less than two days!

I can’t believe the Tri is almost here!! Less than two days away!! I found a suit that is going to work, a cross back, navy blue speedo. It was too snug to wear when I started my training back in November, but it fits perfectly now. So I’ll wear that with my sports bra- I know, dorky, but the girls must be contained when I run! There is no where to change during transitions, so my only option is to wear it when I swim. Thankfully, it’s fitted very well and it’s made of that wicking material, so it won’t sag or get lose when it gets wet. Plus it won’t create drag when I swim.

Anyhoo, so my suit is navy, my bike/jog shorts are black, my bike/run shirt is this really cool cross between an aqua and a seafoam green- it’s Under Armour- I feel like such an athlete!! I also have a white Under Armour hat. I love the UA stuff because it feels great against your skin and it helps keep you cool! Maybe it will help my endurance and speed too!! I can hope right??!!

So my mantra right now is “I am fast, I am strong!” I am trying to keep that in my mind all day long. I swam today, only because I haven’t in like two weeks and I was really hoping I hadn’t forgotten how!! I felt fine in the water and tested out some new goggles. I had a good pair and then lent them out and never got them back (I didn’t expect to, and the were like $15 anyway.). So I bought a new pair, just like the old ones and they leaked!! I kept looking for other options, but never found any I liked!! Finally I was at Dicks a week ago and found two pair I liked, so bought both. I think they’ll work  out fine.

So I am getting my bag together, and thinking about all the things I’ll need for the race, other than the obvious, goggles, bike, running shoes. Like my helmet, bike gloves, bottled water. There are some neat things I have picked up along my training journey as well…like a race belt. This is so you can forego spending time stabbing yourself with safety pins before you go out for your run. There are these little strings attached to an elastic belt with removable toggles so all you have to do is slide the strings through the holes on your race number and replace the toggles- piece of cake!! I also got a little zippy pocket to put on the belt so I can put in my chap stick, and Clif Shots. Oh and Clif Shots! Think gatorade in Jello cube form- to keep you from running out of energy and crashing! What else-0h, GEUX, I think it’s pronounced “goo” and it is dual purpose, tire repair/tire inflator. That way if I get a flat, I can just shoot my tire up with this and be on my way. That way I won’t have to walk 13 miles with my bike, so I can finish or be picked up by the Sag Wagon and not finish!

So I’ve prepared as much as I can, all that is left to do is the psychological side of things. I have been visualizing the race from beginning to end every free 15 min I get to myself. That and my mantra and a little deep breathing when I feel like I’m going to freak out!

I’ve also been trying my best to keep busy, but not too busy. I want to clean my whole house right now, spic and span, but I would get so tired if I did, so I settled for picking up a little and wiping down the bathrooms. Tomorrow I may have to vacuum and maybe even mop, but I don’t think that’s going too overboard.

Tomorrow I have to go to the race site to pick up my race packet, so it will be nice to kind of get my peace while I am there and see the site- hopefully they will have the swim buoys up in the lake, because I know what 500m in the pool looks like, but I would like to see what it looks like in open water.

I’m nervous and excited at the same time. It looks like there are 400 people entered in the race- though there are a couple of events too…the olympic (same tri, but each part is twice as long), the duathlon- run bike run, and the relay- for those folks who’d rather not do the whole tri by themselves. So not everyone is doing the Sprint like me, but it’s good to know there will be a lot of people out on the course, because I would hate to be scrutinized!!

So I think that is all I need to say about it now…I am sure I will be checking in again tomorrow,  and then of course on Saturday (if I’m still alive), to give you the lowdown!!