70.3 - Not so much

In keeping with the tradition of how my training season has been going ... I got the flu & and had a horrible fever the night before my make-shift-Ironman. Yup, once again, my attempts to prepare myself are shot down because I literally can't get out of bed. At this point, I just want to finish at Lake Placid in the 17 hours allotted. That's all I want.

70.3!

With the help of some great friends - I will be doing a "make shift" half ironman this weekend. It will be a 1.2 mile swim in the SF Bay, a 56 mile ride in SF, Marin County, and the Peninsula, and a 13.1 mile run in Golden Gate Park & Ocean Beach. My new apartment by the park made this event all the more convenient.

I also signed up for a Century two weeks before the IM. I may drop down to the 70 mile option though ... we'll see.

These events (I hope) will make me more confident for IM. I'm really nervous & so scared I won't make the bike cut off times. I do want to enjoy Lake Placid though ... I don't want it to be ruined by worrying & anxiety....

I have been watching you tube's of the LP IM all afternoon and I'm getting excited to go to NY!

I am still nervous and really scared, but I am starting to remember why I wanted to do this & why I want to be a part of this. It was very motivating to watch Matt Long cross the finsih line in the 2009 IM.

Also, am remembering how nervous and scared I was to do the Tahoe events, and yes, they're not the same as doing the IM, but I DID come in 7th in my age group on the run, and that was after 72 miles of biking the day before, a frigid 2.5 mile swim the day before that, and we went to 7000ft. I think I can do Lake Placid.

I'm still nervous about Lake Placid. But I have been thinking a lot about crossing the finish line. And how great it was to be up there during race week. And I am looking forward to that.

I know I can endure a marathon while in pain or not feeling well (thank you 2008 Boston Marathon) and I feel confident doing a 2.4 mile swim with a wetsuit. Still terrified of the other 3500 swimmers who are also going at the same time.

The bike course is still the number one most terrifying thing in my life right now. Miles 35-65 are constant climbing. But there is a huge recovery hill after that, and you can stop at mile 56 for special needs bag (for me that will be a PB & J sandwich and coconut juice). Then it's another huge climb from 100 - 112.

Then it's the marathon. Which is all hills.... and yea actually that kinda sucks. But, the good thing is, there's a crowd and that always helps, and I can walk parts of it.

So maybe there is hope and with the downhill recoveries on the bike, and hearing the crowd cheer all the athletes on, I'll get to the finish.

Getting Excited!

I'm trying to be positive and less doomsday-ish about this triathlon. Afterall, it has been a dream for a very long time and hating it and worrying about it doesn't help.

I think the swim will take 1.5 hours. Then being conservative, the transition, getting the bike, let's round it to .5 hours. At this point it will be 9 AM. Again, being conservative, the bike should take me 8 hours. This now puts me at 5 PM. I think have 7 hours to do the marathon. On a good/fast day, I can run a marathon in 4 hours. After 112 miles of biking, it will most likely take 6 - 6:15.

I think I can finish, I hope that I can. If not, I know that I try my hardest anyways.

Great Week!

I actually worked out! I did a 15 mile run and over 110 miles on the bike this week, and did a small bay swim. I hope to do a few 80 milers on the bike before going to LP. If I can do that, and swim 2-3000 yards a week, I think I'll be okay. Will I finish in under 14 hours? Not sure. But to be honest, I just want to finish, and enjoy it. That's all I care about.

Did two small rides this week, a lot of TRX, and a 1 mile swim in the bay. Feeling better and feeling better about the event too. Obviously training hasn't been going as planned this spring, but I'll do what I can from now until July 24 to get ready.