A Search For (My) Life

I arrived home in Louisville yesterday. I have one week until my Ironman competition. There are so many thoughts going through my mind. I’ve been training for this for 9 months, and it has pretty much taken over my life since February. I’ve faced a few setbacks, including a torn hamstring in April, and a 10-day bacterial infection earlier this month from swimming in a contaminated lake. (I’ll let you guess at what it was contaminated with…)

But right now, I’m about 16 days into my taper, and I’m feeling really ready. I’m constantly switching between feeling lethargic and being full of nervous energy. For the first time in a while, I’m holding back on my normal eat-as-much-as-possible diet, so that I don’t gain weight now that my workouts are knocked down to an hour or so per day.

My mind is constantly racing over the details of the race, trying to anticipate what it will feel like at different stages. In truth, I don’t think I can come close to imagining what it will feel like in reality. I’m a bit nervous, because today is the 21st straight 90 degree day in Louisville, so it’s going to be a hot day on Sunday.

My main training book, Going Long: Training for Ironman-Distance Triathlons by Joe Friel says this about race day:

“Odds are that sometime during the day you are going to feel really, really bad. This feeling is normal, and things will get better if you persevere to the end. Finish at all costs, and you will thank yourself later.”

I have to admit that after typing that, it seems kind of nuts…

I can’t wait.