One week

One week from now I will be racing my first half Ironman distance in the heart of Muskoka. I keep telling myself that if I make it to the run, there is no reason not to finish. I'm ready. I've been training for this race for a year now, after walking on the Ironman carpet during my first volunteer experience at this same race. I've trained for hills, wind, heat, rain, even for choppy water and lake weeds. There is nothing I can do at this point other than paying attention where I step (I am the champion of ankle rolls), who I am hanging with (if you're sick, stay away from me or I'll poke you with a fork) or what I put down my throat (a cronut burger? thanks but no thanks!).

This taper is not like the others, at least until now. I am calm and confident. I know that I may not sleep the night leading to the race, but until then, I appreciate the silence in my head. There is some background noise, but it's more of a soft white noise than a loud fanfare. There are fears that all of us triathletes face. A flat tube, a broken chain, a derailleur flying out, dehydration, tummy ache, sunburn, dodging bottles, people and potholes on fast winding roads, accidents, black eyes and broken goggles, going out too fast, fading too early, and dying in the most literal sense of the word. For once these fears have not been keeping my brain going round in circles all day and all night, but I wonder if this isn't just the calm before the storm. For sure my stomach will start to rebel and all kinds of pains will come out of nowhere, everywhere. But I know better. They won't stop me from being at the starting line in Hunstville, on September 8.

This week we had our last long workouts before the race. Last run, a 12k on Friday, early in the morning nonetheless, last bike ride, a 50k "very hard aerobic" this morning (what the hell does that mean? is it race pace? I hammered it just in case) and in the afternoon, our last open water swim, a 2.25km at James Dick Quarry in Caledon. None of these hurt and that's a good sign. I wonder if I didn't turn zombie sometime in the last 3 months. Maybe my pain sensors are all un-dead by now. 

Next week I'll have 3 rest days. It sounds like a lot, but I'll sure try to enjoy them. I have been debating what to wear on race day. I have this nice SOAS tri kit, but it's too big and I don't know how it will feel out of the water. Either it's gotten bigger with each wash cycle, or I'm shrinking, but I realize now how an M size would have fit so much better. It's not that I had a choice anyway (all sold out)... Oh well, next time... You can see how loose it fits, especially on top. With an extra bra underneath maybe there is a chance that it will stay put. It can get pretty outrageous when I'm assuming the aero position on the bike. I certainly don't want my boob spillage to create any accidents! I think I'm going to hop in the shower with it and decide afterwards. First world problems. *sigh*

And that's about it for this post. It was just a quick update to let you know that the I've been taming the taper crazies like a champ and to my surprise I haven't stabbed anyone in the process. I'm proud of myself. I think I can get to the starting line with all my sanity. Or almost. Since when endurance athletes are anything less than crazy? 

One more week. Wait for it...

And now we wait...

The Toronto Triathlon Festival is just 2 days away! And I've got the taper crazies pretty badly. It's not that I even stopped exercising like before Guelph Lake Tri earlier this year, but I have a few extra rest days, well needed by the way. So much needed that I have all the imaginary pains going from my right pinky toe to my left ear lobe across and up and down and sideways. Today I could not take it anymore and I booked a massage therapy session for after work tomorrow. I will also ask my therapist to make a fire and sing while dancing around me a few times counter clock wise for good juju. By the way, I just tried to stand up and noticed that my pain got 10 times worse in my quads, of course.

The past 7 days have been intense, no questions about that. I must have also eaten more, because somehow I woke up with 4 extra pounds which I decided to lose stat. All before Sunday. How? By thinking really really hard about 6 pack abs, cyclist thighs and tight butts, while drinking a beer and eating chicken wings and ice cream. If you really, really want it... well, wait for it, it will happen (said no one, ever). Yeah, I feel flabby and bloated and I'm not even PMSing, but some days I imagine that I'm pregnant. There's got to be a reason to this madness!!

And then there is the bike which is waiting for a flat or some other mechanical failure, like my derailleur flying out or the chain getting stuck between cogs. There is always a possibility, other than me crashing and breaking my neck and dying. All this, in my head, day in and day out. For some reason I haven't thought about drowning or getting eaten by a sea creature that somehow made it to Lake Ontario yet, but I'll be watching Sharknado tomorrow and that should take care of it.

The only way to make them taper crazies go away, is to look at these pictures and tell myself that I've got this (more or less...)! Hopefully, without a flu developing overnight, some super-extreme heat alert that melts the Gardiner or a tornado spout that spits me out of the canal. Oh I have a fertile imagination, you should be afraid.

Wheee, boobies!

Watching Zin swim is fun

Holy mother of quads!

He's going to kick serious butt

And... Back to boobies!

Yeah, well, distractions are good. Much better than this, right?

Photo by Joey Mole, Safety Harbour, FL

I think I'm going to drown my worries in a guacamole hat. Over and out!