Race Weekend!

The big day is almost here! In just over 36 hours, I will hear my alarm go off in my Augusta hotel room. It will still be way too dark outside for my liking. I will get up (slowly and anxiously). I will stumble over to my pre-race pile that I lay out the night before. I'll chug my coconut water and energy drink. I'll force down an almond butter sandwich regardless of the fact that I'm barely awake. I will splash cold water on my face in attempt to get going as I dress in my gear. I'll stretch and hydrate, like I've done dozens of times before. I'll double and triple check everything that I will have already checked a thousand times by then. Then, with a deep breath, I'll load up the car and head to the race start.

I'll try not to think too far ahead as I lay everything out in transition. I will do my best to not stare into the river in fear. I will trust my training and know that, by this point, I will have done everything that I can. I have trained and worked hard, and the moment is almost here. After setting up my transition area, I will wait an hour and a half before hitting the Savannah River and beginning my 70.3-mile journey to the highly anticipated finish line. I'll take deep breaths. I'll stretch and relax as much as possible. I will let the anxiety go and confidently race my race.

For now, though, I am anything but cool, calm, and collected. Just looking at photos of the swim start makes me nearly want to vomit. The thought of having to wait around for 90 minutes after setting up transition before even beginning my race makes my heart pound with anxiety. I know that I'm as ready as I'm going to be. I know that I can finish this race. I think I'm mostly nervous b/c I put so much pressure on myself. I know that this is a huge deal for me just to be where I am right now, yet I can't help but set goals for myself. Granted, I think my time goals are realistic, but for my first race of this distance, it's accomplishment enough to just finish! Two years ago, I didn't think it was possible for me to ever run more than a 5k (even that was really rough at the time). The thought of combining swimming, biking, and running for more than a couple of hours seemed absurd... yet here I am, ready and willing to spend around 6 hours doing just that.