Declaring my intentions before race day, like usual. Yes, I retain my usual distrust of people who announce that they had secret goals after the race has already been run. (Uhhh..... why?)
Got a jam-packed weekend coming up. Weather is going to be a big decider here - it's forecast to be rainy tomorrow but mid-60s (fortunately with light winds), plunging to the mid-40s and possible rain for Sunday.
Tomorrow I have two events:
Eastern Shore Senior Games 40 km bike race, 9AM:
Dream goal #1: Finish under 1:22 (18 mph average).
Goal #2: Bring home a medal.
Goal #3: Finish my first bike race with no exciting crashes or spills or dramatic fishtailing on the bike. Boring is good. Lanterne Rouge finishes are still honorable.
Eastern Shore Senior Games 5km race, 1:30 PM:
Goal #1: Finish under 28:02 (PR).
Goal #2: Finish under 30:00 (2nd fastest 5K).
Goal #3: Bring home a medal
Goal #4: Start with a positive attitude and finish without limping
The next day (Sunday) I have a tough, hilly 10-mile race. I'll try not to think about it until late Saturday night, when I'll assess damages and try to forget the effort on Saturday. Mostly I just want to finish it to get my Annapolis Striders Championship Series participation points, so I'm not too concerned about time.
Showing posts with label race prep. Show all posts
Showing posts with label race prep. Show all posts
Friday, April 04, 2008
Saturday, September 22, 2007
At Fort Wilderness Campground at WDW
I don't have wifi at our RV site, but we do up at Pioneer Hall next to the transition area for tomorrow's Walt Disney World Triathlon. I'm sitting in the rented golf cart typing on my laptop (excuse typos!) as I watch the cast of the Hoop Dee Doo Review hang out on the porch opposite me and chat with passersby. They're in period Victorian/western costume with big skirts and hats and buckskin jackets and it looks horribly hot! Ah, their show just started and they headed inside, where presumably it's air-conditioned.
We're in a campsite just about right in the middle of the whole campground. My race number is #68 and my bike is about 2 racks from the bike exit, perfect spot so I have almost no run through transition with my bike. The swim looks fine, although I did take the free nose clip so I don't breathe in amoebas and die from meningitis. Maybe. I may tear it off when it drives me crazy and leave it at the bottom of Bay Lake, however.
I start in the first wave at 0730 and should(!) be done by 11:30 I hope - under 4 hours with a 35-mile bike leg. We'll see. I'm not likely to push it tomorrow if the course gets crowded or it gets too hot outside. Hope to see you sometime tomorrow, Linae and Shawn! Thanks for coming over!! And Kathy and Molly, if you're reading, it was great to see you and hang out even though it was much too short.
Today we had a fairly quiet day - did triathlon check-in, then we rented a pontoon boat and took the girls on a tour of Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon. Then we took the resort launch over to the Magic Kingdom but didn't go in - we just took the monorail around to the Polynesian Resort and had an early dinner in the snack bar there. Then back via monorail and boat launch to the campground and that was enough of an excursion for today! Maybe some swimming pool time this evening. It's hot and muggy and overcast but only occasionally sprinkling.
The bike is racked, I just have to do final prep of my clothes and then up at 5AM tomorrow to make the first swim wave!! I'll be glad to be finished in the so-called 'cool of the day' (for Florida).
We're in a campsite just about right in the middle of the whole campground. My race number is #68 and my bike is about 2 racks from the bike exit, perfect spot so I have almost no run through transition with my bike. The swim looks fine, although I did take the free nose clip so I don't breathe in amoebas and die from meningitis. Maybe. I may tear it off when it drives me crazy and leave it at the bottom of Bay Lake, however.
I start in the first wave at 0730 and should(!) be done by 11:30 I hope - under 4 hours with a 35-mile bike leg. We'll see. I'm not likely to push it tomorrow if the course gets crowded or it gets too hot outside. Hope to see you sometime tomorrow, Linae and Shawn! Thanks for coming over!! And Kathy and Molly, if you're reading, it was great to see you and hang out even though it was much too short.
Today we had a fairly quiet day - did triathlon check-in, then we rented a pontoon boat and took the girls on a tour of Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon. Then we took the resort launch over to the Magic Kingdom but didn't go in - we just took the monorail around to the Polynesian Resort and had an early dinner in the snack bar there. Then back via monorail and boat launch to the campground and that was enough of an excursion for today! Maybe some swimming pool time this evening. It's hot and muggy and overcast but only occasionally sprinkling.
The bike is racked, I just have to do final prep of my clothes and then up at 5AM tomorrow to make the first swim wave!! I'll be glad to be finished in the so-called 'cool of the day' (for Florida).
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Getting ready
OK, ran my last two miles until race day. I got a new pair of Asics, same model as I always wear, and put a new set of Lacelocks on them and I had to try them out with my old orthotics and make sure everything was copacetic. Check, check, check.
Also gave Buttercup a good cleanup so she'll be ready for race day too. I haven't really had any problems with her lately, so I'm not getting a tuneup done before the race. Everything looks fine with her except possibly I bent the elbow pad a little when I laid her down like a dumbass the other day because I failed to unclip. I never noticed it while riding, though, so no big deal.
I got snarked at on one of my email lists today. Someone said to me, "Are you considered a triathlete if you only race and never train?" What say you, dear readers?
In fairness, it was a rejoinder to a tongue-in-cheek post I had made earlier in the week wondering aloud if someone was a triathlete if they just happen to do three different activities in their spare time. I said you can be a runner if you never race, certainly. But I have my doubts about triathletes who never race. Seems to me the aspect of putting it all together on one day with a clock running is part of the essence of the challenge.
Then again, it would be fine with me if everyone just got allowed 15 minutes per transition. What's all the rush about?
Also gave Buttercup a good cleanup so she'll be ready for race day too. I haven't really had any problems with her lately, so I'm not getting a tuneup done before the race. Everything looks fine with her except possibly I bent the elbow pad a little when I laid her down like a dumbass the other day because I failed to unclip. I never noticed it while riding, though, so no big deal.
I got snarked at on one of my email lists today. Someone said to me, "Are you considered a triathlete if you only race and never train?" What say you, dear readers?
In fairness, it was a rejoinder to a tongue-in-cheek post I had made earlier in the week wondering aloud if someone was a triathlete if they just happen to do three different activities in their spare time. I said you can be a runner if you never race, certainly. But I have my doubts about triathletes who never race. Seems to me the aspect of putting it all together on one day with a clock running is part of the essence of the challenge.
Then again, it would be fine with me if everyone just got allowed 15 minutes per transition. What's all the rush about?
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