Got into Arlington, Virginia at about 4 PM, and by 5 PM I was out on the trails with Buttercup, riding her for the first time in 11 days, allowing her to stretch her legs a bit, and every now and then letting her have her head. I'm gently reminding her that she has to carry me through an international-distance triathlon in 6 days, and while I have every confidence that she can handle it, my confidence is somewhat shaky in getting myself through a 1500-meter swim in any kind of shape to ride her well.
I took her up a few hills. There were a few times that we really had to had to work hard to summit the tops, standing up, grinding out those pedal strokes one by one.
At least the swim Sunday will be flat. The most common word I hear about the Columbia Triathlon bike and run courses is "challenging". Even Holly called it that. I think "challenging" really means IT'S GONNA BE UGLY.
Buttercup's bike computer isn't working. I may play with it a little tomorrow to see if I can get the sensor to work. Then again, it might be better to just ride by feel, and not obsess about the mph numbers next Sunday. It gets discouraging when the numbers dip down into the single digits too many times.
I just want to get through it and cross the finish line in one piece. After all, it's my very first Olympic-distance triathlon. ONLY 1.5 km to swim. Then ONLY 25.5 miles to bike. Then ONLY 6.2 miles to run. I ONLY have to finish to set a PR. Relentless forward progression is the key, right? Even if it takes me until Tuesday to finish.
6 comments:
You're going to be fine, and you'll finish with a huge smile on your face. Just be sensible with your pacing. On the bike, ask yourself every so often whether you could stop and run at that moment if you had to. If the answer is 'no' back off a bit. Pay attention to hydration and nutrition. Eat a gel late in the bike but only if you've done it during training. A race is not the time to experiment. Most importantly: have fun!
I'm sure you'll ONLY do fantastic, i'm so excited for you...can't wait till my first tri this year!
Have fun and SMILE.. :-D
Welcome back! I'm sure you'll do great with your race. I'm very jealous - I have to wait almost 3 months until my International distance Tri.
nancy you're gonna do great next weekend. just keep a conservative pace and let the excitement of it all carry you home.
oh, and most importantly -- HAVE FUN!!
You have done the training...you are gonna be great! Don't sweat the small stuff. If you have to slow down a bit on the bike to get through the hills, no big deal. Like Soccerdad said, HAVE FUN!!! Tell Buttercup I said hi!
Glad your back! You'll do great, it's all in the attitude , now!!
Post a Comment