Not According To Plan

My plan for this morning was to get up and go for a quick run. Nothing too fast or serious, just one more stretch of the legs before the race. However, after having gotten up before 5 AM yesterday and staying up until about 1 AM last night, it just wasn't happening. I tried to get up. I snoozed once, twice, five times ... okay, I'll be honest, I snoozed for an hour and 15 minutes. At that point, Drew was poking me saying that I should get out of bed. But I just couldn't do it. I was still so exhausted that the thought of getting up was just excruciating. I have justified this to myself for the following reasons: (1) I have already spent enough hours working out this week according to my overall plan and (2) being well rested going into the race is the whole point of the taper week.

I won't have a chance to squeeze in a workout this evening and it's unlikely that I'll do anything tomorrow, so I guess now the only thing left to do is to lay out my race plan. At this point, the weather is looking pretty dismal. It's supposed to start raining Saturday evening and rain right on through Sunday morning until the late afternoon. Oh, and it will most likely only be in the mid-50s in the morning during the race. We just got an e-mail from the race this morning that said: "Sunday's weather forecast is calling for a chance of showers. In the event there is inclement weather and we do get rain, the race will go on. We will take into consideration your safety first and that of the volunteers. If the weather does get too severe, we have the right to modify the race. These changes, if any, will only be altered on race morning. We are looking forward to a safe and dry race for you all!"

I am trying to be a good sport about this. I want to say that it doesn't impact me at all. Except that I know that it does. I am hoping against hope that these weather predictors are getting it wrong this time and that it'll stop raining Saturday night and won't be raining Sunday morning. But, since I know it will be cold and most likely rainy, all I can do is try to alter my plan a little bit to fit the conditions.

I want to try to get to the race on the earlier side. Transition opens at 5 and I think I'd be happy arriving around that time. I would rather set everything up and try to get out my nervous jitters at the race site. I'm also hoping that by getting there early, I can sneak into the water before-hand to get acclimated to the water temperature. Clearly, nothing about the day will be warm, so maybe it won't be such a shock in the water!

For the swim, what I want to do is just settle into a relaxed rhythm. I know that it is likely to have a lot of elbows flying, but I'm hoping that I can not pay attention to that and just keep a nice easy pace on the swim. I want to make sure I don't let the adrenaline get the best of me from the start, so I think it's going to be really important to just take it easy.

In T1, I plan on putting on a long-sleeved shirt and my biking vest in order to cut down on some of the windchill on the bike in 56 degree weather. This will actually be useful as my biking vest has bigger pockets than my tri top and this way I can carry my stuff with me more easily (nutrition, sunglasses, etc.).

For the bike, I'm hoping I can remember to drink often and make sure I'm eating. It's going to be harder for me to remember to drink if it's not hot, so I'm really going to have to make a conscious effort to do so. I also need to remember to try to hold back a little bit as I need to save something in my legs for the run. I really felt like I was holding back on Thursday at the brick, so I'm hoping to remember that and carry over some of that.

In T2, I may or may not take off the biking vest and long-sleeved shirt depending on how I'm feeling temperature wise and what the weather is currently like. If it's raining, I think I'll definitely wear a running hat to try to keep some of the rain out of my eyes.

For the run, I'm going to just take it easy and remember that while this is a race, I'm just there to do my personal best. I know that at some point during the run, probably 2-3 miles in, I'll be exhausted from the effort of the day. But I think if I can run through that, I'll be able to finish the race running. I know that I will stop and walk through the aid stations, as I think at that point I'll really need the water and I'd prefer to make sure I'm actually drinking the water instead of spilling it down my shirt (which is what would happen if I ran). I am actually thinking of trying to incorporate some pick-ups into the run, because it seems to be easier for me to go further when I can keep myself busy with the speeding up and slowing down.

