Scarily Calm

The countdown is really starting to feel real now. This week the numbers were released and I am now officially athlete 1038 for Ironman New Zealand 2011.

Having a number has really hit home. This is actually happening. My 11 months of training is almost done and in 20 days time we will be in Taupo and I will be about to hit the start line. Instead of feeling freaked out, though, I'm actually feeling quite excited. I'm feeling ready, I'm going over my race day strategy (and it feels reasonable) and I just generally feel prepared.

We are also close enough now to be starting to organize stuff for Taupo. And that's always fun! So the bike is booked in for its service. The wetsuit will be going in soon to get its little nicks glued. The ferry tickets are booked. Accommodation is booked. A padlock has been purchased to lock the bike to the rack and to the tow bar for the journey. A new pair of running shoes has been purchased. The diary has been updated with all the pre-event activities not to be missed in Taupo.

And our week-long schedule goes something like this:

Monday - drive to Wellington
Tuesday - drive to Taupo
Wednesday - brief swim and bike
Thursday - register, brief run, carbo party, race briefing
Friday - women's breakfast, bike and helmet drop off, transition bags drop off, first timer's seminar
Saturday - RACE DAY ... DOING IT!!!

In amongst all that I'll be resting up as much as possible, and we will be checking out the Ironman expo and checking out the course and transition areas as well so St Pete can work out the best spots to head for during the day.

So why am I feeling so calm?

I'm guessing it's partly to do with my light training load this week. I've come through the high volume training and this week has seen me doing shorter sessions but with higher intensity. So a 1900m swim (which suddenly seems very short!) but with some 50m sprints. A 60 minute bike with some high cadence sets. A 90 minute run with some 50m sprints. I've never been a sprinter but have coped with all this and am feeling fitter, lighter and stronger, and mentally ready.

It will be interesting to see if this sense of calm remains. Watch this space!




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