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Pre-Race Jitters

I’ve had butterflies in my stomach off and on this week in anticipation of my first race of the season. My wave starts the swim at Blue Lake at 8:01 Sunday morning.

As always, it’ll be interesting to see if all the training pays off and the taper (that’s the reduced workload leading up to the race) works as planned. This time I have been good about trusting my training and cutting back on the hours the last couple of weeks.

Sven and I went to Hagg Lake last weekend for a swim/bike/run. I was very happy with my open-water swim. It was the first one of the season and the first time I didn’t start hyperventilating and freaking out in the murky and cold water. Instead, I sustained a solid pace and felt comfortable for fourty minutes. If I can keep the adrenaline down and duplicate that effort at Blue Lake I should be in good shape as I transition to the bike.

I expect a decent performance on the bike. The focus so far this year (in anticipation of Blue Lake’s flat course) has been muscular endurance. I’ve thrown in a few hills here and there, but not as many as I will do after this race in preparation for the Portland Triathlon.

If I pace myself right on the bike, the run should be strong. My legs are healthy and my pace in training has been good.

Overall, I feel stronger in all three disciplines than I did last year at this point. The swim is still and X-factor, but that’s OK.

This is my first Olympic race and I just read that it’s a good idea to keep time goals to yourself when you start a new distance; there is enough pressure already. That sounds like sage advise, so I will heed it. Instead, I’ll let you know Sunday night if I’m happy with my result.