It's here. THAT week. The week I've been planning for over a year. It rolled in like I imagine my 80th birthday will eventually... seemingly so far off until the day you wake up to cheesecake & martini's for breakfast (I vow to only eat cheesecake when I get there...79 years of green food certainly warrants a few of chocolate truffle with a crisp graham cracker crust... non?)
THAT week = taper. Oh I hope I do 80 more justice than I have done taper! I still have 2 days to go before race day, and it's been 8 days too long already. It's not the cutting back on volume that gets me, nor the public displays of recovery socks in sandals; it's the hunger. I can eat more during taper than I do at Joe Beef on a Saturday night. My body says 'feed me' ever so loud, every so often. And I, being the strong rock solid taperer that I am, give in, and eat.... and eat... and eat.... Dylan & I read Dr. Seuss in bed last night, each of us with a bowl of Cheerios.
I'm racing Clydesdale on Sunday.
I leave to Nowhere, NH very early tomorrow morning. I don't drive well, I get bored... so I packed snacks!
The normal pre-big race traditions have been done. The car is packed with enough tri-junk for a db Ironman. Extra goggles, extra helmet, toilet paper, extra race suit, extra massive can of Pam, 24 extra gels, an entire gallon of Hammer powder, and extra Gatorade- just in case... I have 4 tubes, 4 Co2 thingys, and my pump: If you have a friend, who has a friend who is in need of a friend on race day because they forgot something... call me!!! I have extra!!
My bike computer is set to miles. My watch has a new battery. Knowing me, I'll drive into the sunrise tomorrow and forget my bike.
For some reason, out of all the races on my Bucket List, this one represented the most to me personally. To say the training has calmed my fears is not a lie, but to say it took all the courage & determination I have in me is certainly an understatement. So what do I predict for Sunday??? I have no clue!!! I know I will be happier than anyone has ever seen me. I know my cheeks will hurt from smiling as much as my quads will hurt from the hills. I know I will cry over Dylan's little picture taped to my bike stem, and I will laugh in transition because he painted on my mat (A stick man with the biggest penis-looking head standing on a pogo-stick as he wins a race). I pray it doesn't rain, not only for my lack of bike skills, but also so the washable marker he used doesn't fade away...
When I started this blog, it was about my journey to Timberman. It never became much about my training, but much more about the thoughts that went through my mind during training. I don't know who reads this, but for you who does- I thank you. This eat-festival of a taper would be much less manageable if not for the amazing friends I have made along the way... :) If you can take one more posting of my silliness, there will be a full race report next week... after that, I still don't know....
Until then, train safe.