreen up but it will probably wear off before I even start the race. Why did I choose to wear all black again???

We are working on good diets this week – low fiber, no spicy stuff, simple carbs and proteins – so that we do not have any GI stress during the race. We are also staying hydrated, which I typically do anyways so this is more for Michael. Lastly, we are getting our gear together now so that we don’t forget anything. Last night, I was working on my list and thought it was done and then I remembered “Bike helmet.” Oops! That is essential!

Although I say my goal is to finish, I do have a time in my head that I’d like to hit or beat. And I would also really like to not be the last person to cross the finish line, which given when I start, is a possibility. I hope there are still some spectators cheering people on when I cross the finish line. So if you’re not doing anything Saturday and are in MPLS, come watch Michael and I compete and cheer us on. He should cross the finish line between 10:00-10:30 a.m. and I should cross between 11:00-11:30 a.m. Recap and pics to come next week!