In 8 days I will set out to Lake Tahoe to take on the Triple Challenge: 2.5 mile swim, 72 mile bike, and a 13.1 mile run. It is very important that I REST and have FRESH muscles for the events.
To be perfectly honest, I am excited and dreading the event at the same time. I hope to God the swim isn't as horrible as I am anticipating. The cycle portion, I'm just going to accept as horrible and God awful, but maybe the downhills will be fun. As far as the run, I think it will be mentally the worst, but at least I can walk parts of it.
But I swear I actually am looking forward to it. It's exciting to compete, even if you know you're not achieving a PR that day, it's just fun to be in it with a group of others. You're competing as individuals, but at the end, you share the same experiences. Whether it's the climb, weather, a difficult course, etc, you all did it and share in that. At the finish line you share stories and agree that, the mud puddle on mile 4 was the nastiest thing Ive ever run through, or holy mother of God didn't you just feel like death on that last hill? It's strange, even though you all came there as individuals, you share this comradeship.
It will be mentally frustrating out there for me, because in all the competitions I've done in 2010, I've blown away my time at every single race. Now I'm going for experience, and to get a sense of how my body will feel, and see where I need to improve. And to see what it's like to compete on a bike.
So while the weekend of torture looms ahead of me, I'll be resting here in San Francisco. That's right - it's the week of taper!! I usually hate tapering, but you know what? After that ride to Mt. Tam, I'm really looking forward to it. In fact, I bought tickets to two plays, RSVPd to a party on Angel Island, and hope to see some of the new documentaries playing at the Roxie. I want fresh legs and no aches and pains (had a few back spasms earlier this month, and I really do not want to chance anything from now til then). I need to focus on rest, proper nutrition, and mentally prep myself for the tough parts of each course. And of course, enjoy all my social activities I have planned out from now til the 23rd.
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