Race Week: A Few Jitters

4 Days Away
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We leave bright and early for Clearwater Beach on Friday morning, but I'm in a virtual marathon until then to catch up on work deadlines, Turkey Trot correspondence and packing my gear. As you may or may not know, packing for a triathlon involves an entire evening of dismantling your bike and going through the mental checklist of everything I will need on race morning--goggles, body glide, wetsuit, sunscreen, socks, timing chip, running shoes, cycling shoes, hat, tri-suit, sunglasses...you get the point.

I met Amy for a Medium Paced 6-mile run on Monday morning. I was planning on taking the day off completely, but Amy called Sunday night looking for a running partner and I couldn't refuse. I was slightly hesitant because I had run Friday, biked 40 miles on Saturday and swam on Sunday Morning. Plus, I had just had a great deep tissue massage on Sunday afternoon. It turned out ok, though and the run felt great. I didn't feel any exhaustion or soreness whatsoever. We averaged a nice 8:46 per mile, so we weren't killing ourselves either.

The rest of the week is a wait and see. I'll probably swim and bike just a bit on Wednesday and then complete one final short 4-5 mile jog on Thursday. Mike, Richard and Thon arranged for an official "Send off" pasta dinner on Thursday after work. God, I love these guys...always looking for an excuse to eat :-)

The real race happens Friday when I arrive in Florida. Apparently, packet pickup ends at 2:00pm on Friday and I arrive in Florida around 11:30am. If all runs smoothly, I'll be fine. If not, I'll have all of my friends bombard the Race Office and let them know I'm en route. here's the number if you want to put it in speed dial. 1-727-593-6081 I'm serious, I may have to cause a scene if I'm running late. I'm definitely cutting it close with the car rental situation, bike transporting and commuting. I'm more nervous about this race than the actual event right now!!