Race Week

    Six days and counting. I am now officially in Race Week and, as is apparently quite common, having minor panic attacks that I am not prepared. I remind myself that I have trained as much as my body could withstand, and have been very diligent in my training often to the exclusion of all else. The only way I could have trained harder is if I did not have to work for a living, but I am not that fortunate.
    I have gone to the venue twice to ride sections of the bike course. It is a brutal course, viciously hilly, mountainous actually. My second trip over I rode the full loop around Mount Bachelor. There is a fabulously long downhill cruise, steep enough I flew along faster than I could pedal. Then it turned on to a forest service road of rough pavement and rolling hills. It was so rough the vibrations up through the bars was wreaking havoc on my hands, arms and shoulders. I decided to forego any thoughts of remaining aero and went more for an upright cyclocross style, but it was not speedy going. Then I hit a hill, not as steep, nothing like the long haul on the backside of the mountain, but long. I kept rounding corners, hoping to see the end of it, but it went on and on. I was running very low on liquids and knew I was dehydrating (it is nearly impossible to carry enough fluid for 70 miles of tough riding, at least with my standard setup). I admit, I almost wept out of fatigue, thirst, frustration and feelings of inadequacy. I wanted to stop. But I didn't weep or stop, I kept going, and now I know that hill is there and I am mentally prepared for it. Also, there are several water stations so I can replenish my supplies. It is not going to be easy, but if it were easy everyone would do it, right? Actually most people would say, "Fourteen hours, are you fucking kidding me? No way."
    I am still concerned about keeping warm in the swim, but I have acquired some gear to help me cope. I have neoprene swim socks, not as thick as I wanted, but with the layering of wool socks, plastic bags, and swim socks, my feet stay decently warm. I have cut down the upper half of my old shorty wetsuit into a heavy neoprene vest to wear under my Selkie Suit. I swam with this setup on Saturday and it helped considerably. I did have some odd breathing restriction though, so trimmed down the vest even more. It changes my buoyancy a bit, but not in a bad way, I just need a few more swims to get the feel of it.
    Yesterday I did what amounted to a Sprint distance Tri as my final "big" workout. I actually cut the ride back a little bit since the weather was hot and my legs still held some residual fatigue from my ride around the mountain seven days earlier. My legs felt great for a short run, I've been nursing a tender Achilles' tendon the last week or so, so haven't been able to run as much as I would like. But this late in the game staying healthy is more important than trying to add any endurance.
    Now my focus is exactly that, staying healthy. Just a few more days. I have ramped up the quality of my nutrition, not that it has been lacking in any way, but I am dialing it up a notch. With my workouts winding down I do have to avoid overeating, but I also need all the building blocks I can manage to make sure my body is repaired and rested, and fueled to the max. My weight has been drifting between 153 and 155, and I want to keep it down there. It is all good and well to spend thousands of dollars to shave a few pounds off of your bike, but it is far better to shave weight off your body.
    My mind is scampering about like a squirrel on crack, making packing (and writing) a challenge. My digestive tract has been giving me grief for several days now, making me fluctuate between nauseated and famished. I keep eating, despite what my stomach and intestines are doing. Race nerves. I think I will be fine once I hit the water. Race Week, dear gods I can't believe it is here already.