Happy May! (Or as my family would say, "pinch and a punch for the first day of the month")
In a few days I will be racing my first race of the season. It just so turns out that this is a BIG race- not merely because of the distance (1/2 ironman- 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run) but because it's in California where it will be 90 degrees, very hilly AND I will have driven to California from Denver (which I am in the process of right now!). My choice to drive vs fly is mainly due to the fact that I literally just got my new time trial bike and I really don't want to take it apart to ship it. Also, the airfare, rental car fare and hassle of lugging a bike around makes a road trip seem so much more desirable. Plus it's a ROAD TRIP! Adding to the craziness of this race is that it's venue has changed a bit due to low water conditions in the lake we are swimming in. The swim start is now 2.2 miles away from the transition area (where the bike is racked). This means all athletes have to get shuttled to the swim start, where we complete the swim and at the water's edge, get out of our wetsuits, throw on a pair of sneakers and run 2.2 miles back to the transition. And THEN we get on the bike for a hilly 56 mile ride. (For those of you who do not know a normal triathlon progression- it's usually swim, bike then run: not swim, run, bike, run).
Ever since learning of the challenges of this course I have had to really take a step back and mentally prepare for not just the brutality and suffering of the race (which I have no problems with) but with my goal times for this half ironman. I have no right comparing it to others I've done and my expectations for a personal record need to be abolished mentally so that I can blissfully celebrate upon it's completion.
This will be one heck of a way to begin May 2014!
How will YOU begin this month? (...Perhaps donating to a wonderful cause (please)???)
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