final preparations

each day brings me one day closer to the race. each day is one less day of waiting, one less day of trying to be a meteorologist, one less day of preparing, one less day of worrying that i am not doing something right, one less day of wondering.

each day i look at my watch during random times of the day and try to envision where i will be on race day. that is a part of the taper, to "visualize" the race. i remember lying on the bleachers in highschool preparing for the conference meets and visualizing each stroke, each flip off the wall, each race. this time things are different. an ironman is a little too long to visualize each movement during the course of the day.

on today's bike ride i envisioned i was heading out to the loop. keeping a nice relaxed pedal stroke, trying, yet failing miserably to stay in my seat, and most importantly trying to loosen up and feel ready. i felt a little tight when i first started which quickly improved.

unfortunately with extra time you notice things. i felt a little twinge here, a little twinge there and was wondering if it meant anything. wondering if at mile 88 it would come back and be more than just a twinge. wondering if it is all in my mind.

but some things are for sure. sunday is coming. there is no turning back the clock. the weather systems will do what they want to do, despite my continued encouragement to go in some other direction. the cannon will go off, and i will race. it will be tough, it will hurt, there will be points where i might just want to quit, but i will keep going, and i will have a blast in the process.