The Last Few Days...

Can you believe it? The race is almost here! Only 11 days away... kinda scary. I'm pretty excited, just need to mentally prepare at this point.

So, lots of things are going on right now. 1 - I started a new job, so some new stress there. 2 - I'm leaving for the beach on Saturday up until race day practically. 3 - The rec center has been closed all week for maintenance! Needless to say, I haven't been training much this week either. At this point, it doesn't make a big difference. My big plan is to get lots of open water swimming in at the ocean all of next week. That way I can get over my fears and really figure out how to mentally calm myself down. That's my biggest fear at the moment - getting through the swim.

I plan on sending an email out to all of those who showed interest in coming out to race about spectator information and what to expect shortly. That being said - I'm not going to be able to keep up on my blogging. So this will probably be my last entry until the day before the race, race day, and the day after (which I have to work on now..blah).

Thanks for all the words of encouragement so far!

Day 84. Practice Tri

Today was an early morning. I was up at 4am to get ready and leave the house by 4:30am. I then had to drive to Annapolis, MD which is about 1.5 hrs from my house. Once I got there, we started setting up our transition areas. I was able to pick up my wetsuit since I missed out on the swim last weekend. We had a brief transition area clinic and then we were going to start the practice tri. Since I have never wore a wet suit before, I'm sure it was quite amusing to see me shake and pull to get myself into it. Boy are those things tight - nothing left to the imagination. The practice tri today consisted of a 300 yard swim in the Chesapeake Bay, a 10 mile bike, and a 2 mile run. All in all pretty much 1/3rd of the actual race.

The Swim
This was the first time I have ever swam in open water. I started out ok for the first 100m or so, but then I started to freak out (which I guess is normal for open water swimming) and then I had to switch to the backstroke to finish the race. Lesson learned from this was the start out real slow and work up to race pace. Also - just breathe and focus.

The Bike
The bike felt really good. The course was nice and flat. I've decided that I'm going to wear my camelback on race day just so I keep hydrated better.

The Run
It was the usual run. I start out horrible and slowly start to get better as it goes.

So, technically, today I am officially a triathlete. This was the first time I had done all three sports together and I think I did pretty good. I'm still alittle scared about the swimming, so I will definitely be practicing more while at the beach.

Day 78. OFF

I'm a little irritated how they announced the swim was actually on today. It was sent as an email at 7:51, when the swim started at 8 - and I live over an hour away! Needless to say, I didn't make it. I have to go help my friend, Jeff, move this afternoon and then I am off to a week long training course for work. Thankfully this week is a recovery week, so me missing my workouts probably aren't that big of a deal. In the long run, I think it will be better that I have the time off and am away from everything for a week. That includes the Internet. So, there will be no postings this week - hope you can live without them. :)

Day 77. So, I thought it was my last brick...

Due to Hurricane Bill - our open water swim was canceled for today and replaced with a grueling brick. Since it has been pouring all day practically, this had to be done at the gym. I didn't mind, because I like reading while on the bike, where I can't do that on the trail. :) So, I did 2 hours on the bike and then a 45 minute run on the treadmill. Overall, I feel pretty damn good. I'm not sure if the workout so well because I was focused on other things than the workout or if I it was the few things irking me lately that I was able to get the stress out. Either way I am stoked about how well the workout went.

Hopefully - they will try to reschedule the open water swim for tomorrow - but I think the chances look slim.

Day 76. Swim

I was able to get in a swim since I got out of work early today. It was just race distance. Nothing fancy. My foot started to cramp again at the end. I guess I really need to start drinking more water before workouts and not just AT workouts.

Day 75. OFF

I had to work late tonight, so no workout got in. I was exhausted by the time I got home, but boy did I sleep well.

Day 74. OFF

I was supposed to go swimming today, but believe it or not my dentist told me not to work out today. I've had this problem lately that I can get 8+ hours of sleep in and still feel completely exhausted when I wake up in the morning. When I went to the dentist today, I found out why. I've been trying to release my stress by clinching my jaw - therefore making my jaw hurt all the time and not getting good sleep. So, he told me to take the day off from training and try not stressing about getting my workouts in as much - also to try sleeping on my back and not my stomach for once. I'll let you know tomorrow if it helps any.