Nerves, Anxiety, Apprehension----ALL at the forefront of my mind this week! Yep, I've been in my own personal world of freak out! I've even gone so far as to be disappointed in a slower finishing time for my second Ironman then I had in my first Ironman, and I haven't even raced yet!!!!!! Pretty funny when I step back and look at myself! But seriously, this will be a much hotter race, different terrain, different swim, no comparison to my first IM. My goal is to finish. The time will be whatever it is, not putting pressure on myself, I want to listen to my body and race smart, fuel well, follow my nutrition plan, and HAVE FUN!
IT'S HERE: Sunday, August 29 is the race day, please pray for me while I'm out there! My number is 427 and it is Ironman Louisville if you want to track me on-line. I so appreciate the encouraging words I've heard from my friends both in person and on facebook. I love being out there and I think that as soon as I hit the water the nerves will settle and I'll enjoy being out there!
RACE DAY FUEL/NUTRITION: On the bike I will have Perpetuem, Clif bars, Clif shot blocks, Gatorade and water. I'd rather have a little more than I might want than not enough! On the run I'll probably just do straight GU gels and water, they'll have tons of stuff at the aid stations but not sure I'll want it at that point. Last time I couldn't do anything but gels by the time I got to the run. Planning to have NUUN in my water bottle on the run.
MENTAL GAME: This day is a huge mental game, even more so than the marathon. So it starts in my head. As I stated in the beginning, I've been on the nervous side! Well, yesterday I got this awesome message from my songbird friend from college. Her name is Colleen, we haven't seen each other since we graduated but connected on facebook in the past year. She has done two Ironmans, works for Livestrong, and is an amazing athlete! I LOVE what she wrote, hit the nail on the head, made me laugh, and brought me back to reality! I CAN DO THIS! God is my strength, there are way more important things and far more difficult things in life then a little old swim-bike-run. So Louisville, here I come! Excited!
Colleen's Words: "YOU ARE READY! You have planned your race....now race your plan! Do not deviate one bit from what you know you have worked on in the past 5 months of training." (actually 6 months, but who's counting??)
"Have fun. Don't take it too seriously. Keep in mind it is a long training day – you are not going to win. Eat and drink more than you think you need. Smile and/or laugh every once in a while. Think about people during the race that are in much greater pain than you ever will be. Think about me barfing in the swim on my first Ironman – it was red because I drank cranberry juice that morning (I thought I was puking blood). Enjoy it when they take your wetsuit off for you – that never happens in real-life. Play games with yourself all day. Go easy when it feels hard and go hard when it feels easy. Don't think about the people who will be finishing as you get off the bike. Do something stupid when you cross the finish line. Say thank you to the volunteers. Have a beer after you are done, even if you don't want one. Stay at the finish line until the race is over – you will want to leave, but it will be worth it to see the last finishers. Be prepared to be mauled in the swim – if you expect to get kicked and lose your goggles it won't be a shock when it happens. Don't get an M-Dot tattoo, no matter what."
And there you have it, thanks Colleen!!!