The last week before the big day. Not a lot of training. SO
much to do in terms of race preparation and quieting the mind, or at least the
negative chatter in the mind.
Week 40 (August 18-23)
|
Cumulative
|
|
Total
training hours
|
04:18
|
580:49
|
Swim
|
01:39 / 3.823
km
|
120:05 / 251.9814
km
|
Bike
|
01:47 / 47.7
km
|
217:31
(spin class + trainer time + 3358.7 km)
|
Run
|
01:22 / 13
km
|
146:47 / 1453.96
km
|
Strength
training
|
40:08
|
|
Yoga
|
52:25
|
Recall in my last post that I was panic stricken dismayed
to learn that my bike servicing would be a whole lot more involved than I had
bargained for. Well good friends never let you down, and fortunately, neither
did my Visa card. A trip or two to MEC for parts, and an afternoon spent with a
good friend / trainer / bike mechanic, and my ride was looking Sa-weet!
Seriously, this man always delivers. Thanks to his efforts and the fabulous
race wheels courtesy of Gray Cycling Canada, my bike was looking gorgeous and
fast.
Tuesday was my last swim at Sasamat before leaving for the
race. And while I still hadn’t mastered straight, I was happy with the pace and
feeling comfortable. It was also my last run at home and I was feeling the
effects of the taper. It was an easy 8K run with a few 1 minute zone 3 “bursts”
and I found myself easily hitting my 5K race pace. Although let’s be real… a
lot can feel easy when you only need to sustain it for a minute!
Wednesday was the day we were leaving for Penticton, but not
before sneaking in a ride at home… my first ride with both race wheels on and
freshly tuned. The bike felt fast and I felt great. And then it was time to hit
the road… and suddenly everything felt terrifyingly real!
Thursday morning I didn’t have any training to do, but I got
up early to head out and have a look at the lake at 6:45. After my shitty
training swims on the long weekend, I needed to see the lake at swim-start
time, and (hopefully) see it calm. It was worth getting up early.
Thursday was also check-in day, a perfect opportunity to begin obsessing and worrying… “I don’t look like these people”… “I can’t do this”… I may have had one or two overwhelmed tearful meltdowns. On the upside, the wristbands they issued to tag the pain junkies could not have been more perfect. Pink and sparkly.
Friday morning, I got up early to swim at 6:45 and was glad
I did. The lake was calm. I barrel raced around buoys that had been put out for
the kids tri, practicing my sighting and giving me a destination for my
unstructured 30 minute swim. Finally! A good swim in this lake! I was glad I’d
gotten up early. 90 minutes or so later when I went out to watch friends swim,
the wind had picked up and the water was choppy.
Later I logged my last run
before race day, 5K along the water. Feeling good. Feeling ready. And then not.
And then ready. And then not. And then I lost a contact lens. Laughed that I’d
had the foresight to order new contacts before race day, but not the presence
of mind to pack them. Had 2 glasses of wine and a sleeping pill and called it a
day!
Saturday morning… last day… 10 minute swim with a slight
chop… and an easy 30 minute ride. I opted to do this on my favourite part of
the course. Andrew drove me to the top of McLean Rd.
Driving out there, we passed a lot of people out riding and running… nothing
for me to do but sit and think, and worry. Cry a little. I was feeling
incredibly stressed, and overwhelmed with doubt. I rode through that charming
stretch of old west, checked out the new pavement heading down into OK Falls,
and then headed out to Vaseux Lake. My 30 minute easy spin took me 13 km even.
Lucky? It was the only time I wasn’t
stressed that day and I wished I could spend the whole day on the bike… uh huh, save that thought for tomorrow!
Nothing
left to do after that but make an umpteenth check of my gear & special
needs bags, compulsively check the weather forecast, check in my bike and my gear bags, check the weather, have dinner, check the weather… and try to get some
sleep. Bahahahahahaha.
Week 40 looked like this:
Monday
|
|
Tuesday
|
2.3 km lake swim
8 km run
|
Wednesday
|
35 km ride
|
Thursday
|
|
Friday
|
1.3 km lake swim
5 km run
|
Saturday
|
10 minute swim (321 m)
13 km ride
|
And then what happened? That’s another post…
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