Four Weeks Out

    I am now 4 weeks out from my big event. I've been getting little flashes of nerves now and then, mostly when I realize just how long of a day I will be facing. I figure it will likely take me about 14 hours of constant motion to get from starting line to finish line. Fourteen Hours. At Least. G'damn, what have I gotten myself into? I have pushed my riding to the point that I can do 100 miles in 7-1/2 hours, and get off the bike for a short transition run without difficulty. Yeah, sitting on the bike that long makes my delicate girly bits feel a bit hammered, or as a friend put it, "Like the girly bits have been punched in the face." Yeah, like that.
    I haven't been swimming quite as long as I would wish, but I am doing three open water swims a week, and swimming about 2 miles each swim. Honestly, it is my gut that is preventing me from staying in the water longer. As embarrassing as it is, I have to admit, swimming seems to make my intestines go into high gear. No, I haven't shit myself, but it has been a near miss. Actually, I've figured out what causes it. Swimming really activates the core muscles, which does constrict all the lower internal organs. I figure it is just squeezing me like a tube of toothpaste. Fortunately, on race day I will have been on a very low fiber diet for at least 24 hours preceding the starting gun, there will be nothing in there to squeeze out. Oh, the weirdo dilemmas of an ultra-endurance athlete. On that subject, I actually chuckle over the fact that one beauty of riding the same training course on the bike is that I know where all the good places to go to the bathroom are. It is a fact of life. So, there is one of the down and dirty elements of spending hours and hours of training.
    As I have lamented all summer long, my running is still not where I would wish it to be. My knees just will not handle the amount of miles I would like to do. But I can easily run 6+ miles, and can run after a long bike ride, so I know I can run the distance I need to come race day. Yeah, it will be tough. And yeah, it's really gonna hurt the day after. But, I know I can gut it out and do the run. Even if I have to do a run/walk system, I know I can do it.
    Today, as I was hammering through my abbreviated, recovery weekend ride, I was thinking just how far I have come since last summer. I have doubled my swim and bike distances. I am running consistently 4 days a week, and have been for quite some time. I am actually getting so that I enjoy my 6am, pre-work runs. I am in the best shape of my life. I feel great. My training regime has given me swimmer's shoulders, a runner's butt, and cyclist's legs. I have hit my race-weight goal of 155 without even trying, which is a solid 10 pounds lighter than I was at last summer when I did my 70.3. I have managed to stay very consistent with my training and nutrition, I haven't broken training all summer long. Now, here it is, the final countdown, I just have to stay the course. This week begins my Peak Period, upping the ante just a bit, but factoring in more rest. Then, finally, Race Week. It is exciting, but I need to stay focused. Swim smart. Bike strong. Run tough.