T-Minus 21 Days!

Wow, things are really starting to happen! Today after group practice was the Bon Voyage party for the "other" half of our training team - next week, they're off to Austin, Texas for the Capital of Texas Tri next weekend. Good luck, guys - you're going to do great! But holy crap, that means OUR party is... gulp... in two weeks! Is it time ALREADY?

Every time I look at the schedule these days, I'm surprised. I remember how, back in January, I wouldn't even print the schedules for April and May, because they were so, so scary. Ride two hours AND run for 20 minutes? Back when a 20-minute run WAS my workout, I was so overwhelmed. And now? All but one of my biggest bricks (other than race day, of course) are behind me, our speedwork on bikes and runs is basically done, and while we still have a few long runs to go, I know that I can do them. What a difference five months makes!

Another big accomplishment - my fundraising bar has burst its boundaries! We DID IT! Thanks to every one of you who contributed - it's so great to have your support and to be able to go into these last weeks of training knowing that I've met my commitment to the Society. Well done!

I've got so much to fill you all in on... this might be a long post. Don't say I didn't warn you.

I kind of glossed over it in the first paragraph, but before the party started this morning, we had our second open-water (and first non-lake) swim. I won't kid you. It was kind of tough. It was all of the no-visibility of our previous lake swim, with the entertaining addition of currents and waves. Great for us Delaware participants, because that's JUST what we can expect on race day. But it was definitely easy to let your mind start running away with you - all "I can't do this, I keep swallowing water, the current is too strong, the waves are too big, how much longer to the next buoy? Am I last? Where did everybody go? How long have I been swimming? Shouldn't I be done by now?"

I kept my head, though, and managed to push through the swim without too much trouble. We didn't have the best objects to sight on, so I ended up doing more breaststroke than I ever have. That let me get my head high enough out of the water to spot the tiny buoy or larger (but still elusive) light tower. It also let me take a couple salt-water-free breaths.

The good stuff? My wetsuit felt great, my feet were numb from the cold water but NOT cramping (great news!) and when we practiced an in-water start I was in wave 2 and had SO much fun watching wave 1 start off and yelling and cheering for them.

What else? Oh, my new wheels! They're causing all sorts of technical difficulties as we adjust my bike around them (still haven't gotten things set up just right), and I neglected them all last week when I was in California, but I still love them. I definitely feel the difference - I'm generally riding a whole gear higher than I was on the old ones, and while I still won't break any land-speed records, I do see my speed coming up a bit, especially on the flats. Today, I'm going to give them new tires. Good times.

So, that's swim news, bike news, any run news? I got great runs in on my trip - a nice long one in Monterey, with perfect running weather - overcast and cool, that took me from my hotel down to Fisherman's Wharf. Fun. And a short one (recovery week!) in Nipomo, less than a mile from our most-likely wedding site. Then a crummy and rushed one on the treadmill at my hotel in San Diego. On Thursday, though, I had my most enjoyable run, I think. It wasn't particularly long, and I didn't go particularly hard, but I felt good almost the whole time and, more notably, wasn't looking at my watch every minute and a half. Progress!

To sum up, I'm feeling great! Recovery weeks are so important for me - mentally more than anything else. I really feel my mood improve, I'm not exhausted, and I have some extra time to rebalance my life. A little scary - this is my last recovery week before race day. We'll taper a bit, but my next recovery will be... hopefully... as a successful triathlete. Yikes!