Yoo-hoo! Megan!! Over here!

This week is race week.  My mind has been all over the place, and I am having difficulties staying focused.  I've had to make lists, simply to stay on task.  I am making lists of to-do items for work, for our wedding, for things I was supposed to do last month and, of course, for this weekend.

These sweet, handsome boys are still waiting for their Valentine's from Aunt Megan!

Work is crazy busy, and it does not help that I have vacation days on Friday and Monday when there are deadlines looming.  Lucky for me, my home life is stable and undemanding.  My wonderful fiance, Chad, has been extremely supportive - as always - and has taken care of just about every little thing that has crossed our path.  He even kicked me out of the house last night when I attempted to take a nap instead of going to swim class!  I am glad that he did, but more on that in a bit.

While I was initially dreading this weekend's 70.3, I have found that the tides are slowly changing and I am becoming excited.  I'm not sure, exactly, why this is, because I know that I have severely under-trained for this race and I remain terrified of falling short of finishing the half-iron distance yet again.

Many of my friends raced last weekend, and reading about their new PR's gave me a wee bit of race envy.  I contemplated signing up for one of the local races, but I managed to stick to what's best for my race calendar, and I happily tracked them online and waited for the results and photos to roll in.  I must say, it was an exciting Sunday for me, sitting there in my sweats, anticipating each finish line victory!  It was almost as if I was there in person, cheering them on!  The highlight of the day was race-stalking a high school friend on ironman.live.com as he raced through San Juan, Puerto Rico and finished his very first 70.3!!!!  He did AWESOME!!!!!!  I am so proud of him!!!!

This is Jimmy.  

Last night, I stopped home from work to catch Chad for a few minutes before he was heading out to play basketball with his friends.  It turned out that the weather looked a bit . . .  unstable, so they scrapped the game.  I curled up on the couch and said "I'm not going to swim class tonight, I am going to take a nap."  Chad humored me for a few minutes, and then he said "you better get ready for class."  Wait, what?  You're making me go?  Sigh.  I put on my new swimsuit, grabbed my swim gear bag and my over-stuffed tri bag, and pouted all the way to my car.  

In case you were wondering, there was not a secret guys' night or any debauchery.  Chad was drilling into concrete and fastening beams in our laundry room walls so that he can box in and build a ceiling so we can run the a/c out there.  He also sealed the window, built a frame, and hung blinds.  All while I swam.  I should probably give him my race medals.

Back to swim class.  We did a t-pace test, which I had no idea what that was until Coach Lora explained it.  We were to warm up 200m, and then swim 3 sets of 200m with 20 seconds of rest in between sets.  I averaged a 4:15 pace for this, which I know is slow - I was the last one to finish.  When I began my set, I saw my neighbor out of the corner of my eye flying by, and I stupidly tried to move my arms faster, momentarily forgetting that 1) I am not a fast swimmer and 2) I had almost 3 full sets to swim.  I talked to myself and managed to stay focused on what I was doing, and 13 minutes and 40 seconds later, I was finally done.  We went through the rest of class doing breathing and catch-up drills, which were all new to me and I felt extremely uncoordinated - sort of similar to every time I set foot in a yoga studio.

While I have another 1000m+ to swim this weekend, I gained confidence from last night's swim.  I was able to do the entire class without stopping or hyperventilating, so I know it is possible to stay calm and focused on race day.  I may still cry out of exhaustion, but I know I can do the swim in 70 minutes, even if I cross into T1 by the skin of my wetsuit.

I have been extremely sore lately, and I have been taking extra care to take care of my mind and body.  I have gone to sleep earlier than most toddlers the past few days, with the exception of last night, because I had two episodes of the Biggest Loser to watch - I could not bear skipping the finale and finding out who won online before I actually watched.  I stayed up until almost 2am - pretty much unheard of for me on any day, let alone during race week!

Watching the show unfold, I found myself motivated and amazed by the strength and courage of the participants and their families.  You would have to pay me an awful lot of money to stand in my sports bra and tri shorts on national television, expressing my fears and crying in front of the entire world.  They are AMAZING!  I cannot even keep myself disciplined enough to drop 10-15 pounds . . . perhaps because I am not exactly overweight and do not have health issues . . . mostly, though, getting results is HARD WORK!  I had to remind myself (again) that my goal is not to lose 120 pounds; my goal is to finish a 70.3 - this weekend.  I have to block everything else from my brain, and concentrate on ME.  But still.  Look at this girl.  Tell me this isn't jaw-dropping awesome:

Today I went to Feet First on my lunch hour to pick up a pair of compression calf sleeves.  My legs have been so tight lately, that I am trying everything I can think of to prevent a serious leg cramp during the race.  I do have compression socks, which I love, but those won't fare too well for swimming, and there is no way I will be able to get them on in T1.  I selected a pair in an obnoxious shade of tie-dye pink (but now I am thinking perhaps I should have gotten the yellow ones?).  I picked up a few more packets of GU in the flavor I prefer - Espresso Love - so that I am not panicking on Friday night because I don't have enough nutrition.

Tonight I will give my bike a tune-up, make take it for a quick spin if the weather cooperates.  I will do the laundry (before "Justified" comes on) to make sure my favorite socks and shorts are fresh and clean for the weekend.  Tomorrow I will begin gathering my gear, making piles and more lists (before my new favorite show, "Duck Dynasty" airs) so that Thursday night after book club all I have to do is pack my bags and relax while we watch "The Office," "Big Bang Theory" and March Madness.

I've read the athlete guide several more times, I've pictured the race in my head.  There's really nothing else I can do for this race except eat well, sleep and hydrate, hoping that my mind and body are sound enough to carry me through 70.3 miles.

And so I run.