Anticipation

Preparing for a running race is natural and easy for me. Grab some gels, the ole kicks, and head out the door. Registration is optional for the shorter ones - you can do it race morning. I've been doing road races for years, and it's second nature to me.

Preparing for a swim meet falls into the same category, although I haven't done one of those in forever. When it's what you know, it's simple. Easy. Swimsuits, towels, chlorine and I go hand in hand.

Preparing for something you've never done before? Big. Scary. Exciting.

Yes, I said exciting. I should probably be in the fetal position in my basement right now, sucking my thumb and rocking back and forth. I should be scared shit less, and have those knots in my stomach I do before every race. I should be refreshing weather.com every 5 minutes, and planning the next day and a half down to the second. Yet I'm not. I'm excited. Mostly. That's the beauty of never having done a particular race or race distance before, and also not "racing" an event. I get to take in every moment of this race for what it is, and hang on to it. I get to file Sunday away as my first ever 70.3. And will have memories and stories to tell of "the first one". Just as I do about the Vermont City Marathon - my very first.

I wrote an email this morning to Lisa, as she and Scott will be hanging w/ Caitlyn during the race. It included when the race starts, when I can expect to come through T1, T2, etc, etc. I found myself being very conservative with times, and not stressing out about how many freakin' hours the eta for finish is from the swim start time. I forwarded to April, to make sure she agrees w/ my timeline.  I called Amanda, and asked her for help with nutrition - how many of "x" do I need, and how should I vary "y". And then I emailed Phil a shopping list for the bike shop. Gels, Gatorade, Bars, Sport Beans, Tequila. You know, the standard nutrition for an endurance event.

For now, the bike is still on the trainer (Phil is making her even more sexy with race wheels for Sunday - gotta make 15mph look good friends!)

And race stuff is starting to make it's way into a pile of sorts:

At some point tomorrow, I'll break my bike down, put everything into bags, and start to put on a game face of sorts.  I'll watch what I'm eating and drinking, and save the Patron for during the race, instead of pre-race. Duh.

Sunday is all about savoring the moments. All of them. I'll be outside, doing what I love on a beautiful day. I'll be surrounded by friends, and Caitlyn will be there cheering me on (how AWESOME is that?!?!). I know I'm not prepared for this race the way I should be, and I would naive to expect results to reflect anything but that. So for once, it's time to go into something with my eyes wide open and full of excitement.
Give it what I've got, and see what happens..

Happy Training!