All in all, I think anything under 4 hours will make me extremely happy and proud of all that I've accomplished in the past seven months. It's still crazy to me to think that I've put in all this effort and now the day is almost here. I'm sure I'll be nervous and worried until that morning when they tell us that we can either do the full triathlon or the plans will be adjusted, but I'm going to just keep hoping that I can do the race that I've been training for.

Let's Make A Deal

OK, Mother Nature. Here's the deal: It can rain all day today. It can rain all day Sunday. But let's just have a little rest from approximately 6 AM on Saturday until about noon. OK? I think that's a fair compromise! I had a rough night sleeping. I woke up about 4 times during the night, which isn't like me at all. I know it's all nerves since each time I woke up, I vaguely remembered some sort of triathlon dream. The worst part was that I think I'm going to go through all of that again tonight, too!

I am mostly excited for tomorrow. I started lying out all of the things I need to take with me in the morning so I won't forget something in my sleepiness. My goal for tomorrow is to finish the race. I don't really know what to expect on the times, but I'm hoping that I can get the whole thing done in about an hour an a half. Really, anything under two hours and I'll be happy. I have no idea what to expect for transition times, but I'm hoping that the second one doesn't take as long as the first.

This is my general plan for the race: Wake up early and eat a good breakfast at home. Finish packing up and get into a cab at about 5:30 to head to Staten Island. Hopefully I will arrive around 6 AM. If the Terrier trailer is there, I will get my bike and head over to the transition area to rack my bike and start setting up my area. I would like to get in a quick run (about 10 minutes or so) and I'd also like to get into my wetsuit and get into the water so that I can acclimate my body before the actual race. If I spend about 5-10 minutes in the water, I think I will be good with that. There is a mandatory race meeting at 7:35, so that will be my time to relax and calm down before the race starts.

I am in Wave #2, which goes at 8:05. My plan for the swim is to start strong and try to stay out in front of the wave of swimmers. I would like to swim hard, but also be relaxed. I don't want to burn all my energy on the swim. As soon as my hand starts hitting while swimming in, I will stand up and start running in while also pushing my goggles up to my forehead. I will then unzip my wetsuit and peel it down to below my hips. If I'm still running to transition, I will take my cap and goggles completely off. Once I get into the transition area, I will pull the wetsuit down the rest of the way and get out of it. I plan on taking the additional time to rinse off and dry my feet as I don't think that I will have a comfortable rest of my race with sand in my socks. To finish up my transition, I will put my socks and bike shoes on. I will clip my race belt around my waist. I will put my helmet on and clip it. If I need my sunglasses, I will take those with me as well. I will then head towards the exit and out for my bike.

Once on the bike, I know the course is supposed to be flat, so I'd like to at least keep my regular average of about 15 MPH. If it's more than that, I'll be extremely happy, but I'd like to keep it at least at my normal level. I will remember to drink as much as possible on the bike course. Especially because I need to make sure that I'm hydrated enough for the run. Ideally, I'd like to finish the bike in 50 minutes or less. When heading back to transition, I will remember to unclip from the pedals before stopping to avoid an embarrassing fall! Once I've racked my bike again, I will take off my helmet, switch from bike to running shoes, grab my running hat, move my race number around to the front and head back out to the course. I will remember that drinking is a good thing and if there is water on the course, I will take it. I hope to run at a 10 minute mile pace. Obviously, if it's faster, that would be fantastic, but anything around 10 minutes/mile will make me very happy. I hope to finish the run strong and sprint towards the finish line with a smile on my face at the finish.

I'll be posting a full race report tomorrow after the race! I can't believe that it's already time for my first race. I know that it's just a sprint and that it's not a huge deal in the scheme of things, but I will say that I'm really proud of myself for getting this far. I had no idea in February what exactly I was getting myself into. I've stuck with the training for the most part and I didn't burm myself out. In fact, I am looking forward to upping the training level a bit for Westchester once Saturday is over. But, let's not get ahead of ourselves. One race at a time...