3 Weeks and 3 Days!

Holy Moly, my half Ironman is 3 weeks and 3 days away.  There is so much going on between now and race day. The next few weeks are going to be super busy trying to get ready for the race as well as trying to keep up with everything else going on in life.

This weekend I'm competing in the Toyota U.S. Open Triathlon.  This will be my second olympic distance.  I did my first one in July in 3:07, and I'm hoping to finish this one in under 3 hours.  This race has been on the books for a while, but it really hasn't been on my radar until recently. This race will be a great way for me to measure my progress over the last few months.  This week I'm tapering so I should be ready to go by Sunday.

I spent the first couple days this week nursing a training hangover. It's not a whole lot different from a traditional hangover.  My training on Saturday consisted of a 3000 yd (120 laps, 30 football fields, or 1.7 miles) swim, 70 mile bike ride, and about 2.5 mile run.  My long run on Sunday ended up being 13.1 miles.  The first half of Saturday's bike ride was pretty good, except for the part when we were chased by dogs.  We managed to stay vertical, and the dogs kept all their fur.  The second half of the ride was straight into a head wind.  I hate dealing with the wind!  We tried to pretend like we were happy to have the opportunity to train in the wind because it would make us stronger, but we knew it was b.s.  We really just wanted an easy ride.  At one point I noticed a few of those tan colored grasshoppers again.  There weren't as many as there were a few weeks earlier (hmmm...), but I though that trying to run over them would help bring a little of the joy back.  It didn't work. The crunch of the grasshoppers under my tires didn't really give me the same satisfaction as it once did.

The wind continued to suck everything from my body.  I had a variety of nutrition with me, but nothing was hitting the spot. I knew exactly what I needed, so I pulled into the Bobcat Kuntry store in Celina for a jar of pickles. Yes, pickles.  Well, actually, I wanted the juice.  It may sound gross, but it sure did hit the spot. I really didn't even care that the jar had sat on the shelf long enough to collect nice black layer of dust.  I had just enough in my tank to make it the rest of the way back.  After loading our bikes into our cars, we headed out for a 30 minute run.  I was whipped when all was said and done. Thanks again to Jeneen.  I couldn't have made it without her.

On race day I'll have a 56 mile bike ride as opposed to the 70 that I did this weekend, but I'll also have 13.1 mile run instead of a 30 minute run.  I'm curious to see how it will all come together.  On Sunday I ran 13.1 miles for the second time ever.  The first time was in March for the Rock-n-Roll half marathon.  I ran the distance 13 minutes faster in March, but that was on fresh tapered legs.  On Sunday my legs were already tired when I began, but they didn't feel as bad by the end as they did in March.  Progress?  I'd say so.

I have no experience with the half Ironman distance, so I really don't know how bad it is going to feel.  That may be a good thing.  I'm sure this weekend's training was just an appetizer.  I expect to be very uncomfortable Austin.  This morning I went in for very unpleasant dental work...a temporary crown.  It was over 90 minutes of pure misery. Yes, I had drugs, and it still sucked!  During the procedure I kept thinking about my race, and how there may be times I want to quit because it's so uncomfortable.  I tried to think of my time in the dentist chair as my training in suffering.

I do take comfort in the fact that I will have tons of support in Austin.  My parents will be there. This will be the first time they will get to see me race.  I also have a ton friends who are making the trip out there, both to compete and to support.  There is nothing better than seeing familiar faces on the course.  Sometimes just hearing, "Go Amy" is all I need to dig a little deeper and find that little bit of strength I didn't know was still there and keep going.  I'm am one lucky girl!

"Courage means being afraid to do something, but still doing it." - Knute Rockne