3 Days Out

 

That’s it. 3 full days away from my first 70.3 and of course I have ALL THE FEELS. For the most part I have done a really good job distracting myself. Over the weekend I was worried that I would become a stress ball so to circumvent that I just planned lots of activities! On Saturday I slept in (it was glorious), made a lazy brunch, prepped the dessert/main dish I was bringing to the family get together that evening, shopped for birthday presents and enjoyed getting a bit dressed up. On Sunday I got up early and visited the local orchard with my sister. We picked apples, carrots, sweet potatoes, beets, greens, and zucchini. We ate apple cider donuts and kettle corn and it was wonderful! I came home and Chris and I began painting our bedroom (something we’ve put off for MONTHS). We still have one more wall to do and some touch-ups but it looks so good! And on Monday I had the day off so I cleaned the house, did more painting, went to lunch with Chris, got my race nails done (!!) and cooked dinner. ALL these things have worked miracles on helping me manage the stress excitement of the race. And for the most part I do feel really good.

In previous races I’ve been just so worried about everything that could go wrong for the week up to my race. This time, I KNOW I’ve put in the training. I know that I am very well prepared for this race and I know that come race day, everything I’ve been working towards will kick in and the stress will melt away because I’m doing something fun, something I love.

After 4ish days off from working out I was so incredibly grateful to hop in the pool yesterday. It didn’t matter that I was swimming later than normal because my usual pool is closed, or that my stomach wasn’t feeling the greatest. All that mattered was that I was in my element. One, two, three, breathe, one, two, three, breathe, kick harder, pull stronger, turn on the ‘after burners’, rest, start again. Those thoughts are the best part about swimming. Everything else just tends to fall away and all that matters is that you’re working hard, fighting for that pace despite it being the last set and racing the person next to you without them knowing ;) And for that, I am grateful. Grateful for this body that has adapted to every challenge I’ve thrown at it, that has leaned out in ways I didn’t think were possible (not that I really care these days what it looks like), and that has carried me to this point. I CAN NOT wait to toe that start line on Sunday. To pull harder than I have on a swim, to use these legs to their fullest potential, to fuel properly, to push hard on the run even though it’s going to be hot and then to cross that finish line so I can give my husband the biggest hug ever for putting up with this training and to hug my best friend for constantly listening to me ramble on about bike seats and tri kits and to kiss her adorable little baby because I hope she grows up knowing that she can do ANYTHING she sets her mind to. Wow. That was a run-on sentence if there ever was one. But really, this is going to be good. I really really hope it goes awesome. Catch you on the flip side ;