Blog #8 for EndurancePlanet.com - originally posted on 9/16/2009
100 mile ride -- check. 20 mile run -- check. Spend the next three weeks a little panicked at how I'm going to combine the two, with longer distances, into the same day -- check.
Actually, as I hit the home stretch now, I'm not too panicked. My legs felt strong after my century ride and my feet held up for the entire 20 mile run. If I can say those two things at Kona on October 10, I should be in good shape. Of course, good shape is all relative. For me that means on my way to finishing between the 11:00pm-12:00am hour. I will certainly be chasing the clock at Kona. But I think and truly believe that I now have the tools to actually chase that clock.
One more tough weekend of workouts ahead should put the icing on the confidence cake. A seven hour brick on Saturday and a long swim on Sunday should be the final big workouts that my body needs to get me across the finish line. Then it's just maintenance, taper (a word I've been waiting a long time to say), and reflection on the upcoming job.
Of course race day won't be just a job. I need to be focused, for sure. I need to be about business, without a doubt. But it's also an opportunity of a lifetime. I'll need to be sure and soak in every moment. I don't want to get so caught up in my own work that I can't enjoy the fact that early into my bike ride I'll be seeing the greatest athletes in the world zipping down the other side of the Queen K Highway. If I can remind myself to ride my own race while at the same reveling in the surrounding spectacle, I should be okay.
I'll have almost three weeks to get my mental focus in line with the physical work. For me I think that's plenty of time. I'm going to hurt. I'm going to have some rough hours on the course. But this isn't chemotherapy. This isn't recovery from a heart transplant. It's an amazing event that by the grace of God I get to participate in.
In just over three weeks, regardless of how it ends, I'll be living the most amazing day of my life.
I can't wait.
Actually, as I hit the home stretch now, I'm not too panicked. My legs felt strong after my century ride and my feet held up for the entire 20 mile run. If I can say those two things at Kona on October 10, I should be in good shape. Of course, good shape is all relative. For me that means on my way to finishing between the 11:00pm-12:00am hour. I will certainly be chasing the clock at Kona. But I think and truly believe that I now have the tools to actually chase that clock.
One more tough weekend of workouts ahead should put the icing on the confidence cake. A seven hour brick on Saturday and a long swim on Sunday should be the final big workouts that my body needs to get me across the finish line. Then it's just maintenance, taper (a word I've been waiting a long time to say), and reflection on the upcoming job.
Of course race day won't be just a job. I need to be focused, for sure. I need to be about business, without a doubt. But it's also an opportunity of a lifetime. I'll need to be sure and soak in every moment. I don't want to get so caught up in my own work that I can't enjoy the fact that early into my bike ride I'll be seeing the greatest athletes in the world zipping down the other side of the Queen K Highway. If I can remind myself to ride my own race while at the same reveling in the surrounding spectacle, I should be okay.
I'll have almost three weeks to get my mental focus in line with the physical work. For me I think that's plenty of time. I'm going to hurt. I'm going to have some rough hours on the course. But this isn't chemotherapy. This isn't recovery from a heart transplant. It's an amazing event that by the grace of God I get to participate in.
In just over three weeks, regardless of how it ends, I'll be living the most amazing day of my life.
I can't wait.
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