Pre-Game Jitters

It’s the night before Saturday…which mean, “IT’S FRIDAY NIGHT!!!!” to most of you—lucky ducks. To me, this means race day is upon us. Tomorrow, to be exact. How did it come to this so quickly?! Is it still a viable option to hop on a train to NYC, never to be heard of again?! Is it too late to get a pinch hitter biker?

As my first competitive sporting event since high school, I’m having a few concerns, and a ton of feelings (uh, feelings). While some are serious and some are more recreational thoughts to keep myself busy, here are some of the things I’m batting around in this scrambled, nervous brain of mine as Saturday looms in the wings:

1.       Crazy body happenings:

• NERVES!!!! I’ve been nervous since Monday! And when I get nervous, I tend to get pessimistic. It’s more of a survival tactic—if I have lower expectations, maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised if I beat my own benchmarks for success? I don’t react well to nerves. It feels so passive. I don’t like feeling out of control, and usually, the reason a person gets nervous in the first place is because something lies outside of their control. Uncontrollable AND annoying?! Le sigh.

• Is it normal for my body to be voiding anything I attempt to put in it this far out from the race? Are there bathrooms readily available in the tundra of CT.

• What should I eat as my last meal pre-race fuel up? Per usual, I’m operating in a food-centric universe. Hunger Lions unite.

2.       Bike and gear:

• Thank the high heavens that my bike got back to me in time! When I dropped it off at a shop for a tune-up on Monday, they told me it would take 8-10 DAYS!!!! Say what?!?! Luckily, I got it back Thursday night, and it’s clean as a whistle and ready to rock and roll.

• Where can I get one of those super sleek helmets this late in the game? I wannnnnt! They make you look like a crazy alien, and I want my insides to match my outsides! I also want aerobars…and a camelback waterpack…and a road bike with those crazy rims…and a pony…

• Are my tires too thick? What if I get a flat? I wonder if they will let me run my bike across the finish line?

• HOW THE HECK DO YOU STAND UP TO PEDAL?!?! AND REACH DOWN TO DRINK YOUR WATER?! These are things I never bothered to learn. I taught myself how to ride when I was 11, and at that point, the name of the game was basically “learn the bare necessities required just to stay up on the damn thing.” Whales are not meant for bikes. Solution: keep your head down, hope your legs don’t give out, and pretend to be a camel.

3.       General feelings of inadequacy:

• In a nutshell, main objective: DO NOT DIE.

• Did I train enough? I really wish I had gotten out on the open road some more. With my busy schedule and crazy hours, I’ve had to stick almost exclusively to indoor training! I think I feel pretty strong, but what if I get a rude awakening once the wheels start rolling on pavement?

• Individual performance: Can I make it across the finish line in a time with which I will be satisfied? As this is the first time I’ve done anything like this, I am really struggling to set a goal. I have no prior experience, and thus no parameters, with which to set a target time.

• What I do affects my team: my partner’s second leg of the race is contingent on me—I really don’t want to let her down or delay her escape from the gate.

Lots of concerns, but I am also looking forward to a few things. I’m excited to be racing with an Ironwoman! She’s been an awesome mentor during the past two months—challenging me to break into a new sport and out of my comfort zone. I’m also looking forward to just letting it all out. I’ve been training for what seems like forever, so I am curious to see if I can go mach-5 all over this race, and I’m hoping to ride the “spinning high” all you cyclist-junkies talk about.  Also, who doesn’t love a super awesome t-shirt?! Especially when you earn it!

Team Name: Whale, Whale, Whale, What do we have here???

Event: Scenic View Duathlon, Morris, CT

Details: 2 mile run, 10 mile bike, 2 mile run (I’m biking)

Now let’s hope my nerves will subside in order to let me get just a little bit of sleep! Doubtful, but hey—a pessimistic whale can hope!

Wish us luck! Full report will follow!

Come on--how perfect is this?!?!