"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

Never, Never, Never Quit.

FIGHT....................FINISH

Countdown to B2B

I CAN

Monday, October 27, 2008

Race week is finally here!!!

Race week arrives along with a couple of cold fronts. Yesterdays 30 mile ride was quite windy and chilly. Probably the coolest weather I've ridden in in 6 months, and it was still in the low 60's when I rode. I felt very good though, and my freshly tuned up bike with new race tires seemed to work very well.

This morning is was 49. Race day weather has been all over the map the last week according to long range forecasts but it's starting to settle in now. Looks like we'll be swimming in mid to upper 40s(that's going to be very cold, especially since I only own a sleeveless LongJohn wetsuit), riding in temps up to 70 with a slight breeze and running temps dropping into the mid 40s. Right now, it looks like there will be no rain at all(fingers crossed). So, if the forecasts hold out, I'll not be able to blame the weather at all.

Yesterday, I started feeling a little bit of a cold or allergies. Nothing too much, just a little drainage in my throat and a little congestion. Hopefully with a good week of sleep it will clear up quickly.

The final week will consist of a 2000 yard swim today, a short 2 mile run tonight, a 4 mile run tomorrow and a 20 mile bike on Wednesday before loading up and heading out Wednesday night. We're hoping to get about 4 hours of driving in Wednesday night so we only have about 6 hours to drive on Thursday.

Several times in the past week it's felt kind of surreal. I've always wanted to do an Ironman but truth be told, there were many times I thought it would just be too much. But after a the summer of training, having done 4 half iron distance races and all the marathons I've done, I think I know what to expect. And that is PAIN!! There is still the unknown, how will by body and mind respond once the sun goes down and I've been out there all day. I guess we'll know the answer to that in less than 5 days.
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Sleep well! You've had a great 8-9 months of training. Make sure you enjoy the whole day. It almost doesn't seem fair that you do 200+ days of training and it is all over in 14-15 hours. There will be ups and downs throughout the day. Enjoy the ups and don't dwell on the downs. Use your marathon, RAGBRAI and 70.3 experiences to your advantage.
I'll be thinking about and praying for you throughout your journey. Rick

October 30, 2008 at 8:32 PM

